from ADRIAN KUZMINSKI Don’t ‘Abolish’ Otsego Now, But Consider Broader Council To the Editor: I am privileged to be a columnist for this newspaper. Readers ought to be aware, however, that editors, not authors, choose the titles for op-eds, letters, and columns. My last column was misleadingly titled “Abolish Otsego Now.” That suggests shutting down Otsego Now, and everything it does. I advocated instead that its functions be included in a much broader Economic Development Council. The Editor also paired…
Online home of The Freeman's Journal and Hometown Oneonta
Advertisement
adrian kuzminski - Page 3
Elephant In The Room Undergirds Discourse Dismiss Smokescreen Hype About Dubious New Jobs In last week’s editorial in this newspaper, Oneonta Mayor Herzig is quoted as saying: “We should not let those who are economically secure, by comparison, tell those who need jobs they can’t have them.” The mayor was reacting to the March 5 hearing he moderated at the Foothills in Oneonta, where a long series of speakers pushed back almost unanimously against the gas-expansion project proposed by the…
Something Like ‘Green New Deal’ Essential, But Impact On Personal Freedom Worrisome The Big Idea of the Green New Deal, now widely supported among Democrats, is to deal aggressively at once with the twin crises of climate justice and social justice. The Green New Deal (GND) seeks to combine the progressive goals raised by Bernie Sanders in the 2016 election (single-payer healthcare, free college tuition, taxing the rich, and breaking up big banks) with a wholesale public infrastructure program for…
WE IGNORE THEM AT OUR PERIL What Ails Yellow-Vested Nous Amis Ails Us Last November the so-called ‘Yellow Vest’ movement exploded across France. A new gasoline tax imposed by the Macron government sent waves of protesters into the streets. Coming out in large numbers, they donned as their symbol the yellow safety vests the French government requires all motorists to keep in their vehicles in case of emergency. The protesters called for a repeal of the gas tax. Initial…
Energywise, We Can Have It All: Natural Gas Now, Renewables Later The Otsego County Chamber board and president deserve a heartfelt “thank you” for having the vision and courage to host the “Energy Summit.” Speakers from New York and Pennsylvania talked about fossil fuels and renewables including biomass, ethanol, electric cars, wind, solar and geo-thermal. At the end of the day, it was clear that, although promising for the future, renewables are not currently capable of replacing or offsetting our…
Column by Adrian kuzminski for Jan. 3, 2019 ‘Populism’ Isn’t A Dirty Word,It’s As American As Apple Pie BY Adrian Kuzminski Our columnist was prescient: Adrian Kuzminski’s 2008 study of populism, “Fixing the System,” foreshadowed Bernie Sanders’ and Donald Trump’s populism by eight years. Since 2016, we’ve had an explosion of political upheavals around the world – all widely described as populist: the Brexit vote in Britain, Trump’s election, and the rise of separatist and nationalist parties in Europe and…
Column by Adrian Kuzminski for December 14, 2018 Public Banks, ‘Greenbacks,’ Might Close Gap Between Rich And Poor I brought up the Green New Deal in my last column as the only political agenda I’ve seen which, whether we agree with it or not, at least tries to measure up to the magnitude of the two biggest problems we face: climate change and economic insecurity. Let’s take a closer look.…
Column by Adrian Kuzminski November 30, 2018. Democrats Can Rebuild Around Climate Change, Economic Justice Now that the Democrats have made a comeback by capturing the House of Representatives, they are faced with how to use their new power. Up to now, they have been obsessed with Trump, and split on how to address the problems of the day. We’ll get to Trump in a moment. But first, let’s look at what the Democrats have to say about the big…
Column by Adrian Kuzminski for November 2, 2018 Gerrymandering Takes Away Our Right To Representation The most remarkable thing I’ve seen in this year’s midterm election campaigns is Chad McEvoy’s op-ed in the New York Times. The headline says it all: “If I win my district, I’ll get rid of it.” That’s the 101st Assembly District, a model of gerrymandering, which snakes in a narrow strip from New Hartford near Utica through part of Otsego county to the Hudson Valley.…
Column by Adrian Kuzminski, October 5, 2018. Natural Gas Is A Bad Investment It’s obvious we have to get off fossil fuels, yet we keep hearing that fossil fuels – natural gas in particular – are essential to local economic growth. While “solar and wind would be a viable source for electric,” Otsego Now CEO Jody Zakrevsky wrote in The Freemans Journal & Hometown Oneonta in the Aug. 30-31 editions, “it (the solar and wind source) does not currently provide…