Corruption and "Economic Development" in New York State
City Journal Audio
Manhattan Institute
4.7 • 657 Ratings
🗓️ 3 April 2018
⏱️ 30 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
E.J. McMahon and Seth Barron discuss recent corruption cases in New York and how the state government in Albany is attempting to revitalize struggling areas with "economic-development" programs.
Last month, Joseph Percoco, a former top aide to Governor Andrew Cuomo, was found guilty on corruption charges for accepting more than $300,000 in bribes from two companies. Percoco's conviction reinforces the perception that New York politics operates on a "pay-to-play" model.
Allegations of bid-rigging and other corrupt practices have dogged Albany ever since Governor Cuomo launched his signature economic-development plan, which provides subsidies to private firms to operate businesses in the state. Despite these efforts, New York continues to lose residents to other states every year.
Edmund J. McMahon is founder and research director of the Empire Center for Public Policy, based in Albany. Follow him on Twitter @EjmEj.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello, I'm City Journal editor Brian Anderson. |
| 0:16.3 | Thanks for joining us for the 10 Blocks podcast featuring urban policy and cultural commentary |
| 0:21.5 | with City Journal editors, contributors, and special guests. |
| 0:27.9 | Hi, everyone. |
| 0:29.1 | Welcome back to Ten Blocks, the official podcast of City Journal. |
| 0:32.7 | This is your host for today, Seth Barron. |
| 0:35.6 | Our show is coming to you from the Manhattan Institute near Grant Central Terminal, |
| 0:40.4 | and our guest today is E.J. McMahon. |
| 0:43.0 | E.J. is the founder and research director of the Empire Center for Public Policy. |
| 0:48.2 | He's a noted expert on fiscal policy, labor relations, and budget trends in New York State. E.J. has published widely, |
| 0:55.9 | including many pieces for City Journal, as well as in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, |
| 1:01.1 | the New York Post and Daily News, Barons, and elsewhere. Thanks for joining us, E.J. |
| 1:05.6 | You're welcome. Thank you. |
| 1:07.3 | So last week, a key aide and associate of Governor Cuomo named Joseph Perko was convicted on federal bribery charges. |
| 1:17.0 | EJ., can you explain what these charges were? |
| 1:20.7 | Well, what it boiled down to was he was convicted of supposedly accepting, of accepting $300,000 in bribes, in part largely in the form of a no-show or what was called a low-show job for his wife with a company that was seeking the state's help or his help in getting the state to move on with a project for a natural gas-fired energy |
| 1:47.3 | plant. Also, he was accused with a couple of, pardon me, Syracuse area developers in connection |
| 1:55.1 | with a state-funded project in Syracuse. |
| 2:06.2 | One of the two private developers on trial with him was convicted of charges related to that allegation. |
| 2:07.6 | The other was not. |
| 2:09.5 | But basically, they said that he had used his position as the governor's top-closes |
| 2:14.2 | aide to basically seek to enrich himself. And he was convicted of some of those |
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