The Chicxulub asteroid extinguished the dinosaurs.
Are political machines, including Plainfield's, going the way of the dinosaur?
Given the fiscal aftermath of the Great Recession in which we find ourselves, it is possible.
With the dinosaurs, it is thought the impact of the Chicxulub asteroid started worldwide fires that destroyed vegetation, set off mile-high tsunamis that swept all before them, ultimately causing a cloud of steam and smoke that covered the earth for up to a year, resulting in the extinction of the dinosaurs (for fascinating overviews, see here and here).
Dinosaurs did not die out overnight, but with their food supplies and the sunlight which provided life-giving warmth gone, they were goners long before they knew.
What has happened in the realm of political machines is akin to the dinosaurs' predicament.
Political machines have always had two aspects: first, the quid-pro-quo of jobs for votes; and second, the accrual of power and wealth to those who control the political process through a base built on the first aspect.
The Great Recession has sent shockwaves through the political system, resulting in a fiscal crisis like none any of us has ever seen.
It is likely that vast changes will result now that someone who is serious about attacking the matter is sitting in the governor's chair in Trenton.
Gov. Christie's moves to tighten oversight of authorities and commissions and to undertake a top-to-bottom review of public employee salaries, benefits, pensions and contractual parameters bid fair to become the fire and cloud by which the political dinosaurs may find their life choked off.
If so, we will see it played out not only on the stage of Trenton and the Statehouse, but in lowly communities like Plainfield where the seemingly endless supply of jobs for hangers-on -- whether directly through the City or indirectly through agencies such as the PMUA, the schools and the Housing Authority -- are being shut off.
And the perks for hacks -- low show jobs with benefits and pensions -- are under assault.
With taxpayers in no mood to absorb continuous increases, what is a political dinosaur to do?
The death throes of the dinosaurs must have made for some spectacular theater before their great thrashing tails were silenced.
Will we be treated to the same?
The asteroid plowed into the earth at Chicxulub,
in Mexico's Yucutan Peninsula
-- Dan Damon [follow]
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2 comments:
Nah! We're always expecting too much from tough-guy-prosecutor types. Usually they can attack the tip of the iceberg, making a big show of it in the process, but underwater the berg keeps getting bigger and bigger.
When catastrophe ebbs, the hangers-on will likely still be hanging, as will the rest of us.
Call me a pessimist if you must.
One way that I know these political machines are weakening if not dying, is that there is much less money around. If Corzine had been reelected maybe political donations in exchange for handing out contracts would have continued, at least at the county and local levels. But now there is less money, as you point out. It doesn't make sense to give money to a politician for a contract that will not go forward. And even though the Democrats still control both chambers, they still have to deal with Christie. There will be a lot of influence peddling. This city will be cutting back next year on employees, through attrition and retirements. If they don't, there will be layoffs.
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