I’m very fond of Belleayre.

It was built in 1949 by the State of New York. I have a picture of my mother and myself standing outside the lodge about eight years later, when I was 10 years old. Except for the funny old-fashioned clothes, it doesn’t look much different today.

It’s a friendly, low-key place, with lots of locals and lots of regulars. When my son was growing up, a season pass for a kid was $130 (it’s up to $215 now). Ski shops do seasonal rentals on equipment for about the same price, a total of $260 then, $345 now. Almost anyone can afford it, even a single parent.

As a result, a whole crew of local kids show up. They’re outdoors in the winter, which is a marvelous thing, especially in a region starved for recreation, and in a nation in which most young people’s idea of action is something that happens on screen while they sit on a couch.

In addition, Belleayre makes money for the state.

So why the urge to privatize?

Actually, the urge is to sell it. But that would require an amendment to the state constitution. Privatizing is the next best thing.

Granted, New York State can be better organized; and there are almost certainly ways to get more bang for our buck. The tone of this report sounds very sensible. I spoke to one of the authors, E.J. McMahon. He’s an affable, well-spoken guy, who accepts that people can differ.

But, is that what this is really about? To understand, let’s look at the source.

The Empire Center for Public Policy is a stepchild of the Manhattan Institute, a neocon think tank like the Cato Institute, the Heritage Foundation, and myriad others. Like them, it is funded by a collection of right-wing billionaires and major corporations including Exxon, Chase Manhattan, and Bristol Myers Squibb—big oil, big money, big pharma.

The Manhattan Institute was founded by William Casey. Casey ran Ronald Reagan’s presidential campaign, then became his CIA director, where he was a key player in Iran-Contra, trading arms for hostages, and, in order to fight the Soviet Union, he helped build the networks that became the Taliban and Al Qaeda.

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