How Eric Adams can make NYC great again Adele Malpass
The honeymoon period for Eric Adams, New York City’s newly elected mayor, is an opportunity to propose a transformational economic growth plan in his February budget. During the campaign, Adams made remarks such as “New York will no longer be anti-business” — an about-face from former Mayor Bill de Blasio’s eight-year record.
Mayor Adams’s remarks are welcome, and he has already proposed cutting red tape, cutting waste, and increasing worker training. These are good first steps, but New York is at one of its lowest economic points ever — as shown by the 9% unemployment rate. The mayor needs more specifics if he is to restore the city’s national economic leadership and create jobs.
Some of this can be achieved by being vocally pro-business. Tone matters. The upbeat mayor is a natural cheerleader who wants to be known as the “GSD mayor,” one who will “get stuff done.” Ambitious targets help amplify the message. A worthy goal would be to bring back 400,000 jobs to regain the pre-pandemic level and begin a cycle of bond rating upgrades, not downgrades.
The city lost nearly 615,000 jobs over the course of the pandemic and has brought back only 213,000 of these jobs, according to the New York City Independent Budget Office. Why the sluggish recovery? For decades, New York has been at the bottom of rankings for having the worst tax, regulatory, and business environment in the country. Businesses are leaving in record numbers for low-tax states such as Florida and Texas and taking their tax revenue and workers with them. Making all these problems more complex is that economic growth is closely linked with quality-of-life concerns such as crime and sanitation, which also need turning around.
Adams is in a difficult political situation: He needs to contend with one-party rule and a far-left city council and permanent ruling class in Albany that is heavily invested in the current situation. This makes some steps out of reach, especially the big-ticket items such as the high marginal income tax rate, the city’s corporate tax, and the despised property tax system. For these to be rolled back would require a sea-change in the anti-business mindset in the city council and Albany. Maybe next year.
The good news is the mayor has many achievable proposals within his power. He has broad discretion to reduce many burdensome regulations and taxes in ways that encourage jobs and growth, and he has the bully pulpit to pressure Albany. The mayor has already made an important start by issuing an executive order requiring city agencies to identify at least 25 violations that are responsible for the greatest number of summonses and fines. The list will surprise and horrify — unless you own a small business. Many of these regulations are time consuming, expensive, and psychologically draining, having led to an underground world of expediters to untangle even simple tasks. In his budget, Adams could propose a new metric of success based on the elimination of nuisance fees and fines and the creation of new small businesses. The two go hand in hand.
Adams will need to fight the ingrained budget system, which is set up to benefit the political class. The premise is that higher taxes and fines help balance the budget because no one will close their business or leave the city no matter how onerous the business climate. The data support the opposite. As part of restoring New York City, Adams could lower taxes on sales, hotel rooms, and commercial real estate, knowing that the city will be better off.
Adams’s budget should be focused on growth and jobs while restoring business confidence and investment. He should think big about the future while taking steps now that are within his power, and he will instantly be a popular job creator.
Adele Malpass has worked as a business and political reporter for CNBC, the New York Post, RealClearPolitics, and other media outlets. She also has been the chairwoman of the Manhattan Republican Party.
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