Sorry for the lack of posts. This week was pretty rough. The end of the semester crunch is just beginning. Anyways:
On April 13th The New York Times finally reported on Suffolk County Comptroller Joseph Sawicki Jr. and his ideas on succession from New York State.
“A little radical, indeed it is, but nothing else has worked,” said Mr. Sawicki, 53. “Albany thinks of Long Island as their personal A.T.M. I believe the economics of the situation justifies a secession movement.”
While the article mainly treats the idea as an absolute joke (comparing the proposal of statehood to Sawicki’s efforts in finding someone to take a stray cat named Tabby that has camped out on his property) Sawicki makes some compelling economic arguments for statehood; including that succession from New York could potentially save Long Island 3 billion dollars.
Honestly this is not a new idea. Every couple years one of these movements gains some momentum and then falters. However I do believe it sounds like a good idea. Sawicki has appointed someone to look into the long term effects of succession and it will be curious as to what that person’s findings are.
The one thing I do disagree with in this article is Sawicki’s statement that Long Islanders have nothing in common with the rest of New York. I can surely disaffirm that statement with ample evidence such as my cousins who live in Queens and the plethora of individuals who I take classes with in SUNY Oswego. I would begin listing the specific examples here but I fear of banging on my keyboard for ten hours.
All in all, even if Sawicki proves it would save Long Island money to secede there is no way that sucession would occur without a 2nd Civil War since the rest of the state is very dependent on the wealth of Long Island. On a positive note though the U.S. vs. Long Island would make a hell of a Pay Per View.
For more news on the Independent Long Island Movement visit:
The Political Gentleman 