Bill de Blasio, who a recent poll says is the leading candidate for the Democratic nomination for mayor of New York, tells the Nation magazine:
I think given what we've seen in the economic crisis of the past half-decade, the economic insecurity that people are feeling in this city and beyond, the driving down of wages and benefits, the answer is a higher level of unionization. I support the striking fast-food workers, for example, and I support the efforts of a number of unions to organize, and I think it's perfectly appropriate for a mayor to be front-and-center in those efforts.
The New York Times reports, meanwhile, that:
On Wednesday, Mr. de Blasio's aides said he would seek a slightly larger tax increase than he had originally indicated, after The New York Times questioned whether his earlier proposal would raise enough money for his goals....Mr. de Blasio is calling for raising the city's tax rate to 4.4 percent, from 3.87 percent, on income over $500,000...The increase is expected to raise about $530 million per year for the city, with $340 million to be spent on prekindergarten classes, and $190 million on after-school programs for middle school students. Until Wednesday, he had called for an increase to 4.3 percent, or $430 for every $100,000.
If Mr. de Blasio is increasing his tax increase proposals by ten basis points each day in the middle of the mayoral campaign, one can only imagine how they will escalate if he ever takes office.
