A recent article on Bloomberg News demonstrates why I believe this recession will not be nearly as bad for most New Yorkers as the 1987 to 1992 or 2000 to 2003 recession in terms of their employment situation, but could be as bad as the 1970s for their standard of living and state and local taxes and services. “Jessica Walter didn't go to Harvard University to study cupcakes, but they're what she does since losing her job as a vice president in credit strategy at Bear Stearns Cos.,” the article reported. “’I want to teach kids to cook,’' said Walter, 27, who founded Cupcake Kids! in New York to provide birthday parties and cooking classes for children. `The goal is to have this be my full-time job and make enough to live.’'' Congratulations on joining the company of socially useful adults, Jessica! The bad news is that the impact of your work on society, as measured in dollars, is a lot smaller than it once was. The good news is there is a “plus” sign in front of it instead of a “minus.” The other bad news is that you and people like you, and your former firms, will be paying much less in taxes to the City and State of New York, who will now look to sacrifice someone else to make up for it.

The propaganda is coming fast and thick as the New York State legislature meets to consider a school property tax growth cap for the portion of New York State outside of New York City. The New York State Untied Teachers and the Working Families Party claim that restricting the increase in taxes to 20% more than the inflation rate, unless local residents vote to increase taxes more, would devastate upstate and suburban schools. And some state legislators from New York City have claimed that if tax increases were limited elsewhere, the state would have “no choice” but to cut education funding for New York City, or raise taxes on city residents, to make up the difference.

“Dan Squadron is not a Bloomberg Democrat“.—-Michael Bouldin 8/8/08

“I am proud to endorse Daniel Squadron for State Senate, and strongly encourage Democrats in Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn to vote for him in September."– Michael Bloomberg 8/12/08

Given the unpopularity among public school parents of continued Mayoral control of the school system, many thought that the assertion made a few days ago that the State Senate race between incumbent Marty Connor and challenger Dan Squadron was going to be a_referendum_on_continued mayoral_control_of_the_public schools looked to be wishful thinking on the part of supporters of Senator Connor.

On Brooklyn streets -on the other side of town- black folks have a saying: “God don’t like ugly”. This statement is often invoked, when the perception is that someone has done -or is doing- such egregious wrong(s), that eventually the powers that be, will catch up to them. And the belief is that when this happens, the wrath of God will descend heavily on the recalcitrant(s). Look, if in reality it does go down like this, then keep your eyes on the 56th AD folks: it is possible that strange things are about to take place. 

I have already written columns on what’s been happening this year, to candidates challenging the county machines in both Brooklyn and Queens. I have even bemoaned the fact that the mainstream media seems to be paying very little attention, to the attempts to undermine and subvert democracy in both boroughs. Maybe it is because this crap has been going on for so damn long, that to the fourth estate there is no longer a responsibility to highlight this stuff anymore.