If the city passes a law requiring a “living wage” be paid to workers at projects that receive public subsidies, about 6,000 to 13,000 jobs would be lost, according to a recent report.
For advocates, like Democratic City Councilman Oliver Koppell of the Bronx, that’s the good news.
In a public statement today, he referred to the 6,000 – 13,000 figure as “such a small amount of job loss.”
A reader who pointed this out to me noted job loss is a sensitive subject for any lawmaker from the Bronx, since that borough has the highest unemployment rate in the city.
On Monday, City Comptroller John Liu issued a statement that said, in part, the “living wage” legislation may “curtail” a number of new, minimum-wage jobs.
The report Koppell cited was released Monday night by the Economic Development Corporation.
Advocates of the legislation said City Hall was trying to “sabotage” tomorrow afternoon’s City Council hearing on the bill by releasing the summary of the report, instead of the entire report.
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Which side do you believe ?
Would “The Prisoner of City Hall” instruct his staff and Speaker Quinn to “sabotage” the hearing ?
Before there was the “Oracle at Delphi” there was Count Vampire J. Machiavelli
VJ Machiavelli
http://www.VJMachiavelli.blogspot.com
The Legislative Budget is Too Damn High
Why don’t we require that Council members actually work in a real job before shooting their mouths off about killing jobs with more nanny state nonsense like the “living wage” bill? Most Council members have never owned a business, never created a single job, never tried to balance a checkbook. It would be nice if we could find people to serve on Council who haven’t spent their entire lives feeding at the public trough and have no idea what they are doing to private businesses.
requiring private sector experience before making policies that affects the private sector — has a certain common senseness to it.
but…
i’m pretty sure there are legislators on the left, and right, who have spent their entire professional lives in elected office.
Senator Schumer is one — and he generally is seen as a Democrat with a good eye / ear for business community.
George Pataki didn’t have much private sector experience before becoming governor.
but i do get your point and it’s not unreasonable to ask what informs policy makers.