Action Alert: Stop NYC’s $89B budget (that costs more than Starbucks – literally)

Tell your New York City Councilmember: Vote NO on de Blasio’s budget

Mayor de Blasio’s $89 billion proposed budget is the perfect example of “less is more”: fewer positive results and more wasteful spending.

The mayor’s budget increases spending since last year at more than twice the rate of inflation. Spending ballooned over the previous three years – and there are no signs of it stopping.

But city government is just throwing money at problems without positive outcomes. Spending on homeless programs have skyrocketed with little to show for it. The city’s public housing is in utter disarray. And funding for public school teachers and administrators has increased dramatically while enrollment sinks.

De Blasio’s budget is larger than the state of Florida’s – even with less than half as many people. It’s more expensive than the US Department of State, the annual War in Afghanistan, the market value of the entire Starbucks company, and more.

New Yorkers should be asking: where is the return on their tax dollars?
Here’s what you need to know:

  1. Outrageous spending increases
  • New York City has mismanaged its budget, throwing money at problems without results. The city increased spending by more than 20% in the last three years – and that number is expected to grow at least another 11% by 2022. The mayor’s current proposed budget increases spending twice as fast as cost of living is rising.
  1. Risky budgeting practices
  • Both the NYC Comptroller and the City Council warn that the city’s reserves cannot withstand an economic downturn. Rather than increase spending, the city should set aside the $1 billion in one-time extra revenue it got from federal tax reform to bolster its cash reserves.
  1. More money, but fewer results
  • New York City’s spending isn’t producing results. Funding for homeless programs is growing 6 times faster than the city’s shelter population. And in the past 4 years, personnel costs for New York City schools have increased a massive 23% while enrollment has declined.

Here’s what you can do:

Call your New York City Councilmember and tell them to VOTE NO on a city budget that spends tax dollars recklessly!