Photo by: Adi Talwar
Republican frontrunner and former MTA chairman Joe Lhota has said he believes the best thing government can do for the economy is to get out of the private sector’s way.
New York City had a shorter and shallower recession that the rest of the U.S. during the 2007-2008 downturn. But while job creation has been strong, the city’s unemployment rate is still above the statewide and national averages; the Bronx has the highest unemployment rate (11.9 percent in July) of any county in the state.
And for all the success the Bloomberg administration had in creating jobs, those positions tended to be at the top or the bottom of the pay scale. There was little growth in the middle-income jobs families need to be able to afford to stay in the city.
The mayor only controls so much when it comes to the city’s economy; the decision of the Federal Reserve, the vagaries of global trade, even the weather can affect how businesses based here perform. But city policy can play a key role. Here’s the role the people running for mayor envision for their administrations:
