Hey, Can You Spare $500 for New York?
By T. Spike Terwilliger, Ed.D.
Just how much are you willing to pay for New York/New York City’s bad decisions during the pandemic?
This week, the United States Secretary of the Treasury announced borrowing of $3 trillion to basically cover the CARES Act and the additional bill that added to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). That bill, if we consider a 30 year bond, will cost each man, woman, and child in the United States today almost $11,000 (with interest). Of course it will actually cost more because US debt is continually rolled over. I don’t have that kind of money lying around, do you?
The issue next that will confront Congress is the massive amount of money that New York is seeking. The estimates by the governor of NY and mayor of NYC vary; but is upwards of $100 to $150 billion. Keep in mind that New York City’s per capita income is higher than any individual US state! Yet, this bill would cost an estimated $435 to $460 (or about $520 with interest) from each man, woman, and child in the United States just to cover New York? Remember, this is in addition to the $11,000 that we’re already obligated to with the $3 trillion being borrowed. That doesn’t seem right on nearly every level.
Let’s keep in mind that it’s not free money from the federal government — it’s money we don’t have and we will have to float more bonds which we have to pay back with interest… all of us.
Appropriately or not, the Federal support so far to New York has been massive — from PPE to ventilators, to building hospitals that weren’t used and the USNS Comfort that wasn’t used; the bill is well into the hundred of millions or more. We’d do that for a hurricane, the California fires, tornadoes and other major crisis’. This is different.
New York is suggesting the scenario that every man, woman, and child should come up with another $500. Should every family of four in California pay $2,000 because New York didn’t lock down NYC, a population of 8 million when the several cases in Westchester were discovered? Should every couple in Maine pay $1000 because the governor of New York came on TV for several weeks telling people to stop going to parks — yet didn’t shut them down for weeks? Should every senior on social security in Michigan pay $500 because New York sent COVID19 patients into nursing homes resulting in 1,600 more, clearly unnecessary deaths? Should every man, woman, and child in Virginia pay $500 because New York has throngs of people shoulder to shoulder without masks welcoming the USNS Comfort, on streets, at the pier, etc well into the so called “stay at home” order? I think the answer is no.
States have been clamoring that the Federal Government should respect and follow the Tenth Amendment of the Constitution. States and local jurisdictions have the power and properly, the authority to levy taxes to pay the bills and obligations of their state. States and local jurisdictions have responsibility to make hard choices. If the hard choice was to not lock down 8 million people sooner than later — that choice shouldn’t mean that the other 320 million people each pay $500!
Congress must keep in their lane. They have already approved billions to states in the CARES Act including New York. Citizens of New York received the $1,200 helicopter money. Citizens of New York received the extra $600 per week in unemployment and extended unemployment. Citizens of New York benefited from PPP. Each of these programs are proportionate to population size; and therefore New York received their proportional support from the Federal Government as the 4th largest state, plus the tens if not hundreds of millions more in demands by the TV-hungry governor.
Every state and territory of the United States took a hit and will continue to take a hit from COVID19. It’s tragic. The impact isn’t equal. Perhaps the best example is to compare California to New York. California is about double the size in population to New York with more larger cities than New York, and about 17% of the cases from COVID19. Why? In part because California locked down when the cases in Washington State (two states away) was reeling from the initial cases. When New York saw the many cases from Westchester about 30 miles from Manhattan — nothing was done. In fact, Mr Cuomo said on February 7th, “Focus on the flu, not the coronavirus.” This was a crucial mistake. I’m not convinced that every man, woman, and child in the whole of the United States should pay $500 for this mistake.
Dr T. Spike Terwilliger is a retired military officer and Federal executive with 35 years of service. He is also a former professor of leadership and management; associate professor of education and national security as well as a visiting professor of national security.
