In his Feb. 28 letter, Matthew Kuethe presented a scenario in which New York City could afford free child care for residents, free public transportation and build 200,000 housing units. All this could be financed, he proposes, through municipal bonds, as well as an increase to the corporate tax rate to 11.5 percent and and income tax increase on individuals earning $1 million or more per year.
But the problem here is that New York residents are already burdened with federal income taxes, state income taxes and city income taxes as well as Port of New York Authority income taxes. Thus, there is precious little room in people’s budgets for more taxes.
Besides, the population of New York City is decreasing from a high of 8.7 million in 2020 to a estimated total today of 7.9 million — 10 percent decrease since 2020. The tax base is shrinking. So I see no need for more housing if there is not population to support it. The rest of Mr. Kuethe’s wish list is financially speculative, unless there really is a Santa Claus.
