Why Term Limits Matter

          by joseph tiraco

           History is replete with examples of society’s delicate civil fabric ripped asunder by strongmen doing what comes natural; accumulating political power to themselves. The ancient folly that morphed republican Greece and Rome into horrific tyrannies presents today’s active ingredients for struggles in Africa and Central America; abysmal conflict between stasis and status, government and governed, doyen and dunce tumbles on and on, sometimes bloody, but always emotionally charged. Desirous of the extraordinary ability certain individuals can bring to the table, but fearful of being swallowed whole, a vigilant citizenry attempts to limit the amount of time these powerful predators can feed in public waters - the key word here is “ attempts .”

           Michael Bloomberg with his disarming Howdy Doody smile exudes all the charm of a deep water shark relentlessly plying the icy North Atlantic. Just recently, in a shocking breach of public trust, he swam across the Rubicon, chewing through the safety net incumbent weary voters were comfortably tucked behind. The justification? “Who needs term limits when a man of my talent is working for you for free, or to be more accurate, a mere buck a year. Why? Because I love you .” The implied point comes across with all the earnestness Bostonians reserve for their brethren New Yorkers.

           But an Internet skeptic might surf to http://www.whorunsgov.com/Profiles/Michael_Bloomberg

where the inferences suggest, the man has read Benjamin Franklin’s bio, and took profuse notes: for instance, are the morning subway rides extractions of Ben’s early morning wheelbarrow walks?

 And Bloomberg’s statement, “People say I have my name all over town because I need to feed my ego,” he said in 1994. “Actually, it's because that's the way to build brand recognition.”(Hass, Nancy, “Bloomberg! Bloomberg! Bloomberg!” The Forward, Sept. 23, 1994.), echos of Ben Franklin urging tireless self promotion? As the Internet profile takes form, Bloomberg the man comes through as a supercilious egotist, Old Ben Franklin rolled into Marcus Licinius Crassus.

           But, http://pdf.forbes.com/2001/05/02/0502facescan_print.html is the show stopper: Forbes Faces: May 2, 2001 . Here we learn Michael Bloomberg was worth $4 billion before he took the oath of office. Directly below him on that same page is a photo of Silvio Berlusconi, prime minister of Italy, and at the time Berlusconi’s net worth of $13 billion dwarfed that of Bloomberg’s. A subsequent search revealed that today, eight years later, Bloomberg is worth $17 billion, and Berlusconi $9 billion. Clearly, Bloomberg grew much fatter feeding in New York waters then Silvio Berlusconi did by gulping down all the Mediterranean fish he could find. It’s hard not to notice that New York City, Bloomberg’s eight year charge, had no such astronomical rise of fortune; prosperity is now a fading shadow in the rearview mirror. In fact, downright dystopia is in the wind; as far as the dollar a year deal goes, you get what you pay for - we got screwed and he got $13 billion richer. Rather then a benevolent pater, the man who loves us is just one more sticky fingered media mogul grasping the goose laying golden eggs as tightly as he can, and will never let it go.