New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is the Citizens Against Government Waste’s “Porker of the Month” for demanding city residents pay an additional $5 billion in taxes while refusing to cut spending anywhere else.
De Blasio announced earlier this month that he would be requesting $7 billion in aid from the New York State government to help New York City recover from the coronavirus pandemic.
However, other state Democrats, including Gov. Andrew Cuomo, blasted de Blasio’s borrowing plan as premature after the New York state General Assembly and state Senate denied de Blasio’s request, according to the New York Post.
“You have to have serious conversations … Borrowing for operating expenses is a risky proposition,” Cuomo said. ” It has to be done with caution, if at all. You’re really rolling the dice on future revenues.”
The two liberal leaders have often found themselves at loggerheads in the power-struggle that ensued after the Big Apple became the defacto global epicenter of the virus outbreak.
In response, to the rejection from the state legislature, de Blasio cut his borrowing plan by $2 billion, arguing that the city needs a “fallback” if the federal government chooses not to send additional aid to New York.
But the CAGW pointed out in its monthly report that all de Blasio has to do is cut the city’s existing budget.
“If he slashed just 2%, he would save $1 billion,” the group explained. “There are other reasonable and easy solutions to resolve NYC’s budget crisis like having city workers pay insurance premiums, since 90% of them currently get free healthcare.”
Earlier this year, de Blasio had pledged to begin offering free healthcare to all residents, including illegal immigrants, although it is unclear what his timeframe was for enacting the measure and whether the city’s dual health and financial crises had derailed it.
“City employees make 75% more than the median wages for private sector workers, making it sensible to freeze their paychecks for two years,” said the CAGW release. “Instead, Mayor De Blasio is ignoring practical cuts, begging for more money, and driving New York City residents out in droves.”
CAGW President Tom Schatz said de Blasio’s latest financial failure proves he is “New York City’s worst mayor.”
“It is hard to think of anything good to say, other than he cannot run for mayor again in 2021, giving New York City taxpayers some hope for the future,” Schatz said in a statement.
“For refusing to reform the city’s budget while begging for more money, Bill De Blasio can put his award for ‘Porker of the Month’ right next to the plaque for ‘New York City’s Worst Mayor.’”
