by | BLOG, COVID, ECONOMY, EDUCATION, FREEDOM, GOVERNMENT, NEW YORK, POLITICS
The NYC public schools are now supposed to begin opening on September 29, but unions continue to be apprehensive about in-person instruction. De Blasio already delayed school opening twice this year after ongoing threats of a teacher strike, citing “concerns raised by our labor partners.” On the other hand NYC charter and private schools have a variety of re-opening options other than virtual: from fully in-person to hybrid to outdoor classrooms. The contrast in competency is astounding.
The schools have been fully closed for six months because of COVID, and it’s not like educators didn’t know that their singular task of providing education to children would resume in the fall. Nor are NYC public schools the only education system to face COVID. Virtually the entire country has had to come up with plans to safely re-open schools, and yet NYC public schools continue to be unprepared and incompetent.
De Blasio has proven incapable of negotiating with the unions, and in doing so, he has let down students and parents. This inability to effectively execute a plan to help students learn is perhaps the strongest argument to date as to why charter and private schools should really be the models we move towards in order to provide quality 21st century learning to our children.
by | ARTICLES, BLOG, FREEDOM, GOVERNMENT, NEW YORK, POLITICS, TAXES
The hostile New York City business environment has claimed a new victim: the legendary China Fun restaurant, which has been in operation for 25 years. A letter on left on the door of the restaurant on January 3, 2017, outlined the reasons:
“The climate for small businesses like ours in New York have become such that it’s difficult to justify taking risks and running — nevermind starting — a legitimate mom-and-pop business,” read a letter posted by the owners in the restaurant’s front door.
“The state and municipal governments, with their punishing rules and regulations, seems to believe that we should be their cash machine to pay for all that ails us in society.”
For 25 years, China Fun was renowned for its peerless soup dumplings and piquant General Tso’s chicken.
According to the NY Daily News, “the endless paperwork and constant regulation that forced the shutdown accumulated over the years.” Other reasons included: the requirement to provide an on-site break room, minimum wage increases, health insurance, business insurance, and onerous Health Department rules and regulations.
The government essentially acknowledges the burdens it places on small businesses; “free compliance advisors are available for on-sight consultation aimed at helping small businesses comply with regulations” are a part of the Small Business First initiative.
So instead of making it easier for a business to start, operate, and grow a business, NYC makes it easier to comply with overbearing regulation, rules, and taxes. Businesses go into business to make a product or provide a service — not to respond to government red tape. The loss of China Fun is a microcosm of the entirely hostile, anti-business environment that plagues the NYC government.
by | ARTICLES, BLOG, ECONOMY, GOVERNMENT, NEW YORK, OBAMA, POLITICS, TAXES
If NYC ever survives a mayor as economically ignorant as Bill de Blasio, it will be nothing short of a miracle. Not only has he been committed to “combating income inequality” by advocating raising taxes on the wealthy, now he also is pushing for a minimum wage hike to more than $13/hour as a means to bolster the economy.
De Blasio recently announced, “It’s time for New York City businesses to take bold action—not only because hardworking New Yorkers deserve a path to the middle class and an opportunity to stay in the middle class—but because giving them that opportunity would do so much to help our economy.”
His brilliant plan is to raise the wages past $13/hour in 2016, and then indexing it to inflation over the next 3 years so that the minimum wage will be $15/hour by 2019. The current wage is $8.75/hour, which will be $9.00 as of January 1, 2016. Where does de Blasio think that extra $4/hour is going to come from? He told the business owners that it’s time do “do your part”.
Unfortunately for the workers of NYC, they have a mayor who doesn’t understand that raising the minimum wage adversely affects those whom the wage hikes purport to help, especially the poorest in NYC. Less persons would be employed at $13/hour and $15/hour than if the minimum wage had not been hiked at all. Put it another way, many would see their hourly wages drop to $0/hour. That is not “opportunity”. That is unmitigated disaster.
by | ARTICLES, BUSINESS, ECONOMY, GOVERNMENT, NEW YORK
The newest calls to raise the minimum wage in NYC to $11/hour are a frustrating reminder that the city’s own Comptroller, Scott Stringer, has a total lack of understanding about how economics work.
Scott Stringer makes the argument that raising the minimum wage to $11/hour would provide an additional $2 billion in annual income to working families. While that might sound good to taxpayers — to get more money in their pockets — he completely fails to explain the other side of the equation: from where does that $2 billion come?
Stringer seemingly takes that $2 billion figure out of thin air, as there is no documented basis from which he arrived at this number. If Stringer is not utterly incompetent, then he should certainly have available his complete analysis of the financial pluses and minuses that are likely to occur as the result of the minimum wage hike; after all, that is his job.
Here’s the problem. Minimum wage hikes mean that all employers in New York City – both in the government and in the private sector – will pay more for its labor than it currently does pay, in order to produce the exact same product or services. Looked at it another way, in order to keep to the operating budget, NYC will get less goods and services than it now receives. Or, to keep its present level of operations would result in a budget deficit — because of having to spend more overall to maintain the current goods and services.
Therefore, the thought that minimum wage increases — especially a substantial one — will not have a negative effect on the city economy, is ludicrous.
The standard justification goes that the higher minimum wage puts more money into needy families and therefore strengthens the economy. This argument just happens to have a wonderful political effect for Democrats: it makes them seem sensitive to the plight of the needy, while making Republicans look like shills for those greedy Republican businessmen who are only trying to squeeze every last dollar out of their poor employees.
Just one problem —the Democratic position is nonsense, and economists know it, because of simple Economics 101: no businessman would be willing to pay an employee more than the economic value of the employee for him to perform his work.
Let’s assume that the rise in the minimum wage puts the cost of employee in excess of the value of that employee. The employer may then 1) terminate the employee (saving the excess of cost over productivity) or 2) buy equipment which, at that price, becomes cheaper than the employee.
But let’s say the employer keeps the employee, just paying him more for the same work he did before. The employer will then either a) earn a smaller return on his investment, reducing the amount he will be able to invest in the business in the future; b) he will raise his prices, which will maintain his profit margin, but will reduce his sales via you, or c) some combination of a) and b). In either case, growth of the NY economy will be hurt.
Here in New York City, a minimum wage hike would mean that New York City will pay more for its labor than it currently has calculated to pay, in order to produce the exact same product or services. Looked at it another way, to then keep to the operating budget, NYC will get less goods and services for the taxes it receives. This would result in a budget deficit — because of having to spend more overall to maintain the current goods and services.
Therefore, the thought that minimum wage increases — especially a substantial one — will not have a negative effect on the city economy, is ludicrous.
What the city is demanding with the minimum wage increase will have two effects. First, businesses in the city will have to pay their labor more, thereby raising the price of their goods to cover the wage increase. This ultimately will render New York City businesses less competitive than other businesses not located in the city. The result? Our businesses will lose business to those outside of New York City. That is not positive for the economy.
Secondly, New York City is often required to buy from the lowest bidder for many of its goods and services. Therefore, the city would likely have end up buying from outside of the city in order to get those cheaper prices — thereby not supporting the city’s own businesses.
The net effect of a minimum wage hike from $8 to $11 (a 37.5% increase) will take its toll on businesses in New York City and the economy. Stringer has publicly admitted that “the budgetary path we are on is still not sustainable.” Instead of cutting spending, his solution is to make the businesses cough up extra funds via a wage increase so that those wages can subsequently be taxed for more revenue for the city and the city’s budget — even at the expense of NYC businesses. Taxpayers too, will be affected, because their tax dollars will have less purchasing power in the city.
The minimum wage is already set to rise incrementally through 2015 to $9.00 for New York. Pushing through a faster and higher minimum wage increase will handicap New York City businesses in an already sluggish economy, and punish those companies who already endure high taxes and unending bureaucracy under the heavy hand of government.
by | ARTICLES, BUSINESS, ECONOMY, GOVERNMENT, NEW YORK, OBAMA, POLITICS
The new pre-school plan presented by Mayor de Blasio reveals just how politically disingenuous he really is.
In his effort to push the progressive agenda he put forth during his campaign, de Blasio has vowed to have universal pre-school in New York State to be paid for only by the wealthiest New Yorkers.
Here’s the logical inconsistancy: If universal pre-school is the all-important and necessary step for all children in their educational development (the merits of which is fodder for another article entirely), then the only logical conclusion is that the cost should also be borne by all taxpayers the way K-12 already is — not just a select few. If “everyone” is not willing to pay his or her fair share of this “necessary” project, then maybe that tells us that it should not be done.
This line of thinking clearly echoes the Obama Administration’s sentiment that the rich “pay just a little bit more”, and it is not welcome in New York.
