Looking Back, Looking Forward

2009 was the year most of us will probably remember as the one that didn’t see our region and our nation and the rest of the world drop off a cliff, when they all certainly seemed poised to. It could have happened; many of us you’ll remember truly believed it was happening this very same time last winter. Why we didn’t go over, how we managed to pull back from the precipice of economic abyss, we can’t answer that but we can speculate. Had it been Senator McCain and ex-Governor Palin on whom the whole world’s trust for wise and decisive solutions had fallen a year ago, we think our future today would be grim nearly beyond imagining. We don’t say that to disparage them or anyone. But it’s worth saying because it’s true and because we forget so easily that what holds our future together is a shared belief there is a future and that somehow we can manage it. That’s as true for the global economy as it is for families and for this year now nearly past; we credit our President with providing that stability, that hope, and that reason to think some of our problems at least, may even be solvable one day. We aren’t thrilled with every choice he makes, we don’t believe Afghanistan is a problem our country can solve, but the President’s credibility has already served the world in an extraordinary way.
This isn’t political commentary we’re indulging in for some semi-transparent purpose, real or imagined. World leaders and global markets will rise and fall just fine without the views of newspapers up in the Catskills. But we say these things as a simple reminder that trust in the future is what now holds our whole economically-interdependent planet together. And yeah, it’s weird that trust and its irrationally positive impact sometimes comes down to one person in one office, and how well people believe they can handle things. But the truth - increasingly - is it often does.
Statewide this year there’s little evidence of an increase in justifiable trust or progress. Major budget problems from declining revenue streams continue, and from factors far beyond the state’s control. We don’t envy Governor Paterson or any governor under these circumstances, nor do we fault him for every tough choice he makes, any more than we forgive him his numerous bad ones. In our region we certainly benefit from Assemblyman Cahill’s rising stature; he now drives home the biggest bacon-cart in the state, much as Senator Bonacic used to when his party’s fortunes were ascendant. No, state government is what it’s always been. It’s certainly less transparently corrupt than in the past, but still far from where it needs to be.
At the county level however, there is a place where recognition is due, and that’s the refreshingly effective leadership that’s emerged from our new charter and our new form of county government. No, it’s not coming from our generally partisan and sometimes petty legislators, and yes, we’re pleased that by next fall we’ll elect fewer of them, and from rationally created districts. But in one of those instances where it’s very clear that an exceptional individual can take charge and make enormous institutional changes quickly, we offer the example of Mike Hein, our first County Executive.
Hein’s first two budgets have been models of fiscal responsibility, cutting 100 positions from the county workforce and keeping tax increases lower than expected in two of the most difficult budget years in memory. He’s been an effective advocate for the county’s interests, leading for instance, a successful effort to rescind Governor Paterson’s ill-conceived tax freeze on state landholdings. He’s also played a key role in brokering a regional “Ski the Catskills” marketing campaign, brought together a consortium of banks to share small business lending risks, overhauled the county Heath Department, and helped secure over $35 million in state transportation funding, to pick just some of his first-year accomplishments. Hein has basically proven adept at everything he’s taken on. We think he’s been good at his word that his administration is “committed to real reform” and “open to everything if it means being more effective.” We don’t often get to say things like this, but in a job where everything he does creates new precedents, this is a public official whose first year in office has been a clear success and set the bar very high for all who’ll follow.
As for our town governments, we look forward to new faces, ideas, and efficiencies, as they struggle with bare bones budgets, continued sales tax and other revenue shortfalls, a weak market for real property, and the ongoing challenges of creating or maintaining tax equity and fairness. Perhaps by spring we’ll see new signs of life in the economy but regardless, we’re hopeful our towns will fare reasonably well. Clearly times are harder than they used to be. Many of us are struggling; some of us struggle terribly with the economic realities we all live with. At the same time we see enormous efforts being made by people all over our region to help one another. A blanket Thank You for all the great volunteer work going on hardly seems adequate, but it is clear sign of our community’s strengths. So to all of you who give of yourselves to make these valleys of ours the places they are, your efforts are deeply appreciated.
We wish everyone a wonderful holiday season, a new year that’s an improvement on the last, and better times ahead. We believe they’re coming.