If New York could talk, what would she ask from us right now?
Suppose museums, music, art, culture, food, education, sports, parks, rapid transit, valuable real estate, finance, architecture, and miles of bike-friendly lanes are your thing. In that case, New York City is your place. The most populous city in the United States, with more than 8 million people, boasts, “if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere.” That’s what brought me to her – my competitive spirit and desire to see where I ranked on the world’s stage. To be surrounded by and learn from the world’s best. She demanded every ounce of my grit and hustle. She brought me to my knees and then raised me to places I thought I’d only see in my dreams. She stripped to my core and showed me how deep I could dig. This is why I came. It is why everyone comes. But now, some are leaving, and it’s hurting.
The City didn’t get this way because of the pandemic. Deeper problems need to be addressed to bring her back to her glory.
With a Gini coefficient (the income disparity index) of 0.55, it’s easy to understand why she is so loved by the rich and easily hated by the poor. I don’t profess to be a politician with solutions, but some things are in plain sight and common sense. Here are just three things that could go a long way to help bring her back to full strength.
1. New tax structure. Corporations and individuals are taxed way too high. People are fleeing high tax states, like California and New York, in droves. Data shows that 950 people are moving to Florida every day from New York. Goldman Sachs, one of Wall Street’s stalwarts, is leaving and taking its asset management division and 8 billion of annual revenue with it. Alliance Bernstein moved to Nashville in 2018. The top 1% of New Yorkers paid over $133Bn in taxes last year, which equated to 42.5% of the city’s total income tax. $4.9Bn came from 0.46% of the population. The financial health of the city is driven by the wealthy. The more they leave, the less tax revenue there will be, and the deeper the debt will grow. Wealthy individuals and corporations need to have an incentive to come here and stay here. We should be rolling out the red carpet, not chasing them off with a stick. We can generate tax revenue in more creative ways. What we are doing now isn’t working.
2. Fill the stores. More than one-third of all retail stores in Manhattan are sitting vacant. The rent is too high. Empty storefronts attract graffiti, vagrants, and a blight on our neighborhoods. The life of New York City is felt on the sidewalks. There are plenty of entrepreneurs looking for an opportunity to open a business. We need to make it easier for people to open and run profitable small businesses. If a landlord has a vacant store for more than four months of the year, they should be fined and taxed. (There’s some revenue for you). Other cities have vacancy taxes – and it works.
3. Help the unhoused and those with home insecurity. This is more than just a “homeless” problem. Many of the unhoused in New York City are in desperate need of medical and mental health assistance. Access for all healthcare dropped while the demand has only mushroomed. NYC accounts for 72% of the decline in inpatient psychiatric beds between 2000 and 2019, a total loss of 459 beds. Additionally, home insecurity is a genuine issue. The trend toward a more volatile service-based economy led to a destabilization of income for many low wage workers. Those with rent money this month may not have a job the next month. This is a macro issue that America needs to address as a part of a much larger conversation. Mayoral candidate Andrew Yang suggested a universal basic income policy to achieve more wage stabilization. It is creative and will certainly be vetted, but more “outside the box” ideas need to be discussed until we find a workable solution.
More than two-thirds of the world’s population will be living in urban areas by 2050. This current suburban flight will be short-lived, and New York City has every opportunity to continue to lead the way and attract those who aren’t afraid to test their mettle, but we have to start thinking of the future New York. I am not suggesting this is easy, but I am suggesting it is necessary.
Let’s do this.
-Shaun