N.Y. City Council Progressive Caucus Proposes Another Way To Budget

Speaker Quinn and Mayor Bloomberg had no trouble berating Albany for failing to deliver an on time budget yesterday, without owning up to their mess right here at home. While Bloomberg and the Council cannot pass the city's budget until the state finishes their business, a blueprint for how the New York City treats its people is developed beforehand. Unfortunately being the out of touch billionaire that Bloomberg is, the burden of spending cuts are being planned to placed on the working and middle classes. The newly created Progressive Caucus within the Council however, is proposing a different way.

From The Daily Politics:

Ten of the 12 members of the City Council’s new Progressive Caucus held a tax-the-rich press conference shortly after Mayor Bloomberg gave his private budget briefing this morning to elected officials.

Their theme: Everybody’s being asked to sacrifice -- except the fat cats of Wall Street and well-off New Yorkers. They called for higher tax hikes on Wall Street profits and on New Yorkers earning above $500,000 a year.[...]

Lander said the speaker was aware of the press conference, but deflected a question on whether she approved: “You’d have to ask her,” he said.

I think we know the answer to that question. When faced with a decision to favor the upper class or the rest of us, she always goes with the upper crust. Even when she does talk about something promising, nothing ever gets done in the end. In fact, these are the types that generally get her assistance. Many residents noticed this last year, as the powerful speaker, thought to have a crushing re-election effort, barely took half the votes and came away weak in the process.

What needs to happen in order for this caucus to make real reform and good progressive policy....is to elect more of them that will endorse a platform that takes the very wealthy off the pedestal that Bloomberg and Quinn have placed them on.

Note: I served as Yetta Kurland's Field Director in 2009.

What's A Progressive?

Don't be fooled by Republican activists that try and say the word "progressive" is a new word conjured up by the DNC. That word has meant volumes to activists long before you or I were born:

The Center for American Progress is a progressive think-tank dedicated to improving the lives of Americans through ideas and action.
We are creating a long-term, progressive vision for America—a vision that policy makers, thought-leaders and activists can use to shape the national debate and pass laws that make a difference.

As progressives we believe that America should be a country of boundless opportunity—where all people can better themselves through education, hard work, and the freedom to pursue their dreams. We believe this will only be achieved with an open and effective government that champions the common good over narrow self-interest, harnesses the strength of our diversity, and secures the rights and safety of its people.