State of the City 2014

A powerful speech today.  For the first time in twenty years, we have an actual progressive agenda:

“In past decades, working people built our city, and for their hard work they were rewarded – not always with great wealth, but with a fundamental assurance, the knowledge that hard work could pull them from modest means into a growing middle class,” he said. “Today, that assurance is missing, that sense of economic justice is gone. And that is what we aim to address.” . . . .

Mr. de Blasio gave his address at LaGuardia Community College in Queens. During his remarks, he also announced that the city would drop a lawsuit initiated by the Bloomberg administration that challenged a “living wage” measure passed by the City Council. While mayor, Michael R. Bloomberg had argued that the measure, which was supported by unions and pro-labor groups, would discourage companies from moving to New York or entering into contracts with the municipal government.  . . . .

 Many of the themes of the mayor’s speech were familiar. Mr. de Blasio used the occasion to press once again for a higher tax on New Yorkers who make more than $500,000 annually in order to pay for universal prekindergarten for all children in the city.“We’re not asking Albany to raise the state income tax by a penny to pay for universal pre-K and after-school programs here in New York City,” he said. “We’re simply asking Albany to allow New York City to tax itself – its wealthiest residents.”

Albany take note: this agenda has broad support in NYC.