I heard a report on this on NPR this morning and like most residents have seen Ed Koch and an elephant (can't tell which is which) plastered around town for the last few months. Apparently, the RNC is going to require something on the order of 8,000 free volunteers to do stuff for the RNC convention, which apparently they have gotten (though there's a lot of rumors that a lot of people who signed up were democratic gnats just trying to stiff them) Am I alone in being absolutely galled by the fact that the RNC, of all people, (or the DNC as well, as I'm sure they're doing the same thing), which reaps in hundreds of millions of dollar of cash from various corporations, PACS, and wealthy individuals per year, expects people to come work for them for free? It might be a non-profit entity, at least in theory, but there is no way in hell that the RNC, or the DNC, is without the financial means to employ a few thousand contract workers in an election year. Isn't that the point of allowing these massively inconvenient, massively expensive, massively irrelevant, massively vestigial and pointless conventions to come screw up your city for a week in the first place? They are sold to us on the basis of "yeah, this thing will suck for you and cost us some money to put on, but they will inject money into the economy and create jobs!" OK, then, so freaking create some. Since us non-swing staters don't get the benefit of campaign cash being lavished on us, it's the least they can do. I can sort of understand the civic pride type argument, for cities that want to put on a good show, but this is New freaking York. We have our reputation, we don't need to fall all over ourselves like an obsequious bunch of Orlando-ites or something like that. It's hardly going to make a dent. Also, while I'm pretty sure most of the whitebread young repubs will stick to the Upper West and Upper East, with no doubt a few parties at lame, wannabe joints in soho and tribeca, but generally won't go anywhere near, much less below 23rd st, if I am unable to get a seat at any one of my favorite taverns, bars, and/or cabarets in the E. Village or the LES because of young RNC'rs, well, there's going to be a fight. End rant.
This is normal. Thousands of people all over the country volunteer for political campaigns every year. Yes, they have millions, but they want to spend that on actual campaigning, not labor force. Even more importantly, if they have volunteers in large numbers, it demonstrates to everyone that they have LOTS of people fervently dedicated to their cause. That is a big deal to any campaign.
I know it's normal, but it's not necessary, especially with the massive amounts of cash being raised these days, and especially with the way conventions in particular are marketed to cities as economic engines rather than logistical albatrosses. Times have changed -- conventions are uneventful, rarely newsworthy and are a relic -- they basically serve as free airtime, even though most of it is only watched by political junkies anyway. It is "actual campaigning", and nothing more. They should no more expect free labor than free mailing privileges or free transportation or office space. They can pay for themselves many times over -- so they freaking should.
i saw steve nash on the LES a couple of weeks ago with a fat chick and a skinny chick. pretty nice guy. oh yeah. convention. a couple of my buddies are renting out their aprts to these convention goers for 2000+. here's to gridlock and more tourists walking around with their heads pointed up.
although i somewhat agree with said rant, its a known fact in america that just because people have the money to spend on something, doesn't mean that they will spend it if they can get it for free.
If your pub/tavern/haunt is filled up with convention goers, then the convention obviously is pumping money into the economy. All of those that attend have got to eat, sleep, and recreate while they are there, so there is no doubt that hosting the convention is a financial boon. Who cares if the people running the thing are doing it for free?
I care, for reasons stated above. The convention is already receiving millions of dollars worth of free services from the city, as well as imposing millions of dollars of transaction costs on others, involuntarily, in a place that is rarely, if ever, lacking in people to consume its goods and services. Of course, knowing that crowd I imagine planet Hollywood will have a better than average week.
