Tighten Your Belts, Bite the Bullet

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Focusing on the 1970s fiscal crises in New York City and in Cleveland, Ohio, TIGHTEN YOUR BELTS, BITE THE BULLET looks at the root causes of fiscal crises in American cities, and the political responses to them.

In New York, the film traces the political and economic history leading to the default threat of the 1970s, and the creation of the Emergency Financial Control Board. It looks at what the effect of these developments were - cuts in city services with a devastating impact on city workers and residents.

The film contrasts New York's political response to the crisis with that of Cleveland, where then Mayor Dennis Kucinich, and his supporters, waged 'The Battle of Cleveland' over what they viewed as nothing less than control of the city itself.

Using animation, news footage, and exclusive interviews, TIGHTEN YOUR BELTS, BITE THE BULLET is an enlightening history of a difficult period in recent urban history.

'This compelling documentary shows that, contrary to the famous dictum by Margaret Thatcher, there is always an alternative... In the times of yet another urban-cum-financial crisis, this is a very timely documentary, that can be used for classroom screenings in geography, urban studies, political science and political economy.'-Anthropology Review Database, December 2011

'TIGHTEN YOUR BELTS combines clear understanding of basic urban issues with a compelling communication of their urgency.'-Peter Marcuse, Professor of Urban Planning, Columbia University

'Purposeful coverage for public library and community group audiences and for college classes in urban planning and problems.'-Booklist

'As clear an explanation of what's happening to our cities as you are going to get.'-In These Times

MARC Record See Worldcat record

Keywords

Cleveland; New York City; fiscal crisis; Ed Koch; Felix Rohatyn; Northside; Peoples Firehouse; MUNY Light; banks; banking; City finances ; Finance; Urban Planning; Planners; redevelopment; EFCB; Dennis Kucinich; New York; Ford to City 'Drop Dead!'; 1975; 1976; documentary; film; video; DVD; "Tighten Your Belts; Bite the Bullet"; Icarus Films;

WEBVTT

00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:16.780 align:middle line:90%

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This was all residential here.

00:00:18.420 --> 00:00:21.060 align:middle line:84%
If you look around here, you
have the school here, you have

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a church here, you have a
convent over here, and you

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have a swimming pool here,
which, at one time, was a very

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popular area with people.

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Now, it\'s being burnt down and
torn down because it\'s--

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people just can\'t cope with the
conditions that the city

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is putting them through.

00:00:38.824 --> 00:00:50.140 align:middle line:90%

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When [INAUDIBLE]

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closed, all those patients
came over.

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We could feel it.

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If those other hospitals close,
we\'re not going to have

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any place to put them.

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There\'s no place to
put people now.

00:00:59.580 --> 00:01:02.150 align:middle line:84%
We turn people away as it
is because our beds

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are all filled up.

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When they close these other
hospitals, I don\'t know what

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we\'re going to do.

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We\'ll have patients
in the hallways.

00:01:06.870 --> 00:01:14.390 align:middle line:90%

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Coal miners, my heavens,
they\'re three or

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four times as much.

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The settlements for city
workers, they could be federal

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government workers, get 5 and
1/2% They\'re suppose to be

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making a sacrifice.

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A year.

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A year.

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And you\'re getting, for
the two years--

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5 and 1/2%.

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5 and 1/2%.

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There\'s no question that it\'s
modest in those terms.

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But we have to recognize that
these other people aren\'t

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working for agencies or units.

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They are in this
hard distress.

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While we recognize that
sacrifices have to be made,

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it\'s cruel that it has to come
out of the hides of the

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workers, but that\'s
the way it is.

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It\'s cruel that it has to come
out of the hides of the

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workers, but that\'s
the way it.

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[MUSIC PLAYING]

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Every year, $26 billion to
Washington, and we get back in

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return less than $3 billion.

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They don\'t know that we\'re
paying interest to the banks

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of some $2 billion a year, the
very fact that [INAUDIBLE] can

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go down and say, we need loan
guarantees for the next 20

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years, means that there\'s not
going to be anything but

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working people, our people, in
the communities for the next

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20 years unless we fight back.

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Crime, poverty, traffic
jams, corruption.

00:02:42.790 --> 00:02:45.860 align:middle line:84%
These are problems of city life,
which most Americans are

00:02:45.860 --> 00:02:47.110 align:middle line:90%
used to hearing about.

00:02:47.110 --> 00:02:50.320 align:middle line:90%

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In 1975, for the first time in
recent memory, Americans heard

00:02:54.430 --> 00:02:59.500 align:middle line:84%
about a new problem with a
new name, fiscal crisis.

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From Saco, Maine to Saint
Louis, Missouri, local

00:03:02.500 --> 00:03:05.480 align:middle line:84%
governments began to
run short of cash.

00:03:05.480 --> 00:03:08.760 align:middle line:84%
They found themselves unable to
meet payrolls, pay bills,

00:03:08.760 --> 00:03:10.610 align:middle line:90%
or borrow money.

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To understand what has been
happening to these communities

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and to their residents way of
life, we decided to examine

00:03:16.260 --> 00:03:19.390 align:middle line:84%
New York City and Cleveland,
Ohio, two cities which have

00:03:19.390 --> 00:03:20.950 align:middle line:84%
been to the edge
of bankruptcy.

00:03:20.950 --> 00:03:24.390 align:middle line:90%

00:03:24.390 --> 00:03:26.700 align:middle line:84%
Across the country when
different cities have

00:03:26.700 --> 00:03:29.880 align:middle line:84%
confronted their own fiscal
crisis for the first time, the

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reaction of many leaders has
been to point at New York, and

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say, they did it.

00:03:34.160 --> 00:03:36.310 align:middle line:90%
They turned things around.

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Bankers and brokers on Wall
Street seem to agree.

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In March, 1979, they held a
celebration, a testimonial for

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Felix Rohatyn, the investment
banker who fashion the

00:03:46.690 --> 00:03:49.170 align:middle line:84%
controls they credit with
saving New York.

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Would you like to give us a few
words about Mr. Rohatyn,

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and what you feel his role here
in helping [INAUDIBLE]

00:03:54.434 --> 00:03:55.650 align:middle line:90%
the city?

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I think Mr. Rohatyn was a very
fortunate thing for the city.

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He seemed to be the fellow that
had the chemistry and the

00:04:03.460 --> 00:04:07.860 align:middle line:84%
ideas and the sticktoitiveness
to get a job done.

00:04:07.860 --> 00:04:10.370 align:middle line:84%
Edward Palmer, chairman of the
executive committee of

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Citibank, the nation\'s
second largest bank.

00:04:12.480 --> 00:04:13.530 align:middle line:90%
I\'m with Citibank.

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What do you think for the
future here in New York?

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I think it\'s all upward
from here on.

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Not going to be easy, but I
think we\'re around the corner

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and on the way up.

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OK, thank you very much.

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Could I ask what your name is?

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I\'m Edward Palmer.

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Many disagree with Mr. Palmer.

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In 1800, New York was a port
of less than 80,000 people,

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but the Industrial Revolution
met the need for a large, low

00:04:38.100 --> 00:04:39.430 align:middle line:90%
wage industrial workforce.

00:04:39.430 --> 00:04:42.850 align:middle line:90%

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And during the second half
of the 1800s, millions of

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immigrants from Ireland, Italy,
and Eastern Europe

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poured into New York.

00:04:50.290 --> 00:04:54.290 align:middle line:90%

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By 1900, nearly 80% of the 3
million people then living in

00:04:58.490 --> 00:05:02.880 align:middle line:84%
the growing city were immigrants
or the sons and

00:05:02.880 --> 00:05:04.130 align:middle line:90%
daughters of immigrants.

00:05:04.130 --> 00:05:11.700 align:middle line:90%

00:05:11.700 --> 00:05:14.460 align:middle line:84%
In time, the new residents
organized for increased

00:05:14.460 --> 00:05:18.060 align:middle line:84%
industrial and political rights,
and through mass

00:05:18.060 --> 00:05:21.200 align:middle line:84%
demonstrations, strikes, and
increasing involvement in city

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politics, demanded and won
free public schooling for

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their children, better housing,
and decent public

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health care.

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The political system found it
possible to meet the minimum

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demands made upon it as long as
the industrial economy of

00:05:37.760 --> 00:05:39.010 align:middle line:90%
the region was growing.

00:05:39.010 --> 00:05:43.360 align:middle line:90%

00:05:43.360 --> 00:05:46.260 align:middle line:84%
But across the 14 states,
which form America\'s

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industrial belt, factories have
been shutting down and

00:05:49.560 --> 00:05:52.110 align:middle line:84%
jobs have been leaving
for many years.

00:05:52.110 --> 00:05:55.040 align:middle line:84%
Some states impose lower
business taxes than do many in

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the Northeast, others use
taxpayers\' dollars to pay

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business relocation costs or
pass laws to weaken unions and

00:06:02.120 --> 00:06:04.950 align:middle line:90%
help keep wages down.

00:06:04.950 --> 00:06:07.320 align:middle line:84%
So when the owners of a company
think that they can

00:06:07.320 --> 00:06:10.210 align:middle line:84%
make more money in South
Carolina because of lower land

00:06:10.210 --> 00:06:13.470 align:middle line:84%
costs, or in Texas because many
workers there are not

00:06:13.470 --> 00:06:17.020 align:middle line:84%
unionized, or in Taiwan because
workers there are paid

00:06:17.020 --> 00:06:21.680 align:middle line:84%
an average of $0.14 an hour,
they will move leaving former

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workers jobless, communities
without stability, and the

00:06:27.390 --> 00:06:30.290 align:middle line:90%
cities holding the bag.

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New York City lost 500,000
jobs in only five years.

00:06:34.300 --> 00:06:37.130 align:middle line:84%
This created the twin problems
of providing for the

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unemployed, and at the same
time, of courting the return

00:06:40.640 --> 00:06:41.890 align:middle line:90%
of business.

00:06:41.890 --> 00:06:46.260 align:middle line:90%

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New investment in a town like
Cleveland is the only source

00:06:50.380 --> 00:06:52.610 align:middle line:90%
for getting renewed tax base.

00:06:52.610 --> 00:06:56.490 align:middle line:84%
Unless we can tax the new plants
and buildings that are

00:06:56.490 --> 00:06:59.530 align:middle line:84%
going up in our town, then
our fiscal crisis

00:06:59.530 --> 00:07:00.700 align:middle line:90%
is made even worse.

00:07:00.700 --> 00:07:01.480 align:middle line:90%
So--

00:07:01.480 --> 00:07:04.600 align:middle line:84%
Jack Nichol, the commissioner of
economic development, city

00:07:04.600 --> 00:07:06.070 align:middle line:90%
of Cleveland.

00:07:06.070 --> 00:07:07.800 align:middle line:90%
What is a tax abatement?

00:07:07.800 --> 00:07:12.990 align:middle line:84%
A tax abatement is a deferral
of tax liabilities.

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If a firm decides to put up a
new plant or a building, then

00:07:16.830 --> 00:07:21.730 align:middle line:84%
a tax abatement allows them to
not pay new property taxes on

00:07:21.730 --> 00:07:25.240 align:middle line:84%
that building or that plan for
a period up to 20 years.

00:07:25.240 --> 00:07:29.130 align:middle line:84%
In 1975, while New York was
falling towards bankruptcy,

00:07:29.130 --> 00:07:32.450 align:middle line:84%
the city tax commission gave
Morgan Guaranty Trust, the

00:07:32.450 --> 00:07:36.690 align:middle line:84%
nation\'s fifth largest bank,
a tax abatement of 1/4 of a

00:07:36.690 --> 00:07:38.290 align:middle line:90%
million dollars.

00:07:38.290 --> 00:07:42.960 align:middle line:84%
Con Edison, Chase Manhattan,
Bankers Trust, all got huge

00:07:42.960 --> 00:07:44.360 align:middle line:90%
reductions.

00:07:44.360 --> 00:07:46.620 align:middle line:90%
There were many more.

00:07:46.620 --> 00:07:50.150 align:middle line:84%
Throughout the late \'60s and
early \'70s, the city\'s

00:07:50.150 --> 00:07:53.970 align:middle line:84%
spending increased at an average
rate of 15% a year,

00:07:53.970 --> 00:07:58.030 align:middle line:84%
while city revenues increased
by only 5% a year.

00:07:58.030 --> 00:08:01.560 align:middle line:84%
The following tax base and
increased spending we\'re

00:08:01.560 --> 00:08:04.650 align:middle line:84%
creating a huge gap in
the city\'s budget.

00:08:04.650 --> 00:08:07.630 align:middle line:84%
The city tried to fill this
gap by borrowing.

00:08:07.630 --> 00:08:12.170 align:middle line:84%
The city sold its own bonds to
rich people and to banks, and

00:08:12.170 --> 00:08:15.390 align:middle line:84%
that was just a piece of paper
that the city printed.

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The agreement was that the
city would pay back money

00:08:17.880 --> 00:08:20.180 align:middle line:84%
three years from now and
would pay interest on

00:08:20.180 --> 00:08:21.820 align:middle line:90%
the bonds in between.

00:08:21.820 --> 00:08:23.830 align:middle line:90%
David Gordon, economist.

00:08:23.830 --> 00:08:25.700 align:middle line:84%
New York City says, I\'m going
to give you this piece of

00:08:25.700 --> 00:08:29.460 align:middle line:84%
paper, you give me money now,
and I promise, I\'ll pay it

00:08:29.460 --> 00:08:31.370 align:middle line:84%
back three years from now
with a little interest.

00:08:31.370 --> 00:08:34.280 align:middle line:84%
The bond is just the other
side of the loan.

00:08:34.280 --> 00:08:39.620 align:middle line:84%
And by 1974, when it began to
seem that the New York City

00:08:39.620 --> 00:08:43.340 align:middle line:84%
government itself, City Hall,
was getting in tough shape,

00:08:43.340 --> 00:08:46.850 align:middle line:84%
because costs were rising and
revenues weren\'t, the banks

00:08:46.850 --> 00:08:47.630 align:middle line:90%
got scared.

00:08:47.630 --> 00:08:50.350 align:middle line:84%
Banks didn\'t want to hold those
bonds anymore because

00:08:50.350 --> 00:08:53.280 align:middle line:84%
they were worried about the
future of the city.

00:08:53.280 --> 00:08:56.470 align:middle line:84%
The banks began to quietly sell
off many of their bonds

00:08:56.470 --> 00:08:59.220 align:middle line:84%
to smaller, unsuspecting
investors.

00:08:59.220 --> 00:09:03.610 align:middle line:84%
Many of the New York City banks
had 15% to 20% of their

00:09:03.610 --> 00:09:06.710 align:middle line:84%
total money that they had loaned
out through bonds and

00:09:06.710 --> 00:09:09.270 align:middle line:90%
debt in New York City bonds.

00:09:09.270 --> 00:09:12.760 align:middle line:84%
So that if New York City did
default on its bonds, that

00:09:12.760 --> 00:09:15.190 align:middle line:84%
would mean that the banks all
of a sudden would be finding

00:09:15.190 --> 00:09:19.280 align:middle line:84%
that they had 15% of their loans
outstanding, cut off,

00:09:19.280 --> 00:09:20.800 align:middle line:84%
and that they would be
in serious shape.

00:09:20.800 --> 00:09:23.790 align:middle line:84%
In an investigation of the large
banks prepared for the

00:09:23.790 --> 00:09:26.630 align:middle line:84%
New York State Assembly Banking
Committee, the banks

00:09:26.630 --> 00:09:29.570 align:middle line:84%
were found to have dumped
their city bonds.

00:09:29.570 --> 00:09:33.100 align:middle line:84%
In the words of the report, the
banks began to rapidly and

00:09:33.100 --> 00:09:37.540 align:middle line:84%
quietly, and perhaps improperly
and illegally,

00:09:37.540 --> 00:09:39.325 align:middle line:84%
unload their New York
City bonds.

00:09:39.325 --> 00:09:42.270 align:middle line:90%

00:09:42.270 --> 00:09:45.510 align:middle line:84%
They created the panic
by their heavy sales.

00:09:45.510 --> 00:09:52.670 align:middle line:84%
They not only created the panic,
but profited from it.

00:09:52.670 --> 00:09:57.190 align:middle line:84%
In the beginning of June, 1975,
New York was days away

00:09:57.190 --> 00:09:59.740 align:middle line:84%
from becoming the first American
city, since the

00:09:59.740 --> 00:10:03.450 align:middle line:84%
Depression, to find itself
unable to pay its workers or

00:10:03.450 --> 00:10:05.080 align:middle line:90%
its creditors.

00:10:05.080 --> 00:10:06.995 align:middle line:84%
But the bankers thought
they had a solution.

00:10:06.995 --> 00:10:09.510 align:middle line:90%

00:10:09.510 --> 00:10:12.790 align:middle line:84%
First proposed by Felix Rohatyn,
a senior partner in

00:10:12.790 --> 00:10:16.080 align:middle line:84%
the investment bank of Lazard
Freres, this was to be the

00:10:16.080 --> 00:10:19.620 align:middle line:84%
Municipal Assistance
Corporation, or Big MAC, which

00:10:19.620 --> 00:10:22.090 align:middle line:84%
would put control of city
borrowing in the hands of a

00:10:22.090 --> 00:10:24.760 align:middle line:84%
board dominated by the
city\'s creditors.

00:10:24.760 --> 00:10:29.580 align:middle line:84%
The legislation creating Big MAC
said, before city monies

00:10:29.580 --> 00:10:33.430 align:middle line:84%
goes to anything else, like
schools and hospitals, it has

00:10:33.430 --> 00:10:37.350 align:middle line:84%
to go directly to pay the
interest and to guarantee the

00:10:37.350 --> 00:10:39.760 align:middle line:84%
refloating of the bonds
themselves.

00:10:39.760 --> 00:10:43.270 align:middle line:84%
On June 5, Rohatyn met with New
York Mayor, Abraham Beame,

00:10:43.270 --> 00:10:47.220 align:middle line:84%
and told him either formation
of MAC by June 9 or

00:10:47.220 --> 00:10:50.540 align:middle line:90%
default on June 11.

00:10:50.540 --> 00:10:53.880 align:middle line:90%
Beame gave into the banks.

00:10:53.880 --> 00:10:57.300 align:middle line:84%
But MAC, with only a limited
legal mandate to restructure

00:10:57.300 --> 00:11:00.400 align:middle line:84%
and control the city\'s debt,
proved not to have enough

00:11:00.400 --> 00:11:04.810 align:middle line:84%
power to carry out the job
the bankers wanted done.

00:11:04.810 --> 00:11:09.380 align:middle line:84%
On September 10, 1975, the
Emergency Financial Control

00:11:09.380 --> 00:11:12.420 align:middle line:84%
Board, the EFCB, was
created along with

00:11:12.420 --> 00:11:14.710 align:middle line:90%
two advisory boards.

00:11:14.710 --> 00:11:17.990 align:middle line:84%
They decided essentially, that
they had to take power away

00:11:17.990 --> 00:11:21.020 align:middle line:84%
from the mayor and the city
government so that they could

00:11:21.020 --> 00:11:23.530 align:middle line:84%
make the kinds of tough
decisions that they thought

00:11:23.530 --> 00:11:24.630 align:middle line:90%
had to be made.

00:11:24.630 --> 00:11:27.270 align:middle line:84%
So that they can tell the
workers of the city, we\'re

00:11:27.270 --> 00:11:31.500 align:middle line:84%
sorry about your jobs, but, in
effect, our bonds come first.

00:11:31.500 --> 00:11:34.300 align:middle line:84%
They created what\'s now called
the Emergency Financial

00:11:34.300 --> 00:11:38.950 align:middle line:84%
Control Board, which has pretty
much taken all major

00:11:38.950 --> 00:11:42.160 align:middle line:84%
decision making powers away, not
just from city hall, but

00:11:42.160 --> 00:11:43.840 align:middle line:90%
the unions in the city.

00:11:43.840 --> 00:11:46.860 align:middle line:84%
There\'s one representative of
blacks and Puerto Ricans,

00:11:46.860 --> 00:11:50.220 align:middle line:84%
who\'s not even really on the
board so much as allowed to

00:11:50.220 --> 00:11:52.680 align:middle line:84%
come and sit in the meeting
every once in a while.

00:11:52.680 --> 00:11:55.880 align:middle line:84%
And there\'s one person who
partly represents the interest

00:11:55.880 --> 00:11:58.720 align:middle line:84%
of [INAUDIBLE], but it\'s a bank
board, and they\'re now

00:11:58.720 --> 00:12:01.840 align:middle line:90%
making the decisions.

00:12:01.840 --> 00:12:05.610 align:middle line:84%
The EFCB can veto any budget
item or program approved by

00:12:05.610 --> 00:12:07.440 align:middle line:84%
the mayor and the
city council.

00:12:07.440 --> 00:12:10.570 align:middle line:84%
It can veto labor contracts
negotiated by the city with

00:12:10.570 --> 00:12:13.460 align:middle line:90%
the municipal unions.

00:12:13.460 --> 00:12:17.390 align:middle line:84%
It\'s like there was a palace
coup, and they simply said, we

00:12:17.390 --> 00:12:20.240 align:middle line:84%
won\'t loan the city anymore
money if you don\'t let us take

00:12:20.240 --> 00:12:21.980 align:middle line:84%
power away from you,
and so they did it.

00:12:21.980 --> 00:12:23.505 align:middle line:84%
Do you think organizations
like the

00:12:23.505 --> 00:12:25.224 align:middle line:90%
EFCB are really necessary?

00:12:25.224 --> 00:12:27.679 align:middle line:90%
I would say very necessary.

00:12:27.679 --> 00:12:28.661 align:middle line:90%
Very necessary?

00:12:28.661 --> 00:12:32.098 align:middle line:84%
Very necessary, and I would
hope that they have people

00:12:32.098 --> 00:12:36.530 align:middle line:84%
like Felix Rohatyn to continue
that program.

00:12:36.530 --> 00:12:38.050 align:middle line:90%
Ask me why.

00:12:38.050 --> 00:12:39.300 align:middle line:90%
[INAUDIBLE]

00:12:39.300 --> 00:12:43.330 align:middle line:90%

00:12:43.330 --> 00:12:49.250 align:middle line:84%
I think because it separates
the constituencies of the

00:12:49.250 --> 00:12:53.280 align:middle line:84%
politician, the people he
depends upon to be elected,

00:12:53.280 --> 00:12:56.520 align:middle line:84%
puts an intervening layer in
there and enables the system

00:12:56.520 --> 00:12:57.595 align:middle line:90%
to work a lot better.

00:12:57.595 --> 00:13:00.270 align:middle line:84%
By adding a note of fiscal
responsibility.

00:13:00.270 --> 00:13:03.400 align:middle line:84%
By adding a note of fiscal
responsibility.

00:13:03.400 --> 00:13:07.080 align:middle line:84%
It is not responsible directly
to the political people who

00:13:07.080 --> 00:13:09.060 align:middle line:90%
have to elect him.

00:13:09.060 --> 00:13:12.440 align:middle line:84%
Hardly an economic rescue, a
new political system was

00:13:12.440 --> 00:13:13.690 align:middle line:90%
imposed on New York.

00:13:13.690 --> 00:13:22.736 align:middle line:90%

00:13:22.736 --> 00:13:26.870 align:middle line:84%
One cornerstone of the EFCBs
solution to the fiscal crisis

00:13:26.870 --> 00:13:31.260 align:middle line:84%
was to push through a series of
cutbacks in city services.

00:13:31.260 --> 00:13:35.880 align:middle line:84%
Subway fares were raised 40%,
and the 100-year-old tradition

00:13:35.880 --> 00:13:38.590 align:middle line:84%
of free higher education
was ended.

00:13:38.590 --> 00:13:42.130 align:middle line:84%
Garbage pickups in some areas
were cut in half.

00:13:42.130 --> 00:13:46.200 align:middle line:84%
Libraries, schools, dental
clinics have been closed.

00:13:46.200 --> 00:13:48.150 align:middle line:84%
One of the hardest hit
services has been the

00:13:48.150 --> 00:13:49.633 align:middle line:90%
municipal hospital system.

00:13:49.633 --> 00:13:53.450 align:middle line:90%

00:13:53.450 --> 00:13:57.440 align:middle line:84%
In 1976, at the beginning of
the crisis, we visited

00:13:57.440 --> 00:14:00.260 align:middle line:84%
Gouverneur, then a new hospital
on Manhattan\'s lower

00:14:00.260 --> 00:14:02.660 align:middle line:84%
East side, which had been
built after years

00:14:02.660 --> 00:14:04.030 align:middle line:90%
of community pressure.

00:14:04.030 --> 00:14:08.400 align:middle line:84%
Designed to handle 125,000
patient visits a year, in

00:14:08.400 --> 00:14:12.720 align:middle line:84%
1975, it had treated
380,000 people.

00:14:12.720 --> 00:14:15.370 align:middle line:90%
In 1976, it was a shell.

00:14:15.370 --> 00:14:18.140 align:middle line:84%
Emergency room empty,
the intensive care

00:14:18.140 --> 00:14:21.600 align:middle line:90%
unit a storage area.

00:14:21.600 --> 00:14:25.790 align:middle line:84%
This is a community that has
over 200,000 persons in it,

00:14:25.790 --> 00:14:27.790 align:middle line:90%
and it is a very, varied ethnic

00:14:27.790 --> 00:14:29.050 align:middle line:90%
break down in the community.

00:14:29.050 --> 00:14:33.600 align:middle line:84%
There are 25% of Chinese
speaking people, 45% of Puerto

00:14:33.600 --> 00:14:36.530 align:middle line:84%
Rican, there are whites, that
is Jews, Italians, and

00:14:36.530 --> 00:14:37.700 align:middle line:90%
Albanians, and blacks.

00:14:37.700 --> 00:14:40.140 align:middle line:84%
And this is a quite busy
community and there is

00:14:40.140 --> 00:14:43.480 align:middle line:84%
obviously a need for the
services, but the inpatient

00:14:43.480 --> 00:14:46.340 align:middle line:84%
services at the Gouverneur
Hospital has been closed.

00:14:46.340 --> 00:14:47.650 align:middle line:90%
We stand to lose more.

00:14:47.650 --> 00:14:50.310 align:middle line:84%
If the patient load is not
increased in the outpatient

00:14:50.310 --> 00:14:53.630 align:middle line:84%
services, they\'re going to
close the ambulatory care

00:14:53.630 --> 00:14:56.550 align:middle line:84%
program as well because it\'s
not making any money.

00:14:56.550 --> 00:14:58.960 align:middle line:90%
Paul Ramos, director of patient

00:14:58.960 --> 00:15:00.830 align:middle line:90%
relations, Gouverneur Hospital.

00:15:00.830 --> 00:15:03.660 align:middle line:84%
Actually, what has happened is
they have cut, rather than

00:15:03.660 --> 00:15:06.790 align:middle line:84%
1/3, they have cut more
like 80% of the

00:15:06.790 --> 00:15:08.440 align:middle line:90%
services of this hospital.

00:15:08.440 --> 00:15:12.330 align:middle line:84%
In 1980, after four years of
cutbacks and layoffs, we

00:15:12.330 --> 00:15:15.640 align:middle line:84%
visited several municipal
hospitals in Harlem.

00:15:15.640 --> 00:15:19.250 align:middle line:84%
Sydeham and Metropolitan, two
of only three city hospitals

00:15:19.250 --> 00:15:22.260 align:middle line:84%
in Harlem, were threatened
with closing.

00:15:22.260 --> 00:15:26.010 align:middle line:84%
If we had more patients coming
here because Sydeham and

00:15:26.010 --> 00:15:29.030 align:middle line:84%
Metropolitan closed, we still
would find it very difficult

00:15:29.030 --> 00:15:30.340 align:middle line:90%
to take care of the patients.

00:15:30.340 --> 00:15:32.980 align:middle line:84%
Dr. Sixsmith, chief
of the emergency

00:15:32.980 --> 00:15:34.570 align:middle line:90%
room, Harlem Hospital.

00:15:34.570 --> 00:15:37.580 align:middle line:84%
We get to a certain critical
mass of patients, especially

00:15:37.580 --> 00:15:40.770 align:middle line:84%
in this emergency room, for
example, where you can very

00:15:40.770 --> 00:15:43.940 align:middle line:84%
comfortably take care of 20
patients, but you add one

00:15:43.940 --> 00:15:46.750 align:middle line:84%
extra patient and somehow,
everything just falls apart.

00:15:46.750 --> 00:15:50.000 align:middle line:84%
That one little extra burden is
the straw that breaks the

00:15:50.000 --> 00:15:51.380 align:middle line:90%
camel\'s back.

00:15:51.380 --> 00:15:53.690 align:middle line:84%
We have 100,000 patient
visits a year.

00:15:53.690 --> 00:15:55.480 align:middle line:84%
One patient every
eight minutes.

00:15:55.480 --> 00:15:58.500 align:middle line:84%
The fact of the matter is, that
we give care that is not

00:15:58.500 --> 00:16:01.510 align:middle line:84%
the greatest to the patients
we have, so even one extra

00:16:01.510 --> 00:16:03.950 align:middle line:84%
patient that we\'re going to
have to take if these

00:16:03.950 --> 00:16:06.520 align:middle line:84%
institutions close, would
be a hardship,

00:16:06.520 --> 00:16:07.650 align:middle line:90%
not only that patient--

00:16:07.650 --> 00:16:09.230 align:middle line:84%
I wish everybody could
appreciate--

00:16:09.230 --> 00:16:11.640 align:middle line:84%
but would threaten
the whole system.

00:16:11.640 --> 00:16:14.890 align:middle line:84%
When you\'re full and have more
patients to take care, or even

00:16:14.890 --> 00:16:18.540 align:middle line:84%
running at 100% capacity,
usually means that the doctors

00:16:18.540 --> 00:16:22.230 align:middle line:84%
and nurses and the rest of the
staff are running over 100%.

00:16:22.230 --> 00:16:24.680 align:middle line:84%
What you\'re really asking is
that everyone rise to the

00:16:24.680 --> 00:16:28.470 align:middle line:84%
level of the crisis
all year long.

00:16:28.470 --> 00:16:32.070 align:middle line:84%
In January, the situation was so
tight throughout the city,

00:16:32.070 --> 00:16:35.678 align:middle line:84%
both in the public and the
private sector, that what

00:16:35.678 --> 00:16:36.940 align:middle line:90%
happened was--

00:16:36.940 --> 00:16:40.110 align:middle line:84%
Dr. Jonathan House, president,
committee

00:16:40.110 --> 00:16:41.410 align:middle line:90%
of interns and residents.

00:16:41.410 --> 00:16:43.720 align:middle line:84%
19 patients had to
be transferred

00:16:43.720 --> 00:16:45.390 align:middle line:90%
entirely out of the Bronx.

00:16:45.390 --> 00:16:48.040 align:middle line:84%
A lot of the people around here
are sicker then you see

00:16:48.040 --> 00:16:50.120 align:middle line:84%
in any other part of
the city, too.

00:16:50.120 --> 00:16:53.075 align:middle line:84%
Poor people, they just stay
out of the hospital for a

00:16:53.075 --> 00:16:54.600 align:middle line:90%
long, long time.

00:16:54.600 --> 00:16:56.470 align:middle line:84%
A lot of times, they\'re
practically on death\'s door

00:16:56.470 --> 00:16:57.710 align:middle line:90%
before they come here.

00:16:57.710 --> 00:16:59.050 align:middle line:90%
Very, very sick.

00:16:59.050 --> 00:17:00.860 align:middle line:84%
In terms of getting their
medications, getting their

00:17:00.860 --> 00:17:03.220 align:middle line:84%
meals, even getting to the
bathrooms and things like

00:17:03.220 --> 00:17:04.990 align:middle line:90%
that, it\'s very difficult.

00:17:04.990 --> 00:17:06.290 align:middle line:90%
It\'s maybe impossible.

00:17:06.290 --> 00:17:11.530 align:middle line:84%
There was another man, he was a
Russian immigrant, a Russian

00:17:11.530 --> 00:17:14.329 align:middle line:84%
Jewish immigrant, spoke only
Russian, who had to be

00:17:14.329 --> 00:17:16.780 align:middle line:84%
immediately admitted
for a heart attack.

00:17:16.780 --> 00:17:18.280 align:middle line:84%
And there was no bed
in the intensive

00:17:18.280 --> 00:17:20.140 align:middle line:90%
care unit for 12 hours.

00:17:20.140 --> 00:17:24.390 align:middle line:84%
He was kept in the emergency
room those 12 hours.

00:17:24.390 --> 00:17:27.690 align:middle line:84%
We later found out through a
translator, that he thought we

00:17:27.690 --> 00:17:30.290 align:middle line:84%
were keeping him in the
emergency room to punish him

00:17:30.290 --> 00:17:33.620 align:middle line:84%
because of the Soviet invasion
of Afghanistan.

00:17:33.620 --> 00:17:35.710 align:middle line:84%
Because he couldn\'t imagine
that, in the United States,

00:17:35.710 --> 00:17:37.630 align:middle line:84%
that we would treat
anyone so badly.

00:17:37.630 --> 00:17:40.910 align:middle line:84%
It\'s a funny story, but it shows
you exactly what the

00:17:40.910 --> 00:17:42.480 align:middle line:90%
situation is.

00:17:42.480 --> 00:17:46.560 align:middle line:84%
Eight years or so ago, Sydenham
used to be the kind

00:17:46.560 --> 00:17:49.150 align:middle line:84%
of hospital that really
inspired people.

00:17:49.150 --> 00:17:52.230 align:middle line:84%
I used to work there as a nurse
in their family care

00:17:52.230 --> 00:17:53.880 align:middle line:90%
center, and--

00:17:53.880 --> 00:17:57.790 align:middle line:84%
Dr. Brenda Bennett, resident
physician, Harlem Hospital.

00:17:57.790 --> 00:17:58.930 align:middle line:90%
--we just find--

00:17:58.930 --> 00:18:00.650 align:middle line:90%
encouraged each other.

00:18:00.650 --> 00:18:03.700 align:middle line:84%
So I, for one, went on to
medical school and since they

00:18:03.700 --> 00:18:06.630 align:middle line:84%
didn\'t have a residency program,
I had to come to

00:18:06.630 --> 00:18:09.780 align:middle line:84%
Harlem first to do my residency,
but I planned to go

00:18:09.780 --> 00:18:12.300 align:middle line:90%
back to Sydenham.

00:18:12.300 --> 00:18:15.840 align:middle line:84%
But now, I\'m just like
a lot of other people

00:18:15.840 --> 00:18:17.900 align:middle line:90%
who had their training.

00:18:17.900 --> 00:18:21.270 align:middle line:84%
I\'m looking at maybe Saint
Luke\'s or somewhere else now,

00:18:21.270 --> 00:18:24.390 align:middle line:84%
because it\'s just so difficult
to work in a city hospital.

00:18:24.390 --> 00:18:29.360 align:middle line:84%
And Sydenham just might not be
there when I finish now.

00:18:29.360 --> 00:18:31.570 align:middle line:90%
It\'s a dismal kind of picture.

00:18:31.570 --> 00:18:34.070 align:middle line:90%

00:18:34.070 --> 00:18:39.630 align:middle line:84%
There were 49 group and infant
daycare centers defunded.

00:18:39.630 --> 00:18:42.800 align:middle line:84%
15 family daycare centers
and seven mini

00:18:42.800 --> 00:18:45.090 align:middle line:90%
family daycare centers.

00:18:45.090 --> 00:18:46.880 align:middle line:84%
Affected by those
defundings were

00:18:46.880 --> 00:18:48.970 align:middle line:90%
approximately 3,500 children.

00:18:48.970 --> 00:18:50.810 align:middle line:90%
They just took away from them?

00:18:50.810 --> 00:18:52.160 align:middle line:90%
Every single thing here.

00:18:52.160 --> 00:18:55.835 align:middle line:84%
We have no supplies, no
furniture, personal clothing

00:18:55.835 --> 00:18:56.410 align:middle line:90%
of the children--

00:18:56.410 --> 00:18:57.930 align:middle line:90%
Sit down, [INAUDIBLE].

00:18:57.930 --> 00:18:58.830 align:middle line:90%
Millie [? Magriff, ?]

00:18:58.830 --> 00:19:01.670 align:middle line:84%
board member, Riverside
Infant Daycare Center.

00:19:01.670 --> 00:19:03.500 align:middle line:90%
Nothing was left whatsoever.

00:19:03.500 --> 00:19:04.932 align:middle line:90%
Not one stick of furniture.

00:19:04.932 --> 00:19:06.900 align:middle line:90%
Nothing.

00:19:06.900 --> 00:19:12.470 align:middle line:84%
Right now, parents are
contributing minimum fees, the

00:19:12.470 --> 00:19:17.870 align:middle line:84%
maximum being $40 a week and the
minimum being $25, which

00:19:17.870 --> 00:19:20.000 align:middle line:90%
does nothing for our budget.

00:19:20.000 --> 00:19:23.260 align:middle line:84%
It just allows us to go from
hand to mouth day to day.

00:19:23.260 --> 00:19:26.890 align:middle line:90%

00:19:26.890 --> 00:19:31.160 align:middle line:84%
That\'s the major problem, is
that we have a struggle every

00:19:31.160 --> 00:19:32.410 align:middle line:90%
week trying to meet bills.

00:19:32.410 --> 00:19:35.070 align:middle line:90%

00:19:35.070 --> 00:19:37.100 align:middle line:84%
You\'ve got to feel our
[? communityness. ?]

00:19:37.100 --> 00:19:41.610 align:middle line:84%
You\'ve got these idiots, the
bankers and all these big

00:19:41.610 --> 00:19:43.570 align:middle line:84%
shots, when you talk to them
about a community like this,

00:19:43.570 --> 00:19:45.420 align:middle line:84%
they don\'t even know what a
community like this is.

00:19:45.420 --> 00:19:48.280 align:middle line:84%
They think only out on the
Island or upstate or

00:19:48.280 --> 00:19:49.950 align:middle line:90%
something, that\'s a community.

00:19:49.950 --> 00:19:51.490 align:middle line:84%
This community has been
here for years.

00:19:51.490 --> 00:19:55.170 align:middle line:84%
It\'s one community that\'s been
taking too much of a cut.

00:19:55.170 --> 00:19:58.490 align:middle line:84%
Why, [INAUDIBLE] alone is the
sixth company that we\'ve lost

00:19:58.490 --> 00:20:01.480 align:middle line:84%
in the immediate area, Northside
and Greenpoint.

00:20:01.480 --> 00:20:04.120 align:middle line:84%
A couple of doors up there
was the well baby clinic,

00:20:04.120 --> 00:20:06.250 align:middle line:90%
which is cut now.

00:20:06.250 --> 00:20:08.530 align:middle line:84%
Another service in the
community cut.

00:20:08.530 --> 00:20:10.820 align:middle line:84%
The police station was closed
because we don\'t have that

00:20:10.820 --> 00:20:12.160 align:middle line:90%
much crime.

00:20:12.160 --> 00:20:15.300 align:middle line:90%
That\'s what we were told.

00:20:15.300 --> 00:20:17.180 align:middle line:84%
The same thing with the
fire department.

00:20:17.180 --> 00:20:17.710 align:middle line:90%
[? O\'Hagen ?]

00:20:17.710 --> 00:20:19.400 align:middle line:84%
says we don\'t have
that many fires.

00:20:19.400 --> 00:20:21.640 align:middle line:84%
So he could predict when
we were going to

00:20:21.640 --> 00:20:22.620 align:middle line:90%
have our next fire.

00:20:22.620 --> 00:20:24.840 align:middle line:84%
Due to the cutbacks they\'re
always crying, there\'s no

00:20:24.840 --> 00:20:28.360 align:middle line:84%
money and like all the other
buildings in this area,

00:20:28.360 --> 00:20:31.470 align:middle line:84%
they\'re just fire traps
ready to be set.

00:20:31.470 --> 00:20:33.600 align:middle line:84%
They\'re matchboxes,
is what they are.

00:20:33.600 --> 00:20:36.100 align:middle line:84%
Adam Veneski and Frank
[? Kowchenuski, ?]

00:20:36.100 --> 00:20:37.070 align:middle line:90%
residents of Northside.

00:20:37.070 --> 00:20:40.620 align:middle line:84%
Two weeks ago, we lost another
person not only a block from

00:20:40.620 --> 00:20:42.540 align:middle line:90%
here that died in a fire.

00:20:42.540 --> 00:20:44.200 align:middle line:84%
32-years-old man and
his 17-year-old

00:20:44.200 --> 00:20:46.000 align:middle line:90%
kid was burnt, too.

00:20:46.000 --> 00:20:47.220 align:middle line:90%
Now, we have an empty lot.

00:20:47.220 --> 00:20:50.945 align:middle line:84%
These two buildings over here
were burnt about four times.

00:20:50.945 --> 00:20:54.010 align:middle line:84%
Due to the cut backs, they don\'t
do anything about it.

00:20:54.010 --> 00:20:55.560 align:middle line:90%
Everything is lost.

00:20:55.560 --> 00:20:56.855 align:middle line:90%
Your life savings, everything.

00:20:56.855 --> 00:20:59.920 align:middle line:84%
And the city is just driving
the people out of this and

00:20:59.920 --> 00:21:03.460 align:middle line:84%
trying to make it an
industrial park.

00:21:03.460 --> 00:21:06.070 align:middle line:84%
Industrial, commercial, whatever
you want to call it.

00:21:06.070 --> 00:21:09.940 align:middle line:84%
Well, the thing is plain
English, burn everybody out.

00:21:09.940 --> 00:21:11.970 align:middle line:84%
This is ideal property
over here.

00:21:11.970 --> 00:21:15.870 align:middle line:84%
Waterfront, seven minutes
from Manhattan by train.

00:21:15.870 --> 00:21:17.550 align:middle line:84%
Burn out all these
people here, you

00:21:17.550 --> 00:21:18.710 align:middle line:90%
can bring back industry.

00:21:18.710 --> 00:21:22.090 align:middle line:84%
Beautiful piece of land right
on the waterfront.

00:21:22.090 --> 00:21:25.440 align:middle line:84%
Got a good piece of real estate
if they can get it.

00:21:25.440 --> 00:21:29.190 align:middle line:84%
They\'ll try to get it
by burning us out.

00:21:29.190 --> 00:21:30.110 align:middle line:90%
I\'ve been here 69 years.

00:21:30.110 --> 00:21:35.100 align:middle line:84%
I was born here, got married
here, raised my children, they

00:21:35.100 --> 00:21:36.270 align:middle line:90%
raised their children.

00:21:36.270 --> 00:21:39.400 align:middle line:84%
Now, the great grandchildren
are here.

00:21:39.400 --> 00:21:41.640 align:middle line:90%
So I\'ve been here a long time.

00:21:41.640 --> 00:21:43.750 align:middle line:84%
I\'ve seen a whole lot
of ruckus going on.

00:21:43.750 --> 00:21:46.490 align:middle line:84%
In all the years that I\'ve been
here, we never had one

00:21:46.490 --> 00:21:48.850 align:middle line:84%
big major fire with
this company here.

00:21:48.850 --> 00:21:52.800 align:middle line:84%
But now, we have 16
major fires since

00:21:52.800 --> 00:21:54.468 align:middle line:90%
this company has closed.

00:21:54.468 --> 00:22:18.390 align:middle line:90%

00:22:18.390 --> 00:22:21.230 align:middle line:84%
New York used the fiscal
crisis as an excuse for

00:22:21.230 --> 00:22:24.930 align:middle line:84%
closing 24 unneeded
fire stations.

00:22:24.930 --> 00:22:28.370 align:middle line:84%
16 of them in high arson
areas of the city.

00:22:28.370 --> 00:22:31.790 align:middle line:84%
The Firefighters Association
calculates that 500 people

00:22:31.790 --> 00:22:35.900 align:middle line:84%
have died in New York because
of firehouse closings.

00:22:35.900 --> 00:22:40.080 align:middle line:84%
By July, 1976, the city\'s agency
for child development

00:22:40.080 --> 00:22:44.030 align:middle line:84%
had closed 78 daycare centers,
while reducing services at

00:22:44.030 --> 00:22:47.110 align:middle line:84%
other centers to starvation
levels and laying off over

00:22:47.110 --> 00:22:49.360 align:middle line:90%
1,500 employees.

00:22:49.360 --> 00:22:52.090 align:middle line:84%
Most daycare centers are in
poor or working class

00:22:52.090 --> 00:22:53.920 align:middle line:84%
neighborhoods, where
the parents could

00:22:53.920 --> 00:22:57.180 align:middle line:90%
least afford them.

00:22:57.180 --> 00:23:00.440 align:middle line:84%
Three city hospitals have been
closed since the fiscal crisis

00:23:00.440 --> 00:23:03.160 align:middle line:84%
began, along with pediatric,
dental, and

00:23:03.160 --> 00:23:04.900 align:middle line:90%
general care clinics.

00:23:04.900 --> 00:23:07.370 align:middle line:90%
7,000 jobs have been lost.

00:23:07.370 --> 00:23:10.450 align:middle line:84%
Almost all of the closed or
threatened institutions are in

00:23:10.450 --> 00:23:13.390 align:middle line:84%
parts of the city designated by
the federal government as

00:23:13.390 --> 00:23:16.710 align:middle line:90%
medically under served.

00:23:16.710 --> 00:23:19.310 align:middle line:84%
I don\'t know if people are
fully aware of the

00:23:19.310 --> 00:23:22.445 align:middle line:84%
implications of what tax
cuts necessarily mean.

00:23:22.445 --> 00:23:25.720 align:middle line:84%
This hospital represents 2,500
jobs to the community.

00:23:25.720 --> 00:23:27.495 align:middle line:90%
It represents health care.

00:23:27.495 --> 00:23:29.830 align:middle line:84%
If a person is stabbed or shot,
they don\'t go to Mount

00:23:29.830 --> 00:23:31.650 align:middle line:84%
Sinai Hospital, they
move people to

00:23:31.650 --> 00:23:32.940 align:middle line:90%
Metropolitan Hospital.

00:23:32.940 --> 00:23:33.585 align:middle line:90%
This would be devastating.

00:23:33.585 --> 00:23:38.200 align:middle line:84%
This area is trying to be
revitalized, and if these jobs

00:23:38.200 --> 00:23:40.260 align:middle line:84%
are lost, it\'s going to be tough
to revitalize an area

00:23:40.260 --> 00:23:41.790 align:middle line:90%
with 15%, 20% unemployment.

00:23:41.790 --> 00:23:45.595 align:middle line:84%
If we could, we would,
but we can\'t.

00:23:45.595 --> 00:23:48.550 align:middle line:84%
And I pledge to you today, that
the city will continue to

00:23:48.550 --> 00:23:52.480 align:middle line:84%
do everything within
its power to do.

00:23:52.480 --> 00:23:56.460 align:middle line:84%
And I\'m telling you now, what we
are doing, and what is part

00:23:56.460 --> 00:23:58.760 align:middle line:90%
of our four year plan.

00:23:58.760 --> 00:24:02.450 align:middle line:84%
There will be a further
reduction through attrition of

00:24:02.450 --> 00:24:06.200 align:middle line:84%
20,000 employees in the
workforce over the next four

00:24:06.200 --> 00:24:10.080 align:middle line:84%
years, and as those who
testified a moment ago--

00:24:10.080 --> 00:24:12.780 align:middle line:84%
Edward Koch, mayor,
New York City.

00:24:12.780 --> 00:24:16.250 align:middle line:84%
We have already, prior
to my getting there.

00:24:16.250 --> 00:24:19.350 align:middle line:84%
Take it, prior to my taking
office, there was a reduction

00:24:19.350 --> 00:24:21.710 align:middle line:90%
of 61,000 city jobs.

00:24:21.710 --> 00:24:25.610 align:middle line:84%
There will be 20,000 fewer jobs
at the end of the four

00:24:25.610 --> 00:24:28.360 align:middle line:90%
years of my term.

00:24:28.360 --> 00:24:30.855 align:middle line:84%
There will be at 12%
reduction in--

00:24:30.855 --> 00:24:35.500 align:middle line:84%
On November 22, 1975, after the
city closed down Engine

00:24:35.500 --> 00:24:39.250 align:middle line:84%
Company 212, the people of
Northside occupied their

00:24:39.250 --> 00:24:41.860 align:middle line:84%
firehouse to demand
its reopening.

00:24:41.860 --> 00:24:45.110 align:middle line:84%
They slept, ate their meals, and
held regular meetings in

00:24:45.110 --> 00:24:46.410 align:middle line:90%
the firehouse.

00:24:46.410 --> 00:24:47.990 align:middle line:84%
They organized their
neighbors.

00:24:47.990 --> 00:24:49.650 align:middle line:84%
Boy Scouts handed
out leaflets.

00:24:49.650 --> 00:24:52.440 align:middle line:84%
Senior citizens circulated
petitions.

00:24:52.440 --> 00:24:55.220 align:middle line:84%
Northside representatives
demanded meetings with Fire

00:24:55.220 --> 00:24:57.600 align:middle line:84%
Commissioner O\'Hagan,
Deputy Mayor

00:24:57.600 --> 00:24:59.570 align:middle line:90%
Zucotti, and Mayor Beame.

00:24:59.570 --> 00:25:02.200 align:middle line:84%
When this failed, they lobbied
in Albany and demonstrated at

00:25:02.200 --> 00:25:05.340 align:middle line:84%
the homes of politicians
involved in the closing.

00:25:05.340 --> 00:25:08.670 align:middle line:84%
Northsiders blocked the Brooklyn
Queens Expressway and

00:25:08.670 --> 00:25:11.530 align:middle line:84%
held a requiem mass
for fire victims.

00:25:11.530 --> 00:25:14.802 align:middle line:84%
For 18 months they continued
their struggle.

00:25:14.802 --> 00:25:18.670 align:middle line:84%
How long do you think people
will stay here?

00:25:18.670 --> 00:25:22.110 align:middle line:84%
Well, from what I get from the
meetings every Tuesday night,

00:25:22.110 --> 00:25:23.980 align:middle line:84%
I guess the people are staying
until we get a

00:25:23.980 --> 00:25:26.130 align:middle line:90%
satisfactory offer.

00:25:26.130 --> 00:25:27.230 align:middle line:90%
We need an engine.

00:25:27.230 --> 00:25:31.890 align:middle line:84%
That\'s what we want, and we\'ll
stay until we get an engine.

00:25:31.890 --> 00:25:34.690 align:middle line:84%
Because without an engine,
we can\'t put out fires.

00:25:34.690 --> 00:25:36.170 align:middle line:90%
Neither can the firemen.

00:25:36.170 --> 00:25:41.390 align:middle line:84%
When we had a fire down here at
137 North Mary Street, we

00:25:41.390 --> 00:25:45.010 align:middle line:84%
had two hook and ladder trucks
there, but no water.

00:25:45.010 --> 00:25:45.980 align:middle line:90%
They couldn\'t do anything.

00:25:45.980 --> 00:25:49.045 align:middle line:84%
We waited 20 minutes for water
to be put over that fire.

00:25:49.045 --> 00:25:52.490 align:middle line:84%
By the time they put water on
there, the fire was so far

00:25:52.490 --> 00:25:55.395 align:middle line:84%
gone the building was completely
destroyed.

00:25:55.395 --> 00:25:57.290 align:middle line:90%
The people said no good.

00:25:57.290 --> 00:25:59.490 align:middle line:90%
No more cuts.

00:25:59.490 --> 00:26:00.430 align:middle line:90%
They\'re not going to leave.

00:26:00.430 --> 00:26:02.680 align:middle line:84%
They\'re going stay here until
we get what we want.

00:26:02.680 --> 00:26:04.690 align:middle line:90%
No half a load.

00:26:04.690 --> 00:26:06.930 align:middle line:84%
It\'ll be the whole thing,
an engine coming

00:26:06.930 --> 00:26:08.675 align:middle line:90%
with the men or nothing.

00:26:08.675 --> 00:26:11.980 align:middle line:84%
We got to burn the damn place
and blow up the truck that

00:26:11.980 --> 00:26:14.656 align:middle line:90%
[INAUDIBLE] then give it away.

00:26:14.656 --> 00:26:15.830 align:middle line:90%
That\'s how people feel.

00:26:15.830 --> 00:26:17.820 align:middle line:84%
That\'s the feeling I
get, right, Frank?

00:26:17.820 --> 00:26:18.480 align:middle line:90%
You get that?

00:26:18.480 --> 00:26:21.610 align:middle line:84%
That\'s the feeling the people
have around here.

00:26:21.610 --> 00:26:25.700 align:middle line:84%
They have gone so far that
they can\'t take anymore.

00:26:25.700 --> 00:26:29.380 align:middle line:84%
Finally, after 18 months of
struggle, Northside\'s Engine

00:26:29.380 --> 00:26:32.060 align:middle line:84%
Company 212 was reopened
by the city.

00:26:32.060 --> 00:26:36.533 align:middle line:90%

00:26:36.533 --> 00:26:46.490 align:middle line:90%
[MUSIC PLAYING]

00:26:46.490 --> 00:26:50.360 align:middle line:84%
Cleveland, Ohio, with 600,000
people is a major American

00:26:50.360 --> 00:26:53.190 align:middle line:84%
industrial center, and the
third largest corporate

00:26:53.190 --> 00:26:55.770 align:middle line:84%
headquarters city
in the country.

00:26:55.770 --> 00:27:00.300 align:middle line:84%
During the 1960s and \'70s, the
city of Cleveland lost 60,000

00:27:00.300 --> 00:27:03.400 align:middle line:84%
jobs to plant closings
and layoffs.

00:27:03.400 --> 00:27:06.590 align:middle line:84%
Facing a continually following
tax base, the policy of the

00:27:06.590 --> 00:27:09.520 align:middle line:84%
city government was to literally
sell off six

00:27:09.520 --> 00:27:14.000 align:middle line:84%
different city assets, such as
the port and the bus system.

00:27:14.000 --> 00:27:17.940 align:middle line:84%
But in 1977, the new mayor,
Dennis Kucinich, was elected

00:27:17.940 --> 00:27:19.750 align:middle line:84%
on a platform of ending
the further

00:27:19.750 --> 00:27:22.430 align:middle line:90%
dismantling of city services.

00:27:22.430 --> 00:27:26.070 align:middle line:84%
In 1978, when he refused to
sell the municipal light

00:27:26.070 --> 00:27:29.310 align:middle line:84%
system, the banks to which the
city owed money refused to

00:27:29.310 --> 00:27:32.766 align:middle line:84%
renew their loans unless
he gave in.

00:27:32.766 --> 00:27:34.534 align:middle line:90%
[INAUDIBLE]

00:27:34.534 --> 00:27:38.300 align:middle line:84%
From a business standpoint,
we couldn\'t do it, no.

00:27:38.300 --> 00:27:41.150 align:middle line:84%
We had no assurance that the
notes were going to be paid.

00:27:41.150 --> 00:27:45.790 align:middle line:84%
We have an obligation to our
customers, our depositors, our

00:27:45.790 --> 00:27:49.680 align:middle line:84%
shareholders and everybody else
to make sure we\'ve got a

00:27:49.680 --> 00:27:50.994 align:middle line:90%
viable [INAUDIBLE]

00:27:50.994 --> 00:27:53.300 align:middle line:90%
will be paid.

00:27:53.300 --> 00:27:55.182 align:middle line:84%
We\'re not in the philanthropy
business at all.

00:27:55.182 --> 00:27:58.710 align:middle line:84%
In previous administrations, the
government was a servant

00:27:58.710 --> 00:28:01.060 align:middle line:84%
of business interests government
carried out in the

00:28:01.060 --> 00:28:03.600 align:middle line:84%
public sector the priorities
and the agenda of

00:28:03.600 --> 00:28:04.990 align:middle line:90%
the business community.

00:28:04.990 --> 00:28:08.160 align:middle line:84%
In this administration, when we
do relate to business, we

00:28:08.160 --> 00:28:11.860 align:middle line:84%
bargain for jobs, we bargain
for taxes, we bargain for a

00:28:11.860 --> 00:28:13.860 align:middle line:84%
greater contribution
from business

00:28:13.860 --> 00:28:14.940 align:middle line:90%
to the public welfare.

00:28:14.940 --> 00:28:17.770 align:middle line:84%
We\'re no longer in the position
of serving the direct

00:28:17.770 --> 00:28:20.296 align:middle line:84%
needs as they are defined by
the business community.

00:28:20.296 --> 00:28:24.700 align:middle line:84%
We had a plan, which you offer
to us, which said--

00:28:24.700 --> 00:28:27.275 align:middle line:84%
which we reviewed, and said,
OK, if you do everything

00:28:27.275 --> 00:28:29.660 align:middle line:84%
that\'s outlined in this plan,
we\'ll roll over the notes.

00:28:29.660 --> 00:28:30.220 align:middle line:90%
Correct.

00:28:30.220 --> 00:28:32.200 align:middle line:84%
And everything that was outlined
in the plan was not

00:28:32.200 --> 00:28:33.700 align:middle line:84%
done, so we didn\'t roll
over the notes.

00:28:33.700 --> 00:28:35.030 align:middle line:90%
It\'s that simple.

00:28:35.030 --> 00:28:38.470 align:middle line:84%
Good evening, this is D-Day, and
as of this hour, the city

00:28:38.470 --> 00:28:39.860 align:middle line:90%
is not in default.

00:28:39.860 --> 00:28:42.460 align:middle line:84%
Most of the banks have asked for
their money, and we have

00:28:42.460 --> 00:28:45.410 align:middle line:84%
until 11:00 or 12 o\'clock
tonight to come through.

00:28:45.410 --> 00:28:47.840 align:middle line:84%
But there is still no agreement
at city hall on a

00:28:47.840 --> 00:28:51.440 align:middle line:84%
plan to get this city back on
sound financial footing.

00:28:51.440 --> 00:28:54.300 align:middle line:84%
As usual, there\'s been a lot of
arguing, but the mayor has

00:28:54.300 --> 00:28:55.870 align:middle line:90%
offered a compromise.

00:28:55.870 --> 00:28:59.140 align:middle line:84%
Doug has been at city hall
covering this story along with

00:28:59.140 --> 00:29:02.460 align:middle line:84%
four Action 3 News reporters
and two mini-cam crews.

00:29:02.460 --> 00:29:05.050 align:middle line:84%
Doug, will you bring us up to
date, if you will, on where

00:29:05.050 --> 00:29:06.390 align:middle line:90%
things stand right now.

00:29:06.390 --> 00:29:08.510 align:middle line:84%
Amanda, it has been a wild
day here at the hall.

00:29:08.510 --> 00:29:10.950 align:middle line:84%
You can probably see counsel
majority leader, Basil Russo,

00:29:10.950 --> 00:29:12.040 align:middle line:90%
just behind me.

00:29:12.040 --> 00:29:14.380 align:middle line:84%
He has told me that there are
three new developments, and

00:29:14.380 --> 00:29:16.410 align:middle line:84%
he\'ll be telling us about
them in just a moment.

00:29:16.410 --> 00:29:19.860 align:middle line:84%
The compromise, of course, has
to do with the mayor offering

00:29:19.860 --> 00:29:24.460 align:middle line:84%
a possibility with Muni Light,
a three man board, that would

00:29:24.460 --> 00:29:26.520 align:middle line:84%
oversee the operation for
the next 18 months.

00:29:26.520 --> 00:29:27.680 align:middle line:84%
And we\'ll tell you
more about that.

00:29:27.680 --> 00:29:29.290 align:middle line:84%
Council has scheduled
a special meeting

00:29:29.290 --> 00:29:30.640 align:middle line:90%
tonight at 11 o\'clock.

00:29:30.640 --> 00:29:32.840 align:middle line:84%
At least one of the banks has
said that it is willing to

00:29:32.840 --> 00:29:35.480 align:middle line:84%
wait until midnight this evening
for some kind of

00:29:35.480 --> 00:29:38.610 align:middle line:84%
payment or a better plan from
the city of Cleveland.

00:29:38.610 --> 00:29:40.780 align:middle line:84%
Now, we\'re going to go to Sheryl
Browne, who has Basil

00:29:40.780 --> 00:29:42.710 align:middle line:84%
Russo, and we\'ll get
some reaction to

00:29:42.710 --> 00:29:44.390 align:middle line:90%
that plan from Basil.

00:29:44.390 --> 00:29:45.500 align:middle line:90%
That\'s right.

00:29:45.500 --> 00:29:49.170 align:middle line:84%
This compromise, just a few
moments ago, Basal told me, it

00:29:49.170 --> 00:29:49.895 align:middle line:90%
was a joke.

00:29:49.895 --> 00:29:51.220 align:middle line:90%
He just said it was bunk.

00:29:51.220 --> 00:29:52.920 align:middle line:90%
It was not going to work.

00:29:52.920 --> 00:29:53.780 align:middle line:90%
He said that he didn\'t buy it.

00:29:53.780 --> 00:29:55.730 align:middle line:84%
He said that the banks
don\'t buy it.

00:29:55.730 --> 00:29:58.860 align:middle line:84%
Basil is in council chambers
right now holding a live news

00:29:58.860 --> 00:29:59.790 align:middle line:90%
conference.

00:29:59.790 --> 00:30:01.740 align:middle line:84%
He\'s not going to be talking
about this compromise.

00:30:01.740 --> 00:30:03.620 align:middle line:84%
He has a major announcement
concerning

00:30:03.620 --> 00:30:05.580 align:middle line:90%
Cleveland Trust, Basil?

00:30:05.580 --> 00:30:06.800 align:middle line:90%
Thank you.

00:30:06.800 --> 00:30:10.050 align:middle line:84%
If the mayor will sign the
resolution that was passed by

00:30:10.050 --> 00:30:12.720 align:middle line:84%
Cleveland\'s city council this
morning, the chairman of the

00:30:12.720 --> 00:30:15.830 align:middle line:84%
Cleveland Trust Bank has
informed the council that his

00:30:15.830 --> 00:30:19.850 align:middle line:84%
bank will purchase $50 million
worth of city bonds.

00:30:19.850 --> 00:30:24.180 align:middle line:84%
In effect, what this means is
that that will permanently end

00:30:24.180 --> 00:30:25.940 align:middle line:90%
the city\'s financial crisis.

00:30:25.940 --> 00:30:28.750 align:middle line:84%
It will save us millions of
dollars in interest and it

00:30:28.750 --> 00:30:30.590 align:middle line:84%
will restore the city\'s
credit rating.

00:30:30.590 --> 00:30:33.950 align:middle line:84%
So, in effect, we now have a
plan sitting on the mayor\'s

00:30:33.950 --> 00:30:37.310 align:middle line:84%
desk that will absolutely end
the city\'s financial problems,

00:30:37.310 --> 00:30:39.780 align:middle line:84%
if he will only put his
signature on it.

00:30:39.780 --> 00:30:42.710 align:middle line:84%
That is, if he will only agree
to sell Muni Light.

00:30:42.710 --> 00:30:43.735 align:middle line:90%
That is correct.

00:30:43.735 --> 00:30:47.520 align:middle line:84%
Probably the root causes of the
fiscal crisis in this city

00:30:47.520 --> 00:30:50.300 align:middle line:84%
and the fiscal crisis in New
York, are very similar.

00:30:50.300 --> 00:30:52.950 align:middle line:84%
You have the same kind of
industrial exodus, the

00:30:52.950 --> 00:30:54.950 align:middle line:84%
deterioration of
the tax base--

00:30:54.950 --> 00:30:55.750 align:middle line:90%
Jack Nichol.

00:30:55.750 --> 00:30:58.360 align:middle line:84%
--in this city you did, of
course, in New York.

00:30:58.360 --> 00:31:01.820 align:middle line:84%
What perhaps is the most
striking difference is the way

00:31:01.820 --> 00:31:03.680 align:middle line:84%
that this administration
has responded

00:31:03.680 --> 00:31:05.450 align:middle line:90%
to that fiscal crisis.

00:31:05.450 --> 00:31:08.980 align:middle line:84%
Rather than rolling over to the
banks, rather than rolling

00:31:08.980 --> 00:31:11.800 align:middle line:84%
over, playing dead and giving
up control of the budget,

00:31:11.800 --> 00:31:14.930 align:middle line:84%
control of city services,
control of basically,

00:31:14.930 --> 00:31:18.960 align:middle line:84%
government itself, to the banks,
this administration and

00:31:18.960 --> 00:31:20.880 align:middle line:84%
the mayor, Dennis Kucinich,
stood up to the banks and

00:31:20.880 --> 00:31:24.200 align:middle line:84%
said, we are not going
to give up control.

00:31:24.200 --> 00:31:28.470 align:middle line:84%
I have accused the Cleveland
Trust Company of attempting to

00:31:28.470 --> 00:31:32.660 align:middle line:84%
extort Municipal Light System
from the people of Cleveland.

00:31:32.660 --> 00:31:36.110 align:middle line:84%
The People\'s Light System was
the price Cleveland Trust

00:31:36.110 --> 00:31:39.300 align:middle line:84%
demanded in exchange
for an extension of

00:31:39.300 --> 00:31:40.790 align:middle line:90%
credit to the city.

00:31:40.790 --> 00:31:44.580 align:middle line:84%
Dennis Kucinich, mayor,
Cleveland, Ohio.

00:31:44.580 --> 00:31:47.600 align:middle line:84%
--of deliberately and
maliciously throwing the city

00:31:47.600 --> 00:31:53.090 align:middle line:84%
of Cleveland into default for
its own financial gain.

00:31:53.090 --> 00:31:56.860 align:middle line:84%
I have accused Cleveland Trust
of using it\'s authority as the

00:31:56.860 --> 00:31:59.960 align:middle line:84%
most powerful institution,
most powerful financial

00:31:59.960 --> 00:32:04.750 align:middle line:84%
institution in the state of
Ohio, to overthrow a duly

00:32:04.750 --> 00:32:08.810 align:middle line:84%
elected local government because
we refused to come to

00:32:08.810 --> 00:32:10.120 align:middle line:90%
political terms.

00:32:10.120 --> 00:32:12.370 align:middle line:84%
Mayor, we appreciate your
stopping by Action 3 News.

00:32:12.370 --> 00:32:16.140 align:middle line:84%
And as we just heard, the ball
is squarely in your court.

00:32:16.140 --> 00:32:18.920 align:middle line:84%
Mayor, if you will sign that
resolution, we have Cleveland

00:32:18.920 --> 00:32:23.090 align:middle line:84%
Trust saying that we can have
$50 million in city bonds,

00:32:23.090 --> 00:32:25.910 align:middle line:84%
which will permanently end,
according to Mr. Russo, the

00:32:25.910 --> 00:32:27.770 align:middle line:90%
city\'s financial crisis.

00:32:27.770 --> 00:32:30.540 align:middle line:84%
This is quite an offer from
Cleveland Trust, considering

00:32:30.540 --> 00:32:32.280 align:middle line:90%
the hour, considering the day.

00:32:32.280 --> 00:32:32.780 align:middle line:90%
What are you going to do?

00:32:32.780 --> 00:32:35.350 align:middle line:84%
And especially considering the
fact that everyone says Muni

00:32:35.350 --> 00:32:37.320 align:middle line:90%
Light\'s not worth anything.

00:32:37.320 --> 00:32:41.740 align:middle line:84%
It\'s a significant
offer, certainly.

00:32:41.740 --> 00:32:44.090 align:middle line:84%
Strange that they would want
to cause the default of the

00:32:44.090 --> 00:32:47.210 align:middle line:84%
city of Cleveland over a light
system that\'s worth nothing,

00:32:47.210 --> 00:32:50.740 align:middle line:84%
and all I have to do is sign my
name to this paper and we

00:32:50.740 --> 00:32:52.570 align:middle line:84%
have the whole city
back again.

00:32:52.570 --> 00:32:53.810 align:middle line:90%
Baloney.

00:32:53.810 --> 00:32:55.360 align:middle line:84%
Cleveland Trust cannot
blackmail the

00:32:55.360 --> 00:32:56.910 align:middle line:90%
people of this city.

00:32:56.910 --> 00:32:58.510 align:middle line:90%
That\'s what they\'re doing.

00:32:58.510 --> 00:33:00.660 align:middle line:84%
Sandy and I are going to be
down at Cleveland Trust on

00:33:00.660 --> 00:33:03.140 align:middle line:84%
Monday taking our money out,
and I\'m urging everyone

00:33:03.140 --> 00:33:04.930 align:middle line:90%
listening to do the same.

00:33:04.930 --> 00:33:06.760 align:middle line:84%
When you get a bank that thinks
that it can run the

00:33:06.760 --> 00:33:09.755 align:middle line:84%
community, that it can blackmail
a mayor, then you

00:33:09.755 --> 00:33:11.660 align:middle line:84%
know the bank\'s gotten
too big for the city.

00:33:11.660 --> 00:33:15.840 align:middle line:84%
On December 15, 1978, Cleveland
became the first

00:33:15.840 --> 00:33:18.260 align:middle line:84%
American city, since the
Depression, to go into

00:33:18.260 --> 00:33:19.940 align:middle line:90%
financial default.

00:33:19.940 --> 00:33:22.230 align:middle line:90%
Kucinich did not give in.

00:33:22.230 --> 00:33:25.310 align:middle line:84%
The day after default, he
organized a demonstration and

00:33:25.310 --> 00:33:28.310 align:middle line:84%
withdrew his personal savings
from the city\'s largest bank,

00:33:28.310 --> 00:33:30.250 align:middle line:90%
Cleveland Trust.

00:33:30.250 --> 00:33:33.250 align:middle line:84%
He forced the banks and the city
council, which supported

00:33:33.250 --> 00:33:36.530 align:middle line:84%
their position, to agree to a
referendum at which the voters

00:33:36.530 --> 00:33:38.450 align:middle line:84%
could decide how the
city should solve

00:33:38.450 --> 00:33:40.950 align:middle line:90%
its financial problems.

00:33:40.950 --> 00:33:45.290 align:middle line:84%
The referendum, to be held in
February, 1979, would decide

00:33:45.290 --> 00:33:48.730 align:middle line:84%
whether or not to raise the
city\'s personal income tax and

00:33:48.730 --> 00:33:51.244 align:middle line:84%
whether or not to
sell Muni Light.

00:33:51.244 --> 00:33:55.400 align:middle line:84%
The pressures to give in to the
banks were monumental in

00:33:55.400 --> 00:33:58.590 align:middle line:84%
New York, and they were
monumental in Cleveland.

00:33:58.590 --> 00:34:02.720 align:middle line:84%
However, in Cleveland, because I
think the mayor has a strong

00:34:02.720 --> 00:34:06.160 align:middle line:84%
working class base and a base
among the poor people of this

00:34:06.160 --> 00:34:12.330 align:middle line:84%
town, he was able to, I think,
build on that strength, build

00:34:12.330 --> 00:34:16.480 align:middle line:84%
on the needs of the people of
the city of Cleveland to

00:34:16.480 --> 00:34:18.500 align:middle line:84%
resist this kind of corporate
takeover.

00:34:18.500 --> 00:34:20.610 align:middle line:84%
And he had the best evidence
of all when

00:34:20.610 --> 00:34:21.300 align:middle line:90%
he went to the people.

00:34:21.300 --> 00:34:24.820 align:middle line:84%
He said, look at what the large
banks and corporations

00:34:24.820 --> 00:34:27.030 align:middle line:84%
have done to this town over
the last 30 years.

00:34:27.030 --> 00:34:31.770 align:middle line:84%
While the town has declined,
while jobs have left, the

00:34:31.770 --> 00:34:34.199 align:middle line:84%
corporations have gotten
richer and richer.

00:34:34.199 --> 00:34:38.739 align:middle line:84%
So if you give control over the
public sector now to the

00:34:38.739 --> 00:34:42.699 align:middle line:84%
banks, you\'re going to find
this process continuing.

00:34:42.699 --> 00:34:44.520 align:middle line:90%
Our situation will get worse.

00:34:44.520 --> 00:34:48.679 align:middle line:84%
The time is now to stand up to
the banks and to try to fight

00:34:48.679 --> 00:34:51.570 align:middle line:84%
to keep control, elected
democratic control, over our

00:34:51.570 --> 00:34:52.820 align:middle line:90%
municipal government.

00:34:52.820 --> 00:35:04.820 align:middle line:90%

00:35:04.820 --> 00:35:07.030 align:middle line:84%
The campaign was aggressive
and emotional.

00:35:07.030 --> 00:35:10.710 align:middle line:84%
On one side, the banks, CEI,
the leadership of city

00:35:10.710 --> 00:35:12.810 align:middle line:84%
council, both political
parties in

00:35:12.810 --> 00:35:14.280 align:middle line:90%
the business community.

00:35:14.280 --> 00:35:17.740 align:middle line:84%
On the other side, the mayor,
most trade unions, many

00:35:17.740 --> 00:35:19.920 align:middle line:84%
neighborhood organizations,
and the Ohio

00:35:19.920 --> 00:35:23.535 align:middle line:90%
Public Interest campaign.

00:35:23.535 --> 00:35:40.310 align:middle line:90%
[GOSPEL MUSIC BEING SUNG]

00:35:40.310 --> 00:35:44.060 align:middle line:84%
In December, polls showed the
positions favored by the mayor

00:35:44.060 --> 00:35:46.920 align:middle line:84%
losing two to one, but by the
middle of February, it

00:35:46.920 --> 00:35:50.250 align:middle line:84%
appeared that the referendum
would be very close.

00:35:50.250 --> 00:35:54.480 align:middle line:84%
I wanted to come here today to
share with you, my thoughts

00:35:54.480 --> 00:35:59.960 align:middle line:84%
about this very important day
coming up on Tuesday, and also

00:35:59.960 --> 00:36:03.990 align:middle line:84%
to show some of our friends here
in the media, that the

00:36:03.990 --> 00:36:08.380 align:middle line:84%
best part of Cleveland is
outside of the downtown area.

00:36:08.380 --> 00:36:10.620 align:middle line:84%
It\'s in the neighborhoods
of the city.

00:36:10.620 --> 00:36:14.630 align:middle line:84%
It\'s the people who live in
these neighborhoods because

00:36:14.630 --> 00:36:19.210 align:middle line:84%
there\'s another city outside
of those office towers.

00:36:19.210 --> 00:36:23.760 align:middle line:84%
It\'s a city where people
understand hard work, where

00:36:23.760 --> 00:36:26.550 align:middle line:84%
people understand
poverty, because

00:36:26.550 --> 00:36:29.020 align:middle line:90%
people live with poverty.

00:36:29.020 --> 00:36:35.000 align:middle line:84%
In your church covenant, it
talks about being fair, being

00:36:35.000 --> 00:36:37.890 align:middle line:90%
just in our dealings.

00:36:37.890 --> 00:36:42.140 align:middle line:84%
And I\'ll tell you today, how
an electric company wasn\'t

00:36:42.140 --> 00:36:44.435 align:middle line:84%
fair in its dealings with
the people in this city.

00:36:44.435 --> 00:36:48.460 align:middle line:84%
How they schemed and how they
plotted to take away an

00:36:48.460 --> 00:36:50.850 align:middle line:84%
electric system that belonged
to the people.

00:36:50.850 --> 00:36:55.535 align:middle line:84%
And now, they\'re on the eve of
realizing their evil dream.

00:36:55.535 --> 00:36:57.520 align:middle line:84%
And when the bank tells us
they\'re going to do something

00:36:57.520 --> 00:36:59.370 align:middle line:84%
for us, we\'ve got to remember
that this is our city in the

00:36:59.370 --> 00:37:00.360 align:middle line:90%
first place.

00:37:00.360 --> 00:37:04.040 align:middle line:84%
And I\'m saying that the people
of Cleveland need to unite in

00:37:04.040 --> 00:37:06.810 align:middle line:84%
our striving for economic
justice, because we\'ve got

00:37:06.810 --> 00:37:08.810 align:middle line:90%
some common problems.

00:37:08.810 --> 00:37:11.360 align:middle line:84%
Problems of unemployment,
problems of inflation,

00:37:11.360 --> 00:37:14.900 align:middle line:84%
poverty, misery, high
utility bills.

00:37:14.900 --> 00:37:18.140 align:middle line:84%
All these problems should unite
us, and I\'m saying this

00:37:18.140 --> 00:37:22.270 align:middle line:84%
afternoon that it\'s time
for black people and

00:37:22.270 --> 00:37:24.083 align:middle line:90%
white people to unite.

00:37:24.083 --> 00:37:37.890 align:middle line:90%

00:37:37.890 --> 00:37:41.350 align:middle line:84%
The mayor had succeeded in
focusing on three issues, who

00:37:41.350 --> 00:37:43.750 align:middle line:84%
would decide what the priorities
of city government

00:37:43.750 --> 00:37:46.610 align:middle line:84%
should be, who would decide
how to solve the problems

00:37:46.610 --> 00:37:49.230 align:middle line:84%
facing the city, at whose
expense would

00:37:49.230 --> 00:37:51.270 align:middle line:90%
these solutions come.

00:37:51.270 --> 00:37:54.610 align:middle line:84%
In a city with a 40% black
population and with many

00:37:54.610 --> 00:37:57.860 align:middle line:84%
strong ethnic communities, both
sides in the campaign had

00:37:57.860 --> 00:38:01.300 align:middle line:84%
to appeal to people from many
ethnic and racial backgrounds.

00:38:01.300 --> 00:38:04.210 align:middle line:84%
By focusing his campaign on
the question of economic

00:38:04.210 --> 00:38:07.300 align:middle line:84%
rights, Kucinich sought to
overcome social and racial

00:38:07.300 --> 00:38:09.280 align:middle line:84%
differences, which
often divided the

00:38:09.280 --> 00:38:13.020 align:middle line:90%
city and its politics.

00:38:13.020 --> 00:38:15.880 align:middle line:90%
I want to [INAUDIBLE]

00:38:15.880 --> 00:38:19.210 align:middle line:84%
with a quote from the late
Senator Robert Kennedy.

00:38:19.210 --> 00:38:25.110 align:middle line:84%
He said, that each time a man
stands up for an idea or acts

00:38:25.110 --> 00:38:28.140 align:middle line:84%
to improve the lot of others,
or strikes out against

00:38:28.140 --> 00:38:35.570 align:middle line:84%
injustice, he or she will send
forth a tiny ripple of hope,

00:38:35.570 --> 00:38:38.700 align:middle line:84%
and crossing each other from a
million different centers of

00:38:38.700 --> 00:38:43.620 align:middle line:84%
energy and daring, those ripples
create a current,

00:38:43.620 --> 00:38:47.200 align:middle line:84%
which can sweep down the
mightiest walls of oppression

00:38:47.200 --> 00:38:48.930 align:middle line:90%
or resistance.

00:38:48.930 --> 00:38:52.100 align:middle line:90%
You know it and I know it.

00:38:52.100 --> 00:38:53.947 align:middle line:90%
Now, let\'s go out and show it.

00:38:53.947 --> 00:38:55.197 align:middle line:90%
Thank you very much.

00:38:55.197 --> 00:39:06.390 align:middle line:90%

00:39:06.390 --> 00:39:07.820 align:middle line:84%
Do you think this was an
important election?

00:39:07.820 --> 00:39:08.936 align:middle line:90%
Yes, it was.

00:39:08.936 --> 00:39:10.240 align:middle line:90%
For what reason?

00:39:10.240 --> 00:39:12.470 align:middle line:84%
Well, I believe it was important
because it\'s the

00:39:12.470 --> 00:39:15.140 align:middle line:84%
future of our city, and not only
that, it\'s going to be

00:39:15.140 --> 00:39:17.140 align:middle line:90%
the future of electricity.

00:39:17.140 --> 00:39:19.640 align:middle line:84%
We\'re going to find out whether
we\'re going to have an

00:39:19.640 --> 00:39:20.790 align:middle line:90%
increase or not.

00:39:20.790 --> 00:39:21.560 align:middle line:90%
That\'s my belief.

00:39:21.560 --> 00:39:23.700 align:middle line:84%
How would you feel about
the sale of Muni Light?

00:39:23.700 --> 00:39:24.950 align:middle line:90%
I\'m against it.

00:39:24.950 --> 00:39:29.290 align:middle line:90%

00:39:29.290 --> 00:39:34.440 align:middle line:84%
On February 27, 1979, in a major
political surprise, the

00:39:34.440 --> 00:39:38.340 align:middle line:84%
people of Cleveland voted two to
one not to sell Muni Light.

00:39:38.340 --> 00:39:53.240 align:middle line:90%

00:39:53.240 --> 00:39:57.900 align:middle line:84%
I want to begin with a quote
that I ended our so

00:39:57.900 --> 00:39:58.840 align:middle line:90%
called debate on.

00:39:58.840 --> 00:40:00.380 align:middle line:84%
The light shines in
the darkness.

00:40:00.380 --> 00:40:08.460 align:middle line:90%

00:40:08.460 --> 00:40:09.930 align:middle line:84%
There\'s a great issue
that surfaced here

00:40:09.930 --> 00:40:11.600 align:middle line:90%
in Cleveland, Ohio.

00:40:11.600 --> 00:40:13.710 align:middle line:84%
An issue of national
importance.

00:40:13.710 --> 00:40:16.260 align:middle line:84%
An issue which deals with the
clash between the public

00:40:16.260 --> 00:40:19.000 align:middle line:84%
interest and the private
interest.

00:40:19.000 --> 00:40:22.550 align:middle line:84%
An issue which pits big money,
big corporations and

00:40:22.550 --> 00:40:25.890 align:middle line:84%
monopolies, on one side, and the
people, the poor and the

00:40:25.890 --> 00:40:28.310 align:middle line:84%
working people, of a
great American city

00:40:28.310 --> 00:40:29.560 align:middle line:90%
on the other side.

00:40:29.560 --> 00:40:32.200 align:middle line:90%

00:40:32.200 --> 00:40:36.170 align:middle line:84%
The major crisis in this country
today is the crisis of

00:40:36.170 --> 00:40:43.030 align:middle line:84%
unduly, unelected corporate fat
cats trying to usurp the

00:40:43.030 --> 00:40:45.770 align:middle line:84%
duly elected government
of the people.

00:40:45.770 --> 00:40:47.410 align:middle line:84%
The people of Cleveland
showed the way for the

00:40:47.410 --> 00:40:49.400 align:middle line:90%
rest of this country.

00:40:49.400 --> 00:40:51.430 align:middle line:84%
The people do not want
a shadow government.

00:40:51.430 --> 00:40:53.930 align:middle line:84%
They want a government they know
they can call their own.

00:40:53.930 --> 00:40:56.652 align:middle line:84%
They want a government which
isn\'t owned or bought and paid

00:40:56.652 --> 00:40:58.810 align:middle line:84%
for by somebody who has a
lot of money and can buy

00:40:58.810 --> 00:41:00.480 align:middle line:84%
politicians, but
doesn\'t want to

00:41:00.480 --> 00:41:02.450 align:middle line:90%
recognize the public interest.

00:41:02.450 --> 00:41:04.990 align:middle line:84%
People of Cleveland, both
black and white, joined

00:41:04.990 --> 00:41:07.184 align:middle line:90%
together and they united.

00:41:07.184 --> 00:41:10.310 align:middle line:90%
They united to fight greed.

00:41:10.310 --> 00:41:13.130 align:middle line:84%
And they united to
fight greed.

00:41:13.130 --> 00:41:15.840 align:middle line:84%
And they united to fight the
corrupt special interests,

00:41:15.840 --> 00:41:19.270 align:middle line:84%
which for so many years have
plundered our city.

00:41:19.270 --> 00:41:21.260 align:middle line:84%
And while we looked for
cooperation from Columbus,

00:41:21.260 --> 00:41:26.080 align:middle line:84%
Ohio, there is obviously no
legitimate reason for a state

00:41:26.080 --> 00:41:29.520 align:middle line:84%
controlling board which
nullifies local home rule.

00:41:29.520 --> 00:41:34.020 align:middle line:90%

00:41:34.020 --> 00:41:36.080 align:middle line:84%
And I want Governor Rhodes
to hear it loud and clear

00:41:36.080 --> 00:41:39.740 align:middle line:84%
tonight, the people of
Cleveland will not

00:41:39.740 --> 00:41:40.690 align:middle line:90%
give up home rule.

00:41:40.690 --> 00:41:43.040 align:middle line:84%
We will not accept a controlling
board under any

00:41:43.040 --> 00:41:44.290 align:middle line:90%
circumstances.

00:41:44.290 --> 00:41:50.720 align:middle line:90%

00:41:50.720 --> 00:41:55.140 align:middle line:84%
In July, 1979, a subcommittee of
the House Banking Committee

00:41:55.140 --> 00:41:58.180 align:middle line:84%
conducted an investigation and
hearings into the role of the

00:41:58.180 --> 00:42:00.230 align:middle line:84%
large banks in Cleveland\'s
default.

00:42:00.230 --> 00:42:06.820 align:middle line:90%

00:42:06.820 --> 00:42:10.590 align:middle line:84%
Mr. Chairman, I take full
responsibility for refusing

00:42:10.590 --> 00:42:14.110 align:middle line:84%
RockWare\'s offer to take the
city of Cleveland off my hands

00:42:14.110 --> 00:42:15.980 align:middle line:90%
for $50 million.

00:42:15.980 --> 00:42:19.020 align:middle line:84%
Elected officials are
accountable to the people, and

00:42:19.020 --> 00:42:21.340 align:middle line:84%
that\'s what democracy
is all about.

00:42:21.340 --> 00:42:24.170 align:middle line:84%
Big business officials exercise
far greater power

00:42:24.170 --> 00:42:25.925 align:middle line:90%
than any single politician.

00:42:25.925 --> 00:42:27.880 align:middle line:84%
They decide whether
to lend money to a

00:42:27.880 --> 00:42:29.690 align:middle line:90%
city and on what terms.

00:42:29.690 --> 00:42:32.270 align:middle line:84%
They decide whether to close a
plant and to put thousands of

00:42:32.270 --> 00:42:33.600 align:middle line:90%
people out of work.

00:42:33.600 --> 00:42:36.500 align:middle line:84%
They decide when, where, and how
to invest the billions of

00:42:36.500 --> 00:42:39.370 align:middle line:84%
dollars in profits they have
accumulated from the labor of

00:42:39.370 --> 00:42:40.570 align:middle line:90%
working people.

00:42:40.570 --> 00:42:43.580 align:middle line:84%
The people of America are
beginning to demand that big

00:42:43.580 --> 00:42:46.470 align:middle line:84%
business be held accountable
for its decisions.

00:42:46.470 --> 00:42:49.610 align:middle line:84%
The people are fed up with
corporate arrogance, with its

00:42:49.610 --> 00:42:51.840 align:middle line:84%
profits before people
mentality.

00:42:51.840 --> 00:42:55.320 align:middle line:84%
The people are fed up with the
sick corporate mentality that

00:42:55.320 --> 00:42:58.080 align:middle line:84%
blames inflation, unemployment,
and urban decay

00:42:58.080 --> 00:43:01.040 align:middle line:84%
on the victims of these
[INAUDIBLE].

00:43:01.040 --> 00:43:03.850 align:middle line:84%
Finally, Mr. Chairman, the city
of Cleveland is now on

00:43:03.850 --> 00:43:05.690 align:middle line:90%
the road to financial recovery,

00:43:05.690 --> 00:43:06.700 align:middle line:90%
stability, and health.

00:43:06.700 --> 00:43:09.660 align:middle line:84%
The results of the referendum
had been a major victory for

00:43:09.660 --> 00:43:12.790 align:middle line:84%
Kucinich, but the forces which
he tried to defeat him at the

00:43:12.790 --> 00:43:16.590 align:middle line:84%
polls three times in two
years, did not give up.

00:43:16.590 --> 00:43:19.660 align:middle line:84%
In November, 1979, the business
community, the

00:43:19.660 --> 00:43:23.300 align:middle line:84%
Republican Party, and even most
Democrats, united around

00:43:23.300 --> 00:43:27.410 align:middle line:84%
a conservative candidate for
mayor, George Voinovich.

00:43:27.410 --> 00:43:31.190 align:middle line:84%
Kucinich was defeated, but his
administration had succeeded

00:43:31.190 --> 00:43:33.990 align:middle line:84%
in presenting a challenge, not
only to the bankers and

00:43:33.990 --> 00:43:37.620 align:middle line:84%
businessmen of Cleveland, but
maybe more importantly, to all

00:43:37.620 --> 00:43:39.585 align:middle line:84%
the residents of America\'s
older cities.

00:43:39.585 --> 00:43:42.230 align:middle line:90%

00:43:42.230 --> 00:43:45.770 align:middle line:84%
Economic problems, like those of
New York and Cleveland, are

00:43:45.770 --> 00:43:48.970 align:middle line:84%
forcing city residents to make
difficult choices about their

00:43:48.970 --> 00:43:52.300 align:middle line:84%
future and their
city\'s future.

00:43:52.300 --> 00:43:55.110 align:middle line:84%
They can follow New York\'s
course and let bankers and

00:43:55.110 --> 00:43:59.700 align:middle line:84%
politicians determine a policy
of cutbacks and austerity.

00:43:59.700 --> 00:44:02.130 align:middle line:84%
Or they can choose to follow
the course of Brooklyn\'s

00:44:02.130 --> 00:44:05.280 align:middle line:84%
Northsiders and the city of
Cleveland, where people

00:44:05.280 --> 00:44:08.810 align:middle line:84%
demanded democratic decision
making and economic priorities

00:44:08.810 --> 00:44:10.250 align:middle line:90%
designed to meet their needs.

00:44:10.250 --> 00:44:13.645 align:middle line:90%

00:44:13.645 --> 00:44:15.100 align:middle line:90%
[INAUDIBLE]

00:44:15.100 --> 00:44:16.994 align:middle line:90%
Yes, I am.

00:44:16.994 --> 00:44:18.842 align:middle line:84%
What do you think for the
future of New York?

00:44:18.842 --> 00:44:22.113 align:middle line:84%
Do you think that the
cooperation that started will

00:44:22.113 --> 00:44:25.290 align:middle line:84%
be able to help New York see
through the next few years?

00:44:25.290 --> 00:44:25.890 align:middle line:90%
Absolutely.

00:44:25.890 --> 00:44:28.740 align:middle line:84%
I think we\'ve turned the corner,
and it\'s going to be

00:44:28.740 --> 00:44:29.500 align:middle line:90%
up from here.

00:44:29.500 --> 00:44:33.780 align:middle line:84%
We\'ve still got our problems,
but I think we\'ve got now a

00:44:33.780 --> 00:44:36.190 align:middle line:84%
cooperation and a method
for solving them.

00:44:36.190 --> 00:44:40.630 align:middle line:84%
I said before I was elected and
I said subsequent to my

00:44:40.630 --> 00:44:44.770 align:middle line:84%
election, I have no problem in
living with the Emergency

00:44:44.770 --> 00:44:48.700 align:middle line:84%
Financial Control Board, because
every measure that

00:44:48.700 --> 00:44:53.210 align:middle line:84%
they would insist upon, I hope
I would be there before them.

00:44:53.210 --> 00:44:57.160 align:middle line:84%
I have the same sense of fiscal
integrity as I know

00:44:57.160 --> 00:44:58.240 align:middle line:90%
that they have.

00:44:58.240 --> 00:45:01.230 align:middle line:84%
And it is not a question that
they are going to have to prod

00:45:01.230 --> 00:45:06.130 align:middle line:84%
me, I am going to do what has
to be done before they ask

00:45:06.130 --> 00:45:07.090 align:middle line:90%
that it be done.

00:45:07.090 --> 00:45:11.100 align:middle line:84%
But if I fail, then they are
there to make certain that

00:45:11.100 --> 00:45:12.930 align:middle line:90%
those actions are taken.

00:45:12.930 --> 00:45:16.600 align:middle line:84%
It\'s unbelievable, and the
people just go and roll with

00:45:16.600 --> 00:45:17.740 align:middle line:90%
the punches.

00:45:17.740 --> 00:45:21.590 align:middle line:84%
They say, well, tighten your
belt, bite on the bullet.

00:45:21.590 --> 00:45:24.570 align:middle line:84%
The city tells you
how to do it.

00:45:24.570 --> 00:45:27.200 align:middle line:90%
It\'s not going to work.

00:45:27.200 --> 00:45:28.680 align:middle line:84%
These people are not
going to give up.

00:45:28.680 --> 00:45:29.840 align:middle line:84%
They\'re going to fight
and fight.

00:45:29.840 --> 00:45:32.080 align:middle line:84%
If more opportunities would
join us, they\'ll

00:45:32.080 --> 00:45:33.736 align:middle line:90%
have a strong fight.

00:45:33.736 --> 00:45:35.816 align:middle line:84%
Then we\'ll really
give them hell.

00:45:35.816 --> 00:45:43.550 align:middle line:90%

00:45:43.550 --> 00:45:46.780 align:middle line:84%
Bankers, businessmen,
politicians, they seem to be

00:45:46.780 --> 00:45:50.980 align:middle line:84%
calling the shots now, but whose
choice is it any way?

00:45:50.980 --> 00:47:54.979 align:middle line:90%
[MUSIC PLAYING]