Mayor Bill de Blasio won election in 2013 by making inequality in New York and doing something about it the centerpiece of his campaign. As he revs up his reelection campaign, he is doubling down on the issue as his State of the City speech earlier this week showed.
In fact, the mayor has accomplished many of the specific steps he outlined in his first campaign. He instituted universal pre-K and expanded after school programs, helped enact a $15 minimum wage, extended living wage requirements to any firm with city contracts, required paid sick leave, and launched the most ambitious affordable housing plan of any mayor. Only higher city income taxes on the rich fell by the wayside.
Yet, inequality has edged up on his watch. When he took office in 2013, the top 1% of New Yorkers collected about 38% of the income in the city. By 2015, that number had edged up to more than 40%, according to the latest data available. The figure is not far from the record 44% in 2007.
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Income going to the top 1%
1980199520102015 US 10.0% 15.2% 19.9% 22.0% NYS 12.0% 19.1% 29.1% 32.4% NYC 12.2% 22.7% 37.5% 40.9%
Source: Fiscal Policy Institute
The increase is not his fault. Inequality is primarily the result of broad economic trends such as the major market rally that has boosted the incomes of the rich more than others. Inequality will get worse too if the Republicans in Congress and President Donald Trump follow through on plans to enact tax cuts that favor the wealthy.
But it seems the mayor has decided that’s how to appeal to city voters. He was right last time. The polls say he will be this time too.
Mayor Bill de Blasio won election in 2013 by making inequality in New York and doing something about it the centerpiece of his campaign. As he revs up his reelection campaign, he is doubling down on the issue as his State of the City speech earlier this week showed.
In fact, the mayor has accomplished many of the specific steps he outlined in his first campaign. He instituted universal pre-K and expanded after school programs, helped enact a $15 minimum wage, extended living wage requirements to any firm with city contracts, required paid sick leave, and launched the most ambitious affordable housing plan of any mayor. Only higher city income taxes on the rich fell by the wayside.
Yet, inequality has edged up on his watch. When he took office in 2013, the top 1% of New Yorkers collected about 38% of the income in the city. By 2015, that number had edged up to more than 40%, according to the latest data available. The figure is not far from the record 44% in 2007.
Income going to the top 1%
Source: Fiscal Policy Institute
The increase is not his fault. Inequality is primarily the result of broad economic trends such as the major market rally that has boosted the incomes of the rich more than others. Inequality will get worse too if the Republicans in Congress and President Donald Trump follow through on plans to enact tax cuts that favor the wealthy.
But it seems the mayor has decided that’s how to appeal to city voters. He was right last time. The polls say he will be this time too.
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