Balancing Scales

            The New York Times published an article this week discussing Bill de Basio’s power as new mayor to eliminate inequality in New York City. Setting the stage by mentioning the new luxurious residential tower overlooking Central Park in which one unit sold for 90 billion dollars, the author dissects his aversion to the fact that such units are being purchased by affluent foreigners living abroad. With further analysis, he realizes that cities find such investments worth the cost of perpetuating inequality. Bill de Basio gave a speech during elections promising to mitigate New Yorks “Tale of Two Cities,” but his campaign was more ideological than realistic. In fact his proposed tax reform calls upon half-millionaires to pay just half a percent more in taxes, for the city to put toward education. A large reason that mayors tend not to provide extensive assistance to the less fortunate is that such policy would then attract additional poor to move into the city. Economist Edward Glaeser criticizes that de Blassio’s policy is going to further divide the rich and poor, pushing out the middle class.

            This article I found strikingly relevant to my interest in homelessness, as often policies, such as tax reformation and education subsidization, are cogent on a national scale, but have converse effect at a local level. This idea reminded me of a point my Social Welfare professors often cite, which is that the City of Berkeley is popularly criticized for neglecting and/or producing its abundance of homelessness, when in actuality Berkeley attracts homeless individuals from across the nation. Because Berkeley offers so many free provisions, caseworkers as far as the east coast recommend clients to seek better futures in Berkeley. Thus, mayors governing at the local scale are in a bind when it comes to actually enacting such ideologies as mitigating inequality. This predicament makes me wonder how much more complicated poverty alleviation is and will be in the constantly more globalized world when residents flow not only between cities, but also between nations seeking the best benefits for the lowest cost.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/01/magazine/why-mayors-cant-combat-income-inequality.html?_r=0