OK, it’s predictable for a liberal columnist to say it, but it’s simply a fact: It’s a national emergency that the country is run by a president as unstable as the one we have. And it’s a national emergency that Republicans in Congress, who surely must be as worried about the president’s ability as the rest of us are, won’t stand up to him.

Nobody’s shocked that President Trump declared that immigration at our southern border is a national emergency. But it certainly is stunning that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who opposed the emergency declaration, was so afraid that Trump would shut down the government again that he fell in line.

So Trump will apparently build a wall to keep his base happy and get a few Fox commentators off his back. And the next time he wants to do something Congress doesn’t want him to do, he’ll declare another national emergency.

And every president who follows in his footsteps will be tempted to do the same.

No, Trump isn’t the first president to declare a national emergency to do something Congress didn’t like. And yes, Barack Obama did it. So did Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton and both Bushes. Each president presumably had what he thought was a justifiable reason for going around Congress. And as Congress and the rest of us have let that happen, we have chipped away at the separation of powers.

Now we have a president who has gone one step further: declaring a national emergency to get money for something that Congress had specifically voted not to give him.

It’s satisfying, for a minute or two, to imagine the next Democratic president national-emergencying us into gun control and climate protection.

Somebody ought to be thinking about protecting the Constitution, though.

New York’s Amazon loss

Maybe the governor and the corporate leaders are right, and the Amazon protesters just didn’t understand what was good for them. Still, for those of us who believe in citizen participation, corporate responsibility, affordable housing, and that kind of thing, it wasn’t a huge disappointment that Amazon was taking its logo and walking away from New York City.
I wasn’t completely opposed to New York getting HQ2. Everybody in New York State would have benefitted from the state taxes that Amazon and its workers would have paid. And the fact is, New York State is in competition with other states for businesses like Amazon, so no, it’s not good to be known as an anti-business state.

But there are plenty of indications that New York could have gotten Amazon without the big taxpayer give-away. The company wanted New York’s tech workers. That’s why it picked New York. Virginia and Nashville – didn’t promise Amazon nearly as much as New York did.

Big corporations can create problems as they create jobs. Critics aren’t exaggerating when they say tech giants have driven up housing prices, led to traffic congestion, and have caused other problems that cities have to deal with. Corporations can work with residents to address those problems. But when Seattle tried to raise taxes to deal with its growing homelessness problem, Amazon bullied the city into submission.

Governments across the country are complicit in this bidding-for-business scam, from our local industrial development agencies right on up. It’s way past time to stop it, of course. But that would take a national effort. And that would require far more courage, bipartisanship, and civic commitment than exists in this country right now.

This article appears in Feb 20-26, 2019.

Mary Anna Towler is a transplant from the Southern Appalachians and is editor, co-publisher, and co-founder of City. She is happy to have converted a shy but opinionated childhood into an adult job. She...

7 replies on “Our national emergency”

  1. Mrs. Towler, I wonder if youknow the song, “Democracy” by Leonard Cohen.
    Here is a funny animated version, with Trump:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ythb4PSWBI…

    “Democracy” was written by Leonard Cohen, way back in 1992. But it prophetically predicts that: “Democracy is coming… to the USA.”
    ——————————————————————————–
    Ironically, Cohen passed away, one day after Trump won, November 7, 2016.

    What this suggests to me is that perhaps, the incredible damage we are getting from Trump might actually trigger a FLIP over to a more democratic America, in the near future. We may be reaching a point where we just can’t stand it, any longer…

    How this might happen, is anyone’s guess…

    THANKS MUCH
    http://www.SavingSchools.org

  3. Inquisitive – Sorry, but America is not, and never has been, a republic. The textbook definition requires that, to be a republic, supreme power must be held by the People and their representatives. Yet at no point since 1776 has this been the case. For example, until the ratification of the 15th. Amendment in 1870, voting was restricted (in most states) to white males. Between 1870 and the ratification of the 19th. Amendment in 1920, it was limited to males, although the voting rights of blacks were blocked in most southern states. Between 1920 and the ratification of the 26th. Amendment in 1971, all citizens 21 and older were eligible to vote. Since 1971, all citizens 18 and older have been eligible. So any argument of the US being a place where the People (with or without their representatives) hold supreme power can at best not begin until 1971. But even were we to accept that the US has been a republic since 1971, the country still fails to meet the definition for the simple reason that the People do not elect our president. He is elected by the Electoral College, and as the elections of 1876, 2000 and 2016 make clear, do not have to pay attention to the decision of the People.

  4. Ms. Towler – Why are you bemoaning defeat before the battle has even been fought? Until the courts rule on the legality of Demagogue Donny’s emergency declaration no wall will be built. And the odds seem good that even a stacked right wing Supreme Court will not be able to stomach his latest temper tantrum. Particularly when even he admits that it’s a fraud.

  5. Great discussion. Thank you, Mrs. Towler.
    But let me add another version of Leonard Cohen/s “Democracy”.
    It is much cleared, with the words on the screen.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7t1JG_1O-…

    Now, Mueller is finishing his investigation. He is passing the torch to others, the US House, etc. But if we are to reach a higher level of democracy in the USA, we must all get involved, beginning at the personal and local level, I think.

    Here, in Rochester, democracy is coming, too, perhaps.
    It is up to us to open debate and dialogue. City News can help, of course…
    ======================================================
    Perhaps, City News could print out the full text of “Democracy”.

    THANKS MUCH
    http://www.SavingSchools.org

  6. President Trump journeyed to Texas to actually listen to those who know best about maximally effective methods of border control, the Border Patrol agents and supervisors themselves. Who better to advise on the subject…go figure.
    Meanwhile, self-professed border expert Charles Schumer has been busy telling us, in direct contradiction to the Border Patrol agents’ views, that this is not a national emergency, despite the fact that not too long ago he was vehemently “concerned” with the illegal immigration problem and “seriously” calling for a border fence. That all suddenly changed however, when Chuck was forced to back up his lip service with action that would agree with and support Trump’s views. Apparently Chuck was too busy chasing cameras for photo ops (as is his forte) to actually be concerned enough to communicate with the Border Patrol.

    Ms. Towler noted that the President declared a national emergency for something that Congress had specifically voted not to give him. Of course they didn’t. Like Schumer, they were all in until it came to backing up their bluster. Nothing like a border situation to reveal the true priorities of bloviating leftists…happily allowing the inflow of illegal aliens for potential conversion to future democrat entitlement voters, a policy that by its very nature would negate a border wall. And conveniently sticking it to a president they despise, national security be damned.

  7. Congratulations Cupid. You managed to drag in just about every cliche utilized by Trump and his Deplorables over the past two years. As to why Donny went to Texas, it certainly wasn’t to listen to anyone but himself. The only person he’s every listened to as his actions have made clear.

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