The Issue: Mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio’s rating in the polls and his agenda for New York City.
***
The high poll numbers for Bill de Blasio are puzzling for any critical- thinking New Yorker (“The Left Strikes Back,” Editorial, Sept. 4).
He is quixotic and has all the heft and substance of a Wiffle Ball. There is nothing to latch onto that reflects vision or reform.
His dated rhetoric hinges on the theme of two New Yorks: one for the rich and one for the poor, implying an underlying resentment for people who worked hard and earned their status.
His modern-family campaign push, along with his portrayal as champion for the poor, is simply not enough for New York.
Phil Serpico
Queens
New York will certainly become two cities if gun violence and crime increase. That will occur if preventative measures are scrapped.
Sad to say, the heartland view of New York City being a mecca of violence will once again become the standard by which we are measured.
Once upon a time, I, who have lived in the city for 68 years, would have been hesitant to go into many neighborhoods. I don’t want to fear my own city again.
Ray Hackinson
Ozone Park
Of course de Blasio’s popularity is soaring, especially in a lousy economy.
He follows the Obama redistribution concept by promising “stuff” to his supporters. As the saying goes, if you take from Peter to give to Paul, you will always have Paul on your side.
Mark Poirier
Pawtucket, RI
De Blasio’s platform is to “tax the wealthy,” which is essentially government confiscation of wealth via taxation.
Sooner or later, the producers of wealth will be outnumbered by the takers. We are coming perilously close to that point.
Those who create wealth and income will eventually go on strike, demanding they be able to keep more of what they earn. To end this out-of-control spiral, government must destroy all its credit cards and be put on a fiscal diet. If not, our economy will continue to decline.
Larry Penner
Great Neck