Mayor de Blasio made clear yet again this week that he really, really hates “inequality.” Still unclear is what exactly he doesn’t like about it — and how he plans to “fix” it.
At a gathering of mayors from Boston, San Franciso, Philadelphia, Chicago and 26 other big cities, de Blasio decried the existence of wide gaps in people’s income and wealth — as highlighted in a new report the group released.
The mayors vowed to “find a pathway” to address such inequality by pushing measures like higher government-mandated wages, expanded pre-K classes and “21st-century broadband to bridge the digital divide.”
Here’s the problem: “Inequality” in itself, as is often noted, is mostly only a problem insofar as it lets pols like de Blasio stoke class resentment.
The real issue is poverty — and who’s against efforts to reduce that?
Alas, there’s scant evidence the mayors’ agenda would curb poverty much. Minimum-wage hikes, for instance, directly apply only to folks who earn the minimum wage — i.e., less than 2 percent of workers (a third of whom are between 16 and 19).
They’d also fuel price hikes and job cuts. And while pre-K education sounds good, there’s little proof it leads to lasting gains.
Other steps are far more likely to help those at the bottom.
Lower taxes and fewer government rules, for instance, can promote business and job growth, drive competition for workers and push up wages. Better schools, like charters, can give students a leg up in the work world.
Fact is, over the years, government-driven steps like those the mayors propose haven’t done much to cut poverty. The answer isn’t more of these steps — but fewer.