XPost: nyc.general, nyc.politics, talk.environment 
 From: liberty@once.net 
  
 "JohnAndrew"  wrote in message 
 news:2fcaf67c.0407290605.610341ff@posting.google.com... 
 > Freedom, freedom, freedom ... 
 > 
 > Sounds like more libertarian ranting, but maybe you raise a good 
 > point.  Having contractors "prune" healthy trees in a way that 
 > injures them is not a good idea. 
 > 
 > Having the park benches replaced unnecessarily - sounds like 
 > "make work" projects for the benefit of the contractors and their 
 > employees.  Which must be annoying ... 
 > 
 > but from an environmental 
 > and social perspective, would we prefer that these people 
 > (a) be unemployed, or (b) be engaged in other construction work - 
 > for example, tearing up open countryside out in the suburbs, 
 > to build roads or new housing subdivisions?  I vote for 
 > keeping them busy with the park benches, personally. 
 > 
 > If there are lots of unemployed construction and/or 
 > maintenance workers around, I think they'll vote for politicians 
 > who promise to "grow the economy" by opening up the 
 > Arctic Wildlife Refuge, tearing up the wilderness areas 
 > in the national forests, and/or promoting genetic engineering 
 > and heavy industrial development. 
 > 
 > The fact is, environmentalists of the right, left and center, 
 > of "statist" as well as "free market" inclinations, simply 
 > have to acknowledge the need that our fellow citizens have 
 > for paying jobs -- at least so long as we have a capitalist 
 > economy based on an unequal distribution of private property, so 
 > that a large fraction of the population has to work for 
 > other people or starve. 
 > 
 > So long as having a job is a necessity 
 > of life for most Americans, environmentalists need to support 
 > ways to provide people with "green" jobs of some sort, 
 > or we're going to lose in politics every time. 
 > 
 > Another question for you, Freedom -- if it weren't for the 
 > rotten, coercive power of local government, would there 
 > be any public parks in Brooklyn in the first place? 
  
 I believe there would, and there would be more of them, and better. Ex-mayor 
 Tyrant Ghouliani had many popular community gardens bulldozed for use by 
 private contractors. The Parks Department is reputedly the most corrupt NY 
 City agency, and an ex-employee of theirs that I know agrees. 
  
 > Maybe if the Roosevelts or the Rockefellers or the Astors 
 > owned most of the borough, and graciously opened up the 
 > doors of their big estate on selected holidays for the 
 > benefit of us little people ... 
 > 
 > ******* 
  
 --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05 
  * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)