Trojan horse

To the editor:

Keeping up with the firehose of developments as the Trump Administration floods the zone with unrelenting chaos is challenging.

Hopscotching the headlines for news (federal and local) during the past week reveals the negative consequences of elected politicians, Justice Department toadies and local unions wrongly empowering others.

President Donald Trump gave Elon Musk, an oligarch, the authority to access sensitive records systems and dismantle federal agencies. Tactics have included cancelling government contracts, callously firing thousands of workers with little notice, and attempting to diminish civil service protections. Unions representing federal workers are fighting back in court but the outcome is unclear.

On Feb. 10, a memo from the acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove to the United States Attorney’s office in Manhattan not only directed a dismissal of the corruption case against Mayor Eric Adams —  but ordered that there “shall be no further targeting of Mayor Adams or additional investigative steps” until after a review is conducted AFTER the election. As a result, the Mayor is free to break federal laws with no apparent consequences in the interim.

On Feb. 11, the chair of the Municipal Labor Committee, Harry Nespoli, sent a letter to Council Speaker Adrienne Adams opposing Intro. 1096, legislation that would preserve municipal retirees’ health benefits, claiming that the bill is illegal.

It should be noted that member unions willingly conveyed to the MLC the power to negotiate health benefits, even though it doesn’t have a bargaining certificate. That very role is illegal.

The letter claims that the legislation jeopardizes collective bargaining, but the reality is that current retirees are NOT represented by the MLC. Nespoli calls the bill a “Trojan horse” that would cede health benefits to legislators.

In reality, Medicare Advantage is a Trojan horse for the privatization of traditional Medicare.

Harry Weiner