Sandy Parker couldn't be more wrong about the Fair Share Tax Reform proposal ("Business Leader Sandy Parker Unshackled," March 25"). She claims that the Fair Share Tax Reform proposal would tax individuals who are "largely business and incubators." If by "largely" she means less than 2 percent of tax payers in New York, then she is correct. Otherwise, not so much.

According to James Parrott, of the Fiscal Policy Institute, "only 1.4 percent of tax units with small business income were in the top two federal tax brackets, i.e., over $250K." The VAST majority of small business owners don't make that kind of money and therefore would never be subject to the Fair Share tax.

Ms. Parker's comment that Albany has increased income taxes and business taxes is similarly truth impaired (business taxes and income taxes on the wealthy have actually been cut in half over the last 30 years). And those are just the errors that I know about. But the two-page interview with Ms. Parker reveals more disturbing issues.

Parker says that "New York State is really driven by special interest groups, particularly labor unions." I did a double take when I read that. Sandy Parker works for the Business Alliance. One can't think about the concept of "special interest" without bringing to mind powerful business lobbying groups like the Business Alliance.

Make no mistake: when the Business Alliance's Sandy Parker gets out in the public eye (and on the pages of City) to talk about what's going on in Albany, it is for one reason only: to influence public policy so that these corporations can maximize their profits. That is what she gets paid to do. It's right there in the Business Alliance mission: "The Rochester Business Alliance, the regional chamber of commerce, will create value for its members... by advocating for an environment essential for member success." The mission doesn't mention anything about justice, fairness, or sustainability of the planet. It's about maximizing "success," meaning profits.

That's fine. But let's see it for what it is: the voice of a particular special interest. And there is something peculiar about this type of special interest. As opposed to people with disabilities lobbying for home care or parents lobbying for smaller class sizes, corporate lobbyists don't represent New Yorkers, they represent corporations, and corporations are not people. This is not a small distinction.

One could make the case that the corporate lobbyists represent shareholders, but the corporate entity is required by law to maximize profit, not make the world a better place. We're not talking about altruistic, charitable organizations here.

Nor are we talking about democratic organizations. While unions actually are democratic organizations representing millions of New Yorkers who elect their union representatives, corporations are not democratic. We have no say in these business decisions. They are made in board rooms without any public input. We had no say when the corporations represented on the Business Alliance board of directors made decisions to send tens of thousands of our jobs overseas.

Parker says that New York State government should learn from the private sector and lay off workers. It's a good thing FDR didn't listen to this line of reasoning, and of course President Obama knows better as well. In a recession, the worst thing government can do is to promote unemployment and cut programs that help citizens keep their heads above water.

Why would Sandy Parker give advice contrary to basic macro economic theory? If you examine the balance of power in Albany, Parker's call to fire state workers begins to make sense. Business lobbyists in Albany have a lot of money to spread around for legislative campaigns, and they are very powerful. But they don't always get their way. It is very difficult to organize the voices of regular New Yorkers (I know; it's what I do for a living), but the unions provide one of the most powerful countervailing forces in Albany to the corporate lobby.

Invariably, it takes the combined force of grassroots groups and unions to fend off assaults from the special interests on Wall Street. By calling for massive layoffs of state workers, Parker is hoping to weaken public-employee unions, thereby weakening opposition to the policies advanced by the corporations she represents.

Let's be honest: the Business Alliance has been opposing policies that help ordinary working people, people struggling to pay their medical bills to businesses represented on the Business Alliance board of directors, people struggling to pay rent to landlords represented on the Business Alliance Board of directors, people struggling to pay back the high-interest loans to the banks represented on the Business Alliance board of directors, people struggling to pay for expensive classes (to get a better job) at the colleges represented on the Business Alliance board of directors, people working two jobs because they earn so little working for corporations represented on the Business Alliance board of directors.

I think it is great that City provides an outlet for in-depth interviews with people who are working to have an influence on legislation in Albany. I know you haven't yet done a two-page spread with Jim Bertolone, president of the Rochester Labor Council, or Jesse Lenney, president of Metro Justice, but doing so would provide a nice balance to the views of the Business Alliance's Sandy Parker.

JON GREENBAUM, ROCHESTER

Greenbaum is an organizer with the community activist group Metro Justice.