The Catskill Chronicle

Story and photos by Carol Montana

BETHEL – Appearing in the museum building at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, New York State’s junior senator Kirsten Gillibrand was greeted enthusiastically by over 100 members of the Sullivan County community on January 15.

Introduced by Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther, Gillibrand was paying her first visit to Sullivan County.

After some brief remarks, Gillibrand took questions and comments from the audience of business owners, business support organizations, advocacy groups and concerned citizens.

“Obviously the biggest challenge we have right now is the economy … in parts of upstate NY {unemployment} is as high as 15%,” said Gillibrand, emphasizing that, in her travel around New York State, the number one issue is jobs. “We have a couple of ideas on the table that I think will help Sullivan County. One of the things you want to look at is tax policy. … One of the best ideas is giving a tax credit for every job created. …”

Gillibrand also spoke about access to capital for small businesses. She favors working with credit unions to increase the amount they are able to lend. “Two-thirds of all new jobs are created by small business,” the senator said.

Also in favor of off-casino gaming, Gillibrand promised to continue working with Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar to get the ban on off-reservation gaming overturned.

Noting that Sullivan County is an agricultural county, Gillibrand said that the price of milk is too low. “It’s an important time to fight for our dairy farmers – when a dairy farmer goes out of business, a lot of other businesses go out of business.”

And then, regarding a topic that is on everyone’s mind, Gillibrand turned to health-care reform. The reason we need reform, she said is “because the costs are too high for everyone. The average family spent about $5,000 just a couple of years ago. Now it’s $12,000, and in the next few years it will be $24,000. Now, if our average family county income is $45,000, how in the world is a family going to be able to afford health insurance at $24,000 a year? They can’t.”

Gillibrand reported that 47million Americans don’t have access to health insurance. “This bill will cover 94% of Americans, it’s a vast improvement. It moves the country away from emergency-room care to preventive care, and it lowers the cost across the board through competition. No one can be denied coverage because of preexisting conditions. All preventive care must be covered.”

The senator also talked about how she had wanted a Medicare-for-all option. “We didn’t get that. We also didn’t succeed in getting a public option. What we did get was an exchange of not-for-profit option, which will still create competition. …” Gillibrand considers the current state of health-care reform “a step in the right direction.”

Additionally, Gillibrand talked about making sure the country’s financial industry works, and tackling banking regulatory reform.

Questioned about gas drilling, Gillibrand noted that, while we need alternative energy, it comes down to protecting our natural resources, “… if it can’t be done safely, it can’t be done. … If you pollute your basic resources of clean air and clean water, you can’t protect your family, and it’s that simple.”

After the Q & A session, Gillibrand met with some of the media and explained why it was important to her to visit every county in New York State. “I’m here to represent all of New York, and there are significant issues. It’s important that I hear directly from New Yorkers. It’s important that I hear directly from New Yorkers about their priorities, their concerns, and what I can do to make a difference and that’s what today was about.”

Asked about stimulus monies and when there were going to be job programs for those who are not in high-tech industry and construction, Gillibrand said “… there were tax cuts for small businesses, seniors, veterans, middle-class families and so some of those would also help entrepreneurs and the arts. The president is focusing on infrastructure and energy is because they’re the highest growth energies … they create jobs for decades. On energy: if we can be ahead of China, India by developing those renewable sources we will create more jobs in our communities to get our economies moving, which means more customers for artists and photographers. For every new job that’s created, that employer will get a 15% tax credit on that. So if that’s a $50,000-a-year job, they’ll get a $7,500 tax credit, so that should also help get more money out there.”

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