Ben McGrath looks at the reign of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and his quest for a third term. His article "The Untouchable," appears in the August 24th issue of the New Yorker.
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Ben McGrath
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Comments [5]
What has Bloomberg actually accomplished? Crime was coming down BEFORE he was elected. Crime was coming down BEFORE Giuliani was elected.
People (who are not vastly wealthy) are worse off. Unemployment is very high (much higher than official figures indicate). The NYC Foodbank estimates that almost half the city's population is facing difficulty AFFORDING FOOD.
Teachers and parents are unhappy with the schools.
Housing is a disaster that is getting worse.
So where is the upside of Dictator Bloomberg?
Charming?! He's a droning, entitled, self-important, scolding nanny. Who is charmed by this?
What is so difficult for New Yorkers to understand about progressive taxation.
The City gets back less than it pays out in taxes because the tax structure is progressive and the city is vastly wealthier than the rest of the state. All but one of the state's billionaires live in the city. The other one is in Westchester county.
Bloomberg is a hypocritical petty dictator playing on the misunderstandings of New Yorkers.
Also, what's the deal with the "Papa Smurf" comment? It seems really odd and backhanded . . . can McGrath explain?
For all the supposed "good" Mayor Bloomberg has done for the environment (and these efforts seem more flashy than substantive), both his suspension of term limits and his obscene spending have the potential to damage the fragile democratic ecosystem in the city. The willingness of the editorial boards to overlook this seems irresponsible . . .
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