Bill de Blasio Unsurprisingly Shuts Out the Media, Drives Up the Debt
May 29, 2014
By Sara Noble
Bill
Communist-leaning Progressive Bill de Blasio has shut out the media from day one, beginning with his midnight swearing-in, he conducts New York City’s public business in private. He’s driving up debt, growing welfare, and he could be a candidate for Governor.
We’ve come a long way in New York.
The AP recently conducted an analysis and discovered that in nearly five months in office, Sandanista Bill barred the media from 53 events and limited access to 30 more. Overall, de Blasio shuts the press out of about 20% of his listed events.
Meetings with Israeli officials, Al Sharpton, the mayor of Seattle, the NBA Commissioner were all conducted without any press in attendance.
Like Mr. Obama, he published official photos afterward which many in the media will not use in protest.
Don’t worry, he’s not serious. He said just last week that he “believes deeply in transparency”. Adding, “by definition it is in the eye of the beholder. We believe there is a whole swath of information that needs to be available to the public and we will continue to do a better job on a lot of day-to-day government business that is appropriately disclosable.”
In fact he ran on being transparent just like Mr. Obama. Last year, as public advocate, he unveiled a “Transparency Report Card” accusing Bloomberg-era city agencies of failing to “obey the law and make records public.”
It’s the way Albany has been run for years. It takes FOIA requests and long delays to find out what is going on and even then, you don’t find out.
In January, Sandanista Bill gave a speech at AIPAC and refused to allow the press in. A Capitol New York reporter was “escorted by event security from the third floor to the lobby.”
This should infuriate people.
He promised to announce his public schedule after a brush-up with the press over this incident. He blamed it on AIPAC.
Generally, he blames the secretiveness on logistics.
It couldn’t be because he wants to control everything that is given to the public, could it?
The media is all aghast and we at the Sentinel are all aghast that they’re aghast. What did they expect? Since when do Marxists, I means Progressives, share control and power? Why would anyone expect them to be transparent?
Rumor has it that the Acornistas in the Working Families Party might support Sandanista Bill in a run for Governor in lieu of Andrew Cuomo who, as a fairly extreme liberal, is too conservative for them.
Sandanista Bill’s Human Resources Administration commissioner Steve Banks is working on rolling back 20 years of welfare reform in the Great New York Giveaway. “Policy reforms to address inappropriate denials, case closings, and sanctions may lead to monthly caseload ‘growth’,” he said as he plans to grow the welfare rolls with the excuse that the new recipients were entitled all along.
Banks is opposed to those pesky work and eligibility requirements.
Liberal mayor Bloomberg racked up $115 billion in debt but he won’t be outdone by Sandanista Bill. His $73.9 billion budget for the fiscal year starting July 1 spends more on school programs and teachers, social services and housing. It anticipates shortfalls of $2.2 billion for fiscal 2016, $2 billion in 2017 and $3.2 billion in 2018. Those gaps are up from $1 billion, $630 million and $370 million in de Blasio’s February budget, crafted before the teachers 20-year, backpay included, deal.
He hasn’t bothered to plan a way to pay for all of it.
The “harsh” enforcement for food stamp applicants will stop and now they only need to “self-attest” to their housing expenses, rather than prove them—it’s the honor system and an invitation to lying and fraud.
Banks wants to give cash assistance and provide easy welfare enrollment to lower homelessness. He’s actually going to increase poverty and reduce the incentive to work. Onerous rent regulations keep the supply of rental housing low but there’s no plan to correct that.
These are people who love government control of everything.
http://www.independentsentinel.com/bill-de-blasio-unsurprisingly-shuts-out-the-media-drives-up-the-debt/
