In Conversation: Michael Bloomberg

New York Magazine ^ | September 7, 2013 | Chris Smith

[proxy_user]

A common theme in the campaign to succeed you has been that you’ve governed primarily for the rich.

I’m fascinated by these comments—and it is just campaign rhetoric—suggesting that we haven’t done enough for the poor. The truth of the matter is we’ve done a lot more than anybody else has ever done. The average compensation—income—for the bottom 20 percent is higher than in almost every other city. Of course, the average compensation for the top 20 percent is 25 percent higher than the next four cities. But that’s our tax base. If we can find a bunch of billionaires around the world to move here, that would be a godsend, because that’s where the revenue comes to take care of everybody else.

Who’s paying our taxes? We pay the highest school costs in the country. It comes from the wealthy! We have an $8.5 billion budget for our Police Department. We’re the safest big city in the country—stop me when you get bored with this! Life expectancy is higher here than in the rest of the country—who’s paying for that? We want these people to come here, and it’s not our job to say that they’re over- or underpaid. I might not pay them the same thing if it was my company—maybe I’d pay them more, I don’t know. All I know is from the city’s point of view, we want these people, and why criticize them? Wouldn’t it be great if we could get all the Russian billionaires to move here?

[proxy_user]

I disagree with Mayor Bloomberg on many topics, but he sure understands where the money comes from.

Read the whole 8 pages, it is most interesting.

[Tilted Irish Kilt]

New York City is a paper empire built by excessive taxation on personal income and businesses
That taxation includes a percentage of the stock market transactions ,
and relies on commuters who can't afford to live within the city.
Don't believe me ?
Take a look at New York City and New York State Finances right after 9/11 .
The commuters may work in NYC ,
but they have to live elsewhere , and pay taxes there too !

[BeauBo]

New York City is in for an epic train wreck.

Bloomberg has some liberal tendencies, but he is beyond sound when it comes to business - in fact he is a world-class genius manager - a superstar. That’s what has kept NYC afloat and prospering despite obligations per capita that dwarf Detroit’s.

Bill De Blasio is a hard left ideologue with no private sector experience. He will drive NYC off the financial cliff with the accelerator pinned to the floor. It is going to be an epic failure - worse than Dinkins, back to the long hot Summers of the ‘60s and bankruptcy.