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The problem is NYC has learned nothing. In fact, it passed a record multibillion budget for this year after federal aid. Everyone is putting their head in the s
by delfinom 5y ago
The problem is NYC has learned nothing. In fact, it passed a record multibillion budget for this year after federal aid. Everyone is putting their head in the sand pretending everything is back to normal.
I expect the city to crash and burn financially in another year or two. Or start begging for a federal bailout.
And I don't say this as a twisted conservative wanting to see liberal cities burn. I'm pretty fucking liberal and NYC is going pretty much off a cliff at the moment.
- bradleyjg 5y agoFor a few decades NYC settled into a truce—-things would be good for real estate moguls, bankers, jet setters with 2nd/3rd/5th houses in the city, etc. In exchange no one would complain that city government, the state authorities, and trades would be fantastically overpaid and overstaffed. This was also good for people that worked in industries that cater to the rich (waiters, doormen, weed delivery services, etc, etc). Things were hardly perfect but aside from the very poor and people being squeezed out of neighborhoods due to gentrification most groups were doing well enough to be satisfied. The problem is that the whole thing depends on a few thousand very wealthy people sticking around. If they no longer care enough about the restaurants, museums, clubs, private schools, house parties, whatever to want to be in NYC pay taxes and spend lavishly then the whole thing falls apart. The worst part is that there’s no way to gracefully dial back—-wages and benefits are sticky.