Bill Thompson recently spoke to a forum on poverty, hunger and homelessness in New York City.
Thompson took aim at the $17 million in city tax breaks given to Related Companies for developing the Kingsbridge Armory in the Bronx, saying that it was unfair to subsidize a developer while ignoring community requests for a living wage provision for jobs created by the development. “The only reason why a developer would say, ‘jeez, I don’t want to ensure [a living wage],’ is because they want to put more money in their pocket,” he said.
My first reaction to that statement is Duh, the only reason why a potential employee would say “jeez, I want a living wage, is because they want to put more money in their pocket.”
Did Thompson, a former investment banker, just learn about something called “the profit motive?