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Tag Archives: mike bloomberg
Mr. Bloomberg Goes To Washington
In a stunning display of amazement, Mayor Bloomberg is headed to Capitol Hill to rip Congress a new one for endangering New York City and the rest of America by creating a “Terror Gap” which allows suspected terrorists on the FBI watch list to purchase firearms, explosives, etc. Hot on the heels of a thwarted terrorist attempt in NYC, you probably thought that it took a diabolical genius just to get the equipment necessary. You thought wrong. Current federal law specifies only a limited number of reasons the government can cite to block the purchase of guns or explosives — and being in the FBI’s database of those “known or reasonably suspected of being involved in terrorist activity” isn’t one … More >>
Bloomberg: Four Day A Week Mayor
The Times ran a story yesterday about Bloomberg’s lavish twice monthly visits to Bermuda. Although Bloomberg is a giant philanthropist, there does to be something impolitic about going to one’s $10 million waterfront estate “about twice a month” when 22 percent of New Yorkers are classified as poor and 10 percent are unemployed. Even more important than whether the Mayor can empathize with so many poor and unemployed in the city while jumping on his private jet to abscond for the weekend, is how it affects his duties directly: New York City mayors have historically prided themselves on working seven days a week and racing to the scene of an emergency even on the weekends. Mr. Bloomberg does not. His … More >>
Sexy Charter Changes Coming
I have been challenged to make the Charter Revision Commission announced Thursday sexy. I am not sure I’ll reach that bar, but I am going to try to make it interesting. What is the City Charter? Think of it as the constitution of the city. It is the document that decides how the city works–everything from the existence of a City Council to what The Long Term Planning and Sustainability Office should be doing. It is quite long, with 356 pages and 74 sections. You can read it here, if you’d like. Two years ago, the Mayor promised that he would appoint a Commission to look at city government holistically, from his 2008 State of the City: Modernizing City government … More >>
In The Good Years, Take From NYC. In The Bad Years, Take From NYC.
The 1st lesson of Economics 101 is the rule of scarcity: An economy is faces with limited resources but unlimited wants and needs for these resources. But what happens when you have someone each year taking more and more of your resources? This is the dilemma New York City faces again. The worst kept secret in state and city relations is we have given billions more to the State coffers than we receive back. We have essentially bailed out the entire state year after year. But now that we are in a recession and New York City is facing the brunt it, Albany has decided that there’s no better time to take more from us. In Governor Paterson’s latest budget, … More >>
Tagged budget, mike bloomberg, new york city
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“Above politics” =! above patronage and political hires
His supporters keep telling us that Hizzoner’s above petty politics. Maybe, but he’s not above giving out jobs to his campaign staff and raises to his aides! From the Times: Even as he warns that the city may have to lay off thousands of workers, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has found city jobs for 15 members of his re-election campaign, many of whom are earning six-figure salaries, records and interviews show. The hirings suggest that while Mr. Bloomberg is calling for a leaner government that reflects the economic downturn, he is finding money in the budget for those who engineered his unexpectedly close re-election. In addition, seven city employees who left their jobs to work on the campaign have returned, … More >>
An Open Letter to Governor Paterson
Dear Governor David Paterson, The Manhattan Young Democrats and our Committee on Community and Social Equity (CASE) respectfully request that the Office of New York State Governor David Paterson intervene immediately to prevent the administration of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg from implementing rules requiring shelter residents to pay rent. The Bloomberg administration decided to implement this policy, established under Governor George Pataki, during his previous administration. As a result of a public outcry, these rules were temporarily suspended shortly after they were put into effect. However, now that the Mayoral election is over, we expect them to be re-imposed imminently. If nothing is done to stop him, New York City will begin to charge shelter residents rent and … More >>
