A Fair Share for New York City
By Gifford Miller, Speaker of the New York City Council
New Yorkers have a reputation throughout the world for being gutsy,
creative, tough, and brave. And we’ve had to draw on just those
qualities over the last two years to cope with some of the worst crises
in our long history.
Make no mistake – New York City will recover from the tragedy of 9/11
and we will get our economy moving again. In order to realize these
goals, however, we need to radically reform our city’s relationship with
the state and federal governments.
Simply put: we need to get our fair share.
In 2002 alone, New York City sent Washington D.C. $6.3 billion dollars
more than we got back and we sent Albany $3.5 billion dollars more than
we got back.
This structural imbalance of both responsibilities and payments has
developed over the course of decades and fuels a perpetual cycle of
crisis. In boom times, it makes us less competitive. In difficult times,
it is crippling. At all times, it costs our City jobs and growth.
For far too long, New Yorkers have paid more than their fair share,
received less than their fair share, and the result is that we are
forced to compete with both hands tied behind our back. It’s been going
on too long, it’s wrong and it’s time we put an end to it.
That’s why the City Council has started a “Fair Share” campaign.
Let’s start with Washington. Here in New York City, we have to pay $4
billion every year in matching funds for Medicaid. That’s money that
could be used to keep teachers in the classroom, cops on the beat, and
fire fighters on duty. Other cities don’t have this burden and it
undermines our competitiveness.
We need to restore some sense of fairness and balance to the nation’s
capitol. And we can do this by rallying together in support of the
Council’s Fair Share agenda for Washington, which includes:
· Ensuring adequate funding for transportation infrastructure, including
public transit subsidies;
· Getting full funding for public safety needs relating to
anti-terrorist activity. New York City will likely receive just $4.41
per capita for homeland security, while Wyoming will receive $38.31 –
inequitable formulas in Washington have left a huge gap between New York
City’s allocation and the cost of securing our city.
· Ending unfunded mandates. The federal government needs to pick up the
cost of Medicaid and other mandates and stop heaping a disproportionate
share of the weight on the backs of local governments.
· And, finally, revising Medicare funding formulas that redirect money
away from city hospitals that desperately need the support;
We can and we must change policy in Washington, but it doesn’t stop
there.
We will also be taking the Fair Share to Albany, where we will fight for
a number of goals, perhaps the most important among them being
education. The Governor must stop shortchanging New York City’s 1.1
million school children.
It’s time for Albany to change its ways – and it’s time for New Yorkers
to make that change a reality by becoming foot soldiers in the fight for
equity and fairness. Anyone interested in joining this fight should log
on to www.fairsharenyc.com. There you will find information about letter
writing campaigns, bus trips and rallies.
Only when we get our fair share will our City be as productive and
competitive as the talents of our citizens allow. Only when we get our
fair share will our schools truly meet the needs of all our children.
Only when we get our fair share will our police officers and
firefighters have all of the resources they need to keep crime low and
protect our families from harm.
I know we will prevail. And when we have succeeded, we will look back
and say to ourselves, and our children, that we helped the greatest City
on earth meet its greatest challenge.
