You’ve read at richardcyoung.com about the fiscal problems hitting big cities and the dependency placed on an entire state’s taxpayers. Newark, NJ is in need of a bail-out from all of New Jersey thanks to the mess left behind by Mayor Cory Booker. Here Steve Malanga explains in his “Cross Country” column in The WSJ:
Newark’s backsliding means trouble for the entire state of New Jersey. For decades the state has had to subsidize heavily the operations of Newark and its school system—which Jersey officials seized from the city in 1995 amid charges of corruption. Last year alone New Jersey sent $800 million to the city and its schools to keep their finances afloat.
When he first ran for mayor, Mr. Booker said of his Central Ward neighbors who chose to stay in Newark, “I’ve been inspired by people who haven’t given up on their community.” He still is, officially at least, their neighbor. But in many ways he seems to have moved on, bequeathing the struggle in Newark to those who stayed behind.
