I See a New York Bailout in the Future

Here we go. New York City has decided to go full-on Bolshevik. The citizens of the Big Apple decided they wanted free stuff more than freedom – so pixie dust and wishful thinking will be the city’s mode of operation for the foreseeable future. Their new Mayor, Zohran Mamdani, has promised free transportation, subsidized groceries, defunded police, frozen rent, and seized production. The Big Apple’s future looks bright – if you ignore every other time socialism has been tried in the past.

It will take him a year or so to implement his redistributionist policies, but it’s going to happen. It’s what New Yorkers voted for, and Mamdani is going to give it to them – good and hard. Once he’s finished the work of a long string of social justice warriors in Gracie Mansion, the collapse will be rapid:

• Buildings will fall into disrepair,
• Crime will run rampant,
• City pension funds will default,
• Subways will become homeless encampments, and
• Job opportunities will vanish.

Almost a million New Yorkers – the productive class – have vowed to leave due to Mamdani’s election. Contrary to Margaret Thatcher’s admonition, the new Mayor isn’t going to run out of other people’s money to spend, he’s going to run out of people with money to loot. And then the city of New York will turn to us, the tax payers. All Americans will be asked to fund the bad decision making of our largest city. The federal government will be asked for a bailout, and our elected leadership will claim that New York is “too big to fail.” Eventually a sympathetic party will win a national election, and New York will get its bailout … unless we put tools in place first, to “just say no.”

After New York gets its bailout, other cities will decide to experiment with redistribution too, because the Empire City will have demonstrated that failure doesn’t trigger consequences, it reaps rewards. When something doesn’t cost anything, people want a lot of that something. If bad decisions are free, there is no incentive for good decisions.

So, how do we “just say no” when Washington always says “yes”?

Last year Convention of States Action conducted a mock Article V convention, to see how an actual convention might play out. 49 of our 50 states sent delegates to participate. They debated the issues facing our republic, and brainstormed amendments which could return accountability to our federal government.

One of the mock convention’s proposals was a constitutional amendment which would allow the states to nullify disfavored actions coming out of Washington — which is always a target rich environment. If enacted, it would allow a simple majority of state legislatures to overrule any federal regulation, legislation, or executive order. It would be a game changer, clarifying that our “public servants” in Washington are actually supposed to serve us – the public.

Assuming such an amendment were ratified, a coalition of 26 states from “flyover country” could “just say no” to our grandchildren’s future being squandered to pay for free stuff in a city whose population is historically illiterate, or lacking in any self-control. Perhaps with such an amendment, other cities would be less inclined to test the generosity of the more fiscally responsible states.

Would such a check on Washington’s unrestricted use of our money discourage other municipalities from making bad decisions? Maybe. Maybe not. But at least the children of states which are able to live within their means wouldn’t see their futures vaporized by a socialist implosion.

But time is short, and the process is arduous. Thirty-four states must exercise their Article V power to call for a convention of states. Convention delegates must debate and propose amendments, and 38 states must ratify those proposals for them to become part of the Constitution.

Since New York has decided to drag us all over a cliff, we’d better hustle to get our parachute on. The edge of the fiscal cliff is only a few years away.

Author Bio: John Green is a retired engineer and political refugee from Minnesota, now residing in Idaho. He spent his career designing complex defense systems, developing high performance organizations, and doing corporate strategic planning. He is a contributor to American Thinker, The American Spectator, and the American Free News Network. He can be reached at greenjeg@gmail.com.

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