Truth in Advertising: NYC Gets Jobbed

In an ad that is not only misleading, as today’s NY Sun editorial incisively points out, but is also factually incorrect, as Steve Malanga as already exposed, Mayor Bloomberg continues to tout his five borough economic development plan. If the so-called plan was a product it would have to be recalled as defective. As an advertisement, it should be subject to sanction under any truth in advertising statute.

We’ve already pointed out just how outrageous the mayor’s small business claims are but the Sun editorial really hits the mark by exposing, in comparison to smaller cities like Seattle who were also hard hit by 9/11, just how miniscule NY’s job gains are. In addition, it its most telling observation Seth Lipsky (no relation) and company rightly point out that the job growth in NYC has little to do with any actions of the municipal government.

In fact, an opposite conclusion could easily be drawn. The Sun, after citing Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s point about businesses creating jobs, not politicians, states:

Businesses create jobs best when they're in cities and states that keep costs low through lower taxes, lower spending, and less regulation

This is exactly what the mayor has failed to do. He has passed record tax increases and, in a shameful example of disinformation, tries to peddle piddling rebates as tax relief. We would have expected a businessman to have a better handle on this but Bloomberg’s own business, somewhat like a Saudi Arabian oil well, seems immune to the standard rules that govern productivity.

In fact, the mayor, although a businessman himself, seems totally out of touch with those “lesser entities” who are forced to struggle when the business climate is inhospitable. That’s why the mayor, when he was asked about the impact of the so-called bodega tax – the 1800% cigarette tax increase from .08 cents to $1.50 a pack said that it was a “minor economic matter.”