For four centuries, New York City has been in the business of business, and has survived and prospered in times of war, disease, fire, pestilence, terrorist attack and market collapse. For four centuries New York City has welcomed immigrants and turned them into Americans and it did not make a difference where they came from, what they did in the old country, their religion, race, creed or any other factors that caused them to leave and take a perilous journey to the new world where they did not know the language, the customs, or their future.
They came to this country and this city because “the streets were paved with gold” and they could be free. No one came to America for socialism because, if they worked hard, obeyed the law and studied, they or more likely their children and grandchildren would have a future. Birth did not define a person, but rather their willingness to work hard.
Since its founding as a mercantile outpost, New York City has had wealthy and poor people live side by side and support each other. I grew up poor, went to New York City public schools; worked since my teenage years; paid city, state and federal taxes; employed many people and helped them become self-sufficient and then financially secure, and supported charitable causes. Now all I hear is “Make the rich pay their fair share.” I am not rich, but I do pay over 50% of my income in taxes, which means I work from January to early July to support the government.
Over the years I have written endlessly about the housing crisis in New York, which was not caused by the landlords or developers but legislation that failed to address the issue while the legislators continue to double down and come up with even more draconian legislation ignoring the actual cause of the problems.
For a moment, let’s consider the facts. In 2012, New York City’s budget was $68.5 billion and in 2026 the proposed vudget is $115.9 Billion, a 69% increase. In 2012 New York City’s capital budget was $7.1 billion. In 2026, the mayor proposed a 10-year capital budget of $173.4 billion or $17.3 billion a year, a 41% increase. In 2012, the public school budget was $23.7 billion and in 2026 the proposed public school budget is $33 Billion, a 39% increase, but the school population has gone from 1.1 million children to 859,000 children, a 22% decrease.
It has also been reported that the exodus of wealthy and middle income people and job-producing employers has been enormous. Instead of trying to stop the outflow of the people who pay the taxes and provide high paying jobs, the goal is to tax those who are remaining and those who might consider moving here even more, thereby increasing the migration of the very people we need to stay.
However, what we have seen in the last dozen years is that there is no limit as to how much New York City officials want to spend. Most families and businesses have budgets and cannot spend more than they earn, but not New York City, which just keeps spending or demanding its residents spend in unfunded mandates. The taxpayers cannot pay for everything the politicians propose.
Yes, New York City has an affordability problem, which is getting worse. If you look at the Consumer Price Index over the last 12 years, guess what? The biggest single factor in making New York City unaffordable is the cost of housing. Why is housing so expensive? Because there has not been enough housing produced. What is being done about it? Nothing other than recognizing that it is the laws and regulations that have caused these problems.
Perhaps it is time for the public to stand up and demand an explanation for why the situation is so bad and getting worse rather than chasing the wealthy and high-earning individuals away by standing in front of their homes screaming “Tax the Rich” and “The wealthy should pay their fair share” while ignoring that the source of the $115.9 billion in revenue needed to fund a bloated City government is being paid primarily by those people at whom the curses are directed.
Stuart Saft
Practice Group Leader
New York Real Estate Practice Group
Holland & Knight
787 7th Ave., 31st Floor
New York, NY 10019
stuart.saft@hklaw.com
(212)513-3308
