Crains New York - June 4, 2012 - (Page 11)

OPINION Wall St.’s harmful Romney embrace all Street has abandoned Barack Obama and embraced Mitt Romney. It’s a move that will harm the presidential candidates, the securities industry and probably the rest of us as well. The Street’s increasing unhappiness with the president has been playing out for some time, but the decisiveness of the shift was spelled out in a CNNMoney.com story last week.Through the end of April, individuals who work in securities and investment firms contributed $8.5 million to the Romney campaign, compared with $3 million for the Obama effort. That’s a sharp reversal from the last election, when candidate Obama raised $16 million from the industry, almost double John McCain’s $9 million. When 2012 contributions are ranked by the companies where donors work,the top six spots are all financial firms. Also interesting: People who work at Goldman Sachs have donated more to Mr. Romney than employees of any other firm. It’s not a surprise that Wall Streeters don’t want to give money to someone who spends his time blaming them for the economic ills of the country.Here are the consequences: The president will now be freed of the last restraints on his rhetoric that this election is about the haves and the rest of America.This may help him win, but it also contributes to the lack of confidence businesspeople have in their prospects, deters investment and hamstrings the recovery. It will also W GREG DAVID harden positions even if President Obama wins—not good for solving the crisis that looms at the end of the year when taxes will soar and federal budget-slashing will begin. Mr. Romney’s campaign treasury may see a boost, but it’s just another black mark for the immensely wealthy candidate with a Swiss bank account who has yet to overcome the suspicion that he’s just a rich guy looking out for the interests of his fellow plunderers. Wall Street’s standing with the American public will continue to erode. While the securities industry has never been at the top of any list of the best-loved institutions, the portion of Americans who have a great deal of confidence in it plunged to 4% (!) in the recession and remains in single digits, according to Harris Interactive. This makes it impossible for Wall Street to win discussions about regulation or to weigh in on broad fiscal and economic questions. Why does this matter? Because after the election, whoever wins must confront the fiscal cliff—the sudden expiration of tax cuts and the imposition of sharp spending reductions—which could send the nation back into a recession. And, of course, there’s the need to address long-term problems with entitlements and the national debt, which will double in less than a decade. What happens after the election may be as important as who wins it. Crain’s Real Estate Conference Seizing the Moment 2012 As the economic recovery sputters, there’s every sign that the market is digging in for a long haul. Looking on the bright side, it also means New York has become more competitive. So where can investors, developers, and landlords find growth and opportunity? KEYNOTE SPEAKER: David Skorton, President Cornell University Join Crain’s and hear from David Skorton about why Cornell was intent to win the applied science and tech campus bid. Skorton will discuss the economic impact CornellNYC Tech will have on the business community and how the project will revitalize Roosevelt Island and the F train by creating a tech corridor from Manhattan to Queens. Cleaning up NY’s garbage disposal N BY CAROL KELLERMANN ew York City generates more than 25 tons of garbage per minute. That’s 14 million tons per year, and the city’s Department of Sanitation spends $2 billion annually to collect and dispose of about a third of it. More than $300 million of that tab goes to railroads, trucking companies and landfill operators to transport and dispose of 3 million tons of nonrecycled garbage, shipped mostly to Ohio, Instead of landfilling, New York City should follow the example of many European countries that convert nonrecyclable garbage into energy. Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Switzerland each recycle more than 40% of their garbage and convert about half the rest to energy, while New York City recycles 15% and converts only 9% to energy. The savings in converting waste to energy would be substantial. The current cost of local waste-toenergy is between $66 and $77 per ton, compared with $95 for longdistance landfilling. The environmental benefits would be significant, too. Every 14,400 tons of garbage converted to energy is the equivalent of removing 1,000 cars from the road. Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Virginia. This translates to $95 to ship and bury one ton of garbage— and this price is rising. The most recent contract for exporting garbage by rail sends city garbage more than 650 miles to Virginia,at $135 per ton. Exporting garbage is not only expensive, it does enormous environmental harm. The trucks and trains that carry garbage emit greenhouse gases, and the decomposition of garbage in landfills generates methane.Although the city is reducing emissions by rail-hauling more garbage, tractor-trailer trucks still travel 40 million miles to dump city garbage each year. This generates about 679,000 metric tons of greenhouse gases per year—the equivalent of 133,000 cars on the road. The city took a positive step in March by requesting proposals for waste-conversion facilities within 80 miles. But new plants would process a maximum of 900 tons per day,about 5% of landfilled city garbage, and the most mature conversion technology, combustion, is ineligible. Greater savings would be achieved by allowing larger new plants and partnering with existing local ones. Thirty-three facilities operate in New York and adjacent states, and the city should explore their ability to receive additional garbage, either as currently configured or through expansion. Locating a plant within city borders poses significant hurdles, but other cities, including Paris and Copenhagen, have recently designed plants that fit into the urban landscape. New York City’s legacy of waste incineration also hinders development, but air emissions from modern plants bear no resemblance to 1960s-era incinerators and meet strict federal and state regulations. If local waste-to-energy facilities processed 2 million more tons of city waste, New Yorkers would save $119 million annually and $2 billion over 30 years. The reduction in annual greenhouse-gas emissions would be 35%—the equivalent of eliminating all vehicle traffic through the Holland Tunnel. These are major savings and environmental improvements. New York City should not miss out on them. The author is president of the Citizens Budget Commission. PANELS: Plenary: Big Projects Revealed Pockets of Strength New Money Trail The Residential Puzzle Over the Horizon EVENT INFORMATION: Tuesday, June 12, 2012 Signature Theatre, 480 West 42nd Street 8:00 am - 8:30 am: Networking Breakfast 8:30 am - 12:00 pm: Program REGISTER TODAY AT: crainsnewyork.com/events-realestate2012 Or call: (212) 210-0739 Program Partner: For sponsorship information , please contact Trish Henry at thenry@crainsnewyork.com or (212) 210-0711. June 4, 2012 | Crain’s New York Business | 11 http://www.CNNMoney.com http://www.crainsnewyork.com/events-realestate2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Crains New York - June 4, 2012

Crains New York - June 4, 2012
Table of Contents
Drink stink: Big Soda aims to fight Bloomberg ban
To your health: Late nightclub owner bequeathed bar’s profits to hospitals
New York, New York
Tax cuts for wage hikes: A political deal takes shape in Albany
Sugar buzz: Readers weigh in on the idea
Viewpoint
Opinion
Small Business
Real Estate Deals
Classifieds
NASCAR’s marketing chief hits the road
Seed money for social entrepreneurs
Hot Jobs
Tracey Stewart finds her “moment of Zen”
A dream of a wine bar opens
The Week Ahead

Crains New York - June 4, 2012