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While no one is questioning the fiscal stability of New York City the way they were during the 1970s, municipal spending has nonetheless exploded during Mayor Bloomberg's five years in office, far in excess of anything his predecessors accomplished over the last three decades.
Thanks to swelling city revenues from the booming stock and real estate markets, New York remains on firm budgetary footing. The New York Times reports, however, that Mayor Bloomberg has overseen the greatest expansion in city government spending since Mayor John Lindsay, another Upper East Side Republican.
As the Times graphic (left) illustrates, New York City's budget (adjusted for inflation) increased 23%, to $60 billion, during Bloomberg's five years in office. This compares to:
- An 8% increase during Mayor Giuliani's two terms
- A 4% increase during Mayor Dinkins' single term; and
- A 19% increase during the final two terms of Mayor Koch (who served three terms beginning in 1978).
Just two weeks ago, Mayor Bloomberg personally sent a letter out to top aides and the heads of city agencies emphasizing strict fiscal discipline and a warning that belt-tightening may be necessary in the future. Unfortunately, 75% of the spending increases are in areas that will prove inflexible if paring back is necessary. Budget growth has been concentrated on employee healthcare costs and benefits, pension contributions, and Medicaid.
While most of the increase in city revenues that allowed the budget to grow so quickly was due to a growing city economy, additional funds were raised by Bloomberg's push to increase property taxes (which he later trimmed) and increased fees. One thing he was committed to was not cutting services during the lean times he inherited as mayor after 2001's terrorist attacks. The New York Post adds today that Bloomberg is quite generous with his own money, having donated $166 million in 2006. One project that benefited from his largesse that we found interesting: "A $9 million traffic-safety grant to fund two projects in Vietnam and Mexico. They are intended to cut pedestrian deaths."
Graphic from the New York Times
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From the looks of the chart, the next mayor will bankrupt the city. How much money could there continue to be in taxing the megamillionaires of Wall Street; that boom can't last forever.
Eh, whatever. As long as he isn't making future commitments (expanding entitlement programs, etc.) and is just investing it in one-time projects, it isn't a big deal. Most of the myopic jackasses we have for politicians would say "look at how much money we have this year" and cut taxes (if Republican) or expand entitlements (Democrat) or do both (George W. Bush), assuming once it hits the fan it will be someone else's problem.
"We're marveling at how it took approximately 21 years, from 1981 to 2002, for the city budget to grow $12 billion to $48 billion. Mayor Bloomberg added another $12 billion to the budget in just five years."
$36bn in 21 years is still $12 billion every 7 years... considering that $12bn in 1988 is worth $21bn today, its really not that marvelous at all. In fact, its quite boring.
[3] $36 billion in this situation is what is known as a baseline; there's really nothing to extrapolate from it over any period of time. The growth over 21 years was $12bn, i.e. $36bn to $48bn.
Regardless of that misunderstanding, as it is both prominently displayed at the top of the graph and in the text of the post: all figures have been adjusted for inflation.
Thanks for keeping me on my toes though.
He's transfering it all over to that parks department fag, Benepe.
He sure isn't spending that money on the police force. New officers' salaries only start at $25,100. Ridiculous.
1.
Keep in mind the chart comes from the POLITICIANS themselves.
(Oh no? City Hall let the Times audit all their magical books! Wow! Great!)
EX: Giuliani and his pal Bloomberg created the largest municipal debt in all human history.
But I bet Rudy left that OUT of his fiscal reports, and I doubt Tax Hike Mike would include this stuff either.
2.
We can't trust their numbers, really, b/c there are thousands of ways politicians HIDE monies, and Rudy proved to all of us that there are infinite ways to cook books and fake stats.
If you think Rudy increased spending only 8% you're insane and should vote for him in 2008.
3.
It would be more constructive if The Times (or Gothamist) began exposing all the waste in the budget.
EX: for years now I've begged these zombies to challenge City Hall for stealing tax dollars to put politicians' NAMES on trash cans. (And recently I see the Daily News do a half-hearted editorial on this criminality??? Sheesh. No wonder we have the largest municipal budget EVER.)
4.
Take another look at my 100 INNOVATIONS FOR NYC at MayorBrodeur.org and look at my endless SPECIFIC fiscal innovations that would allow me to cut the budget by 10 billion instantly.
Conservatives and Liberals alike said my platform was the best they'd ever seen.
Too bad Gothamist said we shouldn't talk ISSUES or SOLUTIONS during a campaign and blacklisted me to write about Ferrer!
Jen and Jake are part of the reason I retired from Politics and won't run again.
GIULIANI FOR PRESIDENT!
B/c revenge will be mine.