Dear Editor:
Wow, now I have multiple critics to respond to at the same time. Both Jim Murphy, and….the entire “Republicans of Hoboken!” (they called in the cavalry!) ganged up to attack me on this page last week for my recent letter: “In Defense of the Nanny State, and Free Ferries for Hoboken.” Apparently, I must be doing something right.
Jim Murphy, in his letter titled: “There is no such thing as a free lunch,” mocked my free ferry idea by snidely comparing it to providing “pre-natal care for schnauzers.” Well, I’m sorry Jim, but I fail to see what is so “time wasting” and “inconsequential”—in your words—about improving both the natural environment and the quality of life of Hobokenites with a fleet of green, free or low cost ferries; just like the Staten Island Ferry remains miraculously free. All it takes is a little imagination and some jutspa.
As for Jim’s “free lunch” theory, it relates interestingly to his anti-government rhetoric, which included a slur against our state representatives as “propeller heads in Trenton.”
There’s an old saying: government is your enemy….until you need a friend. Consider two government-funded institutions that hardly any sane, educated person would argue is a waste of taxpayer dollars: schools, and the fire dept. Oh, but then again, our new Republican governor, Chris Christie—who brutally slashed funding for both schools and the fire dept.—apparently has the same ethical mindset as Jim Murphy (and, I’m guessing, the Republicans of Hoboken): that government is always a bad thing.
The truth is, we need a strong government to protect the people; very often from powerful, concentrated wealth that—if left unchecked, like during the Robber Baron age of the late 19th century—leads to such evils as the exploitation of labor; which surged back with a vengeance after Reagan crippled the union movement. As for free lunches, since the Republicans got rid of those pesky government regulations of Wall Street (big govt: Baaaad!) there have been decadent amounts of Roman feast-style “free lunches”: for the already-wealthy.
Diagnosing how we got into this mess, NYU history professor Kim Phillips-Fein has a wonderful new book called “Invisible Hands: The Businessmen’s Crusade Against the New Deal.” It explains how conservative, moneyed elites formed think-tanks to propagandize the holiness of the “free market;” paving the way for a smooth-talking G.E. spokesman named Ronald Reagan to lead them to victory in 1980.
To counter this Right-wing hegemony—which is now deeply entrenched in our political and media culture—local progressive Democrats might begin by re-invigorating the Hoboken (and Hudson County) Democrats. And role up our sleeves to create intellectual think-tanks, discussion groups, and Roundtables of our own. Mr. Corzine, if you miss being involved in politics, I have some ideas for you!
These are also great topics to discuss on my new Public Voice Salon TV Show, airing Thursdays (beginning June 3rd) from 8 to 9 pm on channel 19.
Reactions to this letter are welcome at jfbredin@hotmail.com.
John Bredin