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, ECONOMY, NEW YORK, POLITICS, TAXES
De Blasio recently announced the implementation of the NYC Commuter Benefits Law, which goes into effect on January 1, 2016. This law “requires for-profit and nonprofit employers with 20 or more full-time employees in New York City to offer commuter benefits. Employers can save by reducing payroll taxes and employees can lower their monthly expenses by using pre-tax income to pay for their commute.”
What De Blasio’s press release doesn’t say is that companies face costs associated with this new tax scheme. It doesn’t discuss the cost of implementation and the use of administrative resources. It doesn’t mention the constant upkeep, such as W2 adjustments or employee changes on and off the plan. All this adds more burden to small businesses.
This NY Commuter Benefits Law encapsulates De Blasio’s continued effort to destroy New York City growth and employment; it worsens the cost of being in business in New York. There is likely no net benefit to the employer for his forced participation.
It continues a longstanding situation where New York City mayors do what they think *is* good, but their schemes are really destructive. For instance, one of the most laughable programs in the world requires landlords in New York City to set up bank accounts for everyone who has a security account with their landlord; there are easily hundreds of thousands of such accounts in the city; virtually every New York City resident loses money, because the tax treatment of this at the state and federal level, so that it is a loss for everyone. It’s utterly ridiculous. For this particular law, however, I’ll give De Blasio the benefit of the doubt that he is just severely incompetent and economically clueless.
The continued assault on small businesses within the city make it harder for the economy to grow. The city needs less, not more, regulations for businesses to prosper.
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.