Two models of governance: Florida’s discipline vs. NYC’s costly excess

when New York City mayor Zahran Mamdani When he announced his first budget last week, the $127 billion price tag sparked a host of not-so-subtle, and often inaccurate, comparisons on social media with spending by the state of Florida ($117 billion, with three times the population) and other government units as far away as Tokyo.

Florida Governor DeSantis does not oversee garbage collection or legions of firefighters, just as Mayor Mamdani is not in charge of his state’s prison system or sprawling wilderness preserves. Japanese prefectures cannot be compared to the five boroughs of New York City.

None of this excuses Gotham’s redundancy. On the contrary, seeking to stir up anger through apples-to-oranges comparisons risks numbing Americans to more extreme parts of politics. New York City spending -And the lessons the rest of the country should learn.

The bulk of New York City’s budget, the public school system, is best viewed as a union jobs program for adults, shielded from scrutiny by what is often a greater focus on equity than on results. It’s on track to offset nearly a third of the city’s spending next year.

The most recent federal data, for the 2022-23 school year, pegged New York City’s spending at $33,387 per pupil. None of the other 90 largest areas in the country exceeded $24,000. Los Angeles, the second largest, spent $22,606, followed by Miami-Dade at $13,138, Chicago at $22,699, and Clark County Schools in Nevada at $11,569.

Miami-Dade fourth graders outperformed their New York City counterparts on the latest federal standardized math and reading tests; Eighth graders in the two districts posted comparable grade point averages, even as New York City spent two and a half times the amount per student.

New York City’s high spending stems in part from a recent decline in public school enrollment. Student numbers were declining in the run-up to the coronavirus and families dropped out of the system (and often the state entirely). The number of first-graders fell from 87,000 in 2015 to less than 70,000 last year — and a growing share of them attend charter schools, which are publicly funded but privately run.

Mamdani’s class war against corporations in New York is ‘economic sabotage’

My colleague Daniela Egorov points out that New York City has at least 100 city-run schools with fewer than 150 students. Most government agencies facing such dissatisfaction have now made a radical shift. The teachers union risked losing political influence if the workforce shrank, so Albany had to force the city to hire thousands of additional teachers to fill empty classrooms, under the guise of shrinking class sizes.

Labour’s grip is not limited to the Department of Education. Outside of the highest levels of managers, nearly every city employee has terms and conditions of employment set by A Union contract — part of the lasting and costly legacy of Mayor Robert Wagner, who ordered city agencies to sign contracts with employee unions in the late 1950s.

The result is inefficiency, as even the smallest changes in how agencies operate and how services are delivered have to be negotiated. Union deals until recently barred city public housing residents from getting repairs after 4:30 p.m. (or on weekends); Another union’s takeover of city lifeguard jobs has forced the city to leave some beaches closed.

Economists warn Mamdani rent freeze and tax hikes represent a ‘devastating blow to wealth’

New York City is also one of the few remaining government employers that offers free health insurance not only to its employees but also to retirees. (Even New York State government requires its employees to bear at least 12 percent of the cost.)

When police officers and firefighters are eligible to retire at half pay and keep their benefits after 20 years on the job, it means city taxpayers could be on the hook for the current equivalent of nearly $1 million in health care benefits alone before that retiree reaches Medicare age — and then for additional coverage afterward.

Meanwhile, city unions are pressing state lawmakers to make even undocumented workers eligible for full pensions at age 55 and lower the amount they must contribute.

Mamdani ‘painful’ tax hike threat mocked by Washington Post for proving ‘socialist utopia is expensive’

The problem is not that New York City is spending on one benefit or another. The “union city” mentality reflects institutional resistance to efficiency; Taxpayers and the quality of services provided come first. A city whose unions are powerful enough to be forced to absorb 100% of the increase in health insurance costs is unlikely to allow, let alone embrace, new opportunities for automation or other cost savings.

Click here for more Fox News opinions

New York’s unique collective bargaining law requires unionized employees to continue receiving raises even after their contracts expire, leaving elected officials with little leverage to push for changes that would improve services or reduce costs.

On top of this swelling, New York City also goes above and beyond in providing services that many other communities cannot imagine. The city’s newly expanded housing voucher program is expected to continue to rise, rising over the next two years by $2 billion more than originally budgeted. Meanwhile, New York City continues to blur the line between public education and state child care as it expands its “pre-K” offerings down to 2-year-olds while seeking “universal child care.”

Click here to download the FOX NEWS app

Mamdani is ambitious Spending agenda He was temporarily derailed as he grappled with the reality that city officials for years spent more than they raised, a risky proposition outside of a recession or emergency. For the new mayor, this is a painful lesson in fiscal reality.

For the rest of America, it’s an opportunity to learn from and avoid New York City’s bad choices.

Related article