Finding a better way to pay for healthcare is important. But the disparities and unfairness in the way healthcare is delivered will persist unless officials, and the advocates who push them, adopt a broader focus.
The Senate sponsor of the New York Health Act and a critic from a conservative think tank size break down the rationale for the bill and the risks it faces.
Massive costs. A fractured system. Deep inequality. Those features of the state’s healthcare system pose a political challenge for fans of the New York Health Act. But they’re big reasons for their seeking change in the first place.
How ambitious will the wave of reform in Albany be when Democrats take full control of state government and start to address a long list of campaign-finance, voting and ethics reforms?
When it comes to participatory budgeting, the work of actually making the city’s democracy more vibrant is just beginning.
Advocates have a long wish list for changes to campaign rules and voting practices that, they say, are more than the sum of their parts.
‘There’s plenty of things to worry about, ethics included, and a need for action on all of them. But without a reasoned and careful reform of the budget process they will be fodder for headlines and soundbites, and not much more.’
A slew of election, campaign finance, and other reforms now seem all but assured to pass in 2019 (though few are counting any chickens before they hatch).
Mayor Bill de Blasio, who empaneled a charter revision commission last year that put the proposals on the ballot, argued that the proposals would strengthen democracy in the city.
‘Let’s be clear: universal rent control is not a radical idea. ‘
City Limits uses investigative journalism through the prism of New York City to identify urban problems, examine their causes, explore solutions, and equip communities to take action.
Founded in 1976 in the midst of New York’s fiscal crisis, City Limits exists to inform democracy and equip citizens to create a more just city. The organization is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit funded by foundation support, ad sponsorship and donations from readers.
Support local, investigative journalism that has informed and empowered New Yorkers for 45 years.
Support local, investigative journalism that has informed and empowered New Yorkers for 45 years.
