Saturday, November 11, 2023

We're broke

https://s3-prod.crainsnewyork.com/styles/width_792/s3/eric%20adams%20budget%202024.jpgCrain's New York

 As public and private watchdogs over New York City’s fiscal health, our mandate is to alert the public when the city faces an alarming financial situation. That moment has arrived: major looming budget gaps will have serious consequences for New Yorkers, unless action is taken now.

Many New Yorkers already sense the stress given how the staggering influx of asylum seekers and migrants has strained social services and the budget. The city estimates these costs may grow next year to equal what it spends to run the sanitation and parks departments combined.

But the billions of dollars the city will spend to care for these new arrivals is only one significant contributor to the fiscal shortfall — at most, 42 percent of the Fiscal Year 2025 budget gap. Our organizations project that gap for next year could be $9.9 billion and possibly up to $13.8 billion, even with the lower estimate assuming higher tax revenues and lower migrant costs than the city’s Office of Management and Budget anticipates.

The major underlying cause of the budget gap comes from years of added and expanded city programs that — at best — were supported only for a short time by non-recurring revenue or — at worst — not funded at all. City-funded spending has increased more than 50% over the past decade while recurring revenues have not kept pace. Despite the urging of our offices, few efforts have focused on increasing efficiency or shrinking lower impact programs, which could have allowed ongoing revenue to be sufficient to avoid future cuts.

The city and its unions agreed to reasonable raises for city workers, but did not identify how the $16 billion they added to the budget will be funded. The city also used federal Covid aid and a temporary tax revenue surge from record Wall Street bonuses to fund and grow over $2.5 billion of programs, from housing vouchers to education for 3-year-olds. Spending on overtime, special education and other services also regularly exceeds the budget. We are now facing what we call a “fiscal cliff,” because when funds dry up, the budget gap expands or programs must be cut.

What to do now? Knowing a reckoning is approaching, Mayor Eric Adams has rightly called for immediate action to stabilize the budget, directing city agencies to propose one round of 5% savings and be prepared for another two, amounting to nearly 15% in total. This is not easy, and must be done right to minimize impact on critical services. And it would be a futile task if city leaders continue to add spending: Adams’ four previous savings plans were helpful, but new spending that was simultaneously added amounted to more than double the planned savings.

29 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow they'll have to fire all the Jenkins from HRA

Anonymous said...

New York City should be so proud.

Anonymous said...

At this rate I’ll never vote democrat again and I’ve been a registered democrat since 1990. I no longer recognize this party.

Anonymous said...

Anyone with eyes and a brain figured this out over 5 years ago.


Anonymous said...

Race to the bottom is the new world order.

More than obvious.

Anonymous said...

Bring back Bloomberg ! We had a surplus in the budget every year he was in office.

Anonymous said...

I'm depending on the commenters to explain this to me.

Anonymous said...

GET WOKE; GO BROKE

Anonymous said...

I'm not worried. Trump will bail me out when he's president.

Anonymous said...

@"Bring back Bloomberg ! We had a surplus in the budget every year he was in office."

he was a communist. He's into all that global warming stuff and space lasers. We'd all be using perfect pronouns and starting another war for Israel.

Anonymous said...

They the Sheeple all voted for it.

Anonymous said...

@"Bring back Bloomberg ! We had a surplus in the budget every year he was in office."

Thanks to the roaring 90's. Who was president back then? Oh yeah, Clinton. Then the war criminal took over.

Anonymous said...

Many people think 2024 Trump victory would be good for boosting the economy, stopping crime, securing the border, cutting taxes, cutting spending, reducing inflation, increasing wealth, restoring freedom, protecting the Constitution, improving education, reestablishing social norms, improving foreign policy and stopping Deep State corruption. Any questions?

Anonymous said...

Sheeple are so stupid they will vote for abortion, transgender rights, open borders and now War just because they want to be Woke. Everything else that actually matters can go to crap. I have never understood people giving up their financial freedom for stupid virtue signaling. Pretty soon people will be giving half of all they earn to the govt, and I am sure many already do.

Anonymous said...

I could go for some "really mean tweets' right now.

Anonymous said...

Nice going mayor

Anonymous said...

No, Nice going Sheeple voters !

Anonymous said...

@"Oh yeah, Clinton" Are you drunk again ?

Anonymous said...

When the city goes bankrupt the real fun is going to start.
That when 130,000 illegal so called "migrants" from every 3rd world shithole on the planet stop getting fee stuff like lawyers, pork chops & rice, maid service, chefs, cafeterias, room & board, shelter and turn to stealing to help better themselves like they did in their home country's they already fucked up.
The schools and city is going to be be destroyed.
Many small business and big realtors already know this and have already started bailing.

Question is:
When all these people (half who are alcoholics and other problems) start busting into parked automobiles looking for valuables, showing up in your doorways, yards, basement steps, begging and looking for work at every street corner, will stupid voters learned their lesson about lousy voting habits?

Anonymous said...

Dose anyone have concerns over the radicalization of American youth and their ignorance of historical conflicts ?

Anonymous said...

@"Sheeple are so stupid they will vote for abortion, transgender rights, open borders and now War just..."

The Sheeple aren't voting for war because they want to be Woke. Jeeez.

Anonymous said...

Only idiots are consuming the legacy media.
Watching the "Legacy Media" is like stepping through some Rick & Morty Portal... into a universe where pizzas eat telephones! LOL :-)

Anonymous said...

The Uni-Party and their political dysfunction is crippling New York !

Anonymous said...

Today prices for homes are up 40% compared to before the Super Flu pandemic buying boom, be very careful Sheeple, you might be hit with a fraud indictment if you apply for a home equity loan using an inflated values.

Anonymous said...

Bidenomics at work! Pay more for fuel, groceries, loans, essentials. Careful who you vote for America. As Comrade Obama once said…”elections have consequences.”

Disgruntled Citizen said...

Chirlaine McCray has plenty of money!

Disgruntled Citizen said...

There’s plenty of money for Dept of Homeless agency workers but no money to build decent affordable housing

Anonymous said...

@“ Dose anyone have concerns over the radicalization of American youth and …”

No.

Anonymous said...

@"Bidenomics at work! Pay more for fuel, groceries, loans, essentials....."

Take a hike, whiny communist freeloader!