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-Signs, Portents, and the Weather-
Andrew Cuomo Begs Rich Hedge Funders Fleeing NYC: ''Please come back!' De Blasio disagrees
2020-08-07
[ZeroHedge] While Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (whose close friend and fellow activist Cori Bush just upset a longtime incumbent in a Missouri Congressional primary earlier this week) pushes for a 'first-in-the- nation' wealth tax that most reasonable people fear would destroy the state's tax base by driving the billionaires and multimillionaires who finance more than half of the state's budget to leave, NY Gov Andrew Cuomo is begging rich people to "please come back" to NYC.
Why live there when they can visit from time to time, and stay in a Trump Tower room to boot?
During a briefing earlier this week, Cuomo shared an amusing anecdote with reporters as he tried to illustrate the importance of retaining wealthy taxpayers during a period of fiscal crisis (remember, NY is seeking $60 billion in federal money to plug a gaping hole in its budget). Cuomo said that he had been calling up wealthy New Yorkers and asking them to please return to the city from their second homes out in the Hamptons, or Palm Beach, or Greenwich.

"I literally talk to people all day long
[REALLY, literally all day?]
who are now in their Hamptons house who also lived here, or in their Hudson Valley house, or in their Connecticut weekend house, and I say, ’You got to come back! We’ll go to dinner! I’ll buy you a drink! Come over, I’ll cook!’" Cuomo said.

Unfortunately, a personal overture from one of the country's most recognizable governors - in many cases - simply isn't enough to convince rich people to return to a city where crime has just skyrocketed to levels unseen since the 1990s, rattling even "Ultra-Wealthy" neighborhoods like the Upper East Side.

"They’re not coming back right now. And you know what else they’re thinking? ’If I stay there, I’ll pay a lower income tax,’ because they don’t pay the New York City surcharge," he added.

Just remember: When pandering politicians like AOC inflame public anger toward the wealthy and successful, they know what they're doing - and they're doing it for a reason.

If the state's finances collapse and NYC returns to the "bad old New York" of bygone decades, then that should translate into even more support for demagogues who have already indoctrinated a whole generation to blame "capitalism" for all their problems.

This isn't the first time Cuomo has brought up the need to coax rich people to return to the city and the state: Here's another clip from July 23, where Cuomo goes into more detail about the "aggravating factors" driving people away.

Related, courtesy of Skidmark: De Blasio suggests Cuomo is wrong to ask New York City's wealthy to return, says residents shouldn't buy cars
Related:
Andrew Cuomo: 2020-08-05 Cuomo beats back ‘surprise’ AOC challenge to lead NY delegation to DNC
Andrew Cuomo: 2020-07-25 Gov. Cuomo's deadly silence on de Blasio's policing disasters in NYC
Andrew Cuomo: 2020-07-24 Cuomo violated his own mask rules while in Georgia, declined to self-quarantine on return to N.Y.
Posted by:Clem

#17  Do you suppose the conversation was more like:

"Come on back buddy, stop by for dinner. We can have some fondu and wine. I'll even let you play with my nipple piercings."

-or-

"Gee, if enough of you don't come back, there is no way to guarantee the safety of any of your business activities within the State of New York. Shame if something happened to them."
Posted by: swksvolFF   2020-08-07 18:14  

#16  And deBlasio isn't helping with his minimum 15 day visit to NYC. 14 days quarantine, and however much longer you can afford after that.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia   2020-08-07 16:51  

#15  If they're in the Hamptons or the Hudson Valley, what does Cuomo care? They're still in NY State.

I understand why Warren Wilhelm should care; but don't get Cuomo.
Posted by: Tom   2020-08-07 16:22  

#14  /\ Exactly, and the Feds (Trump) is 100% correct to tell the states to bugger off. Funny how there is never any mention of the states trying to get their fiscal house in order (Feds, too, but...).

This obscene party of musical fiscal chairs will come to a crashing halt I think sooner than we might think. COVID-19 certainly did not help, but it may have only exacerbated a problem already in motion.
Posted by: Clem   2020-08-07 12:13  

#13  This is why Chuck Schemer and Nancy McBotox demand removal of deduction limits for high local and State taxes
Posted by: Frank G   2020-08-07 12:07  

#12  Get woke and support those that want to "eat" the rich... go broke.

Posted by: DarthVader   2020-08-07 12:05  

#11  With the imbalance of the rich leaving and the homeless, drug using sex workers moving into luxury hotels at city expense, aren't they afraid the island will tip?
Posted by: Skidmark   2020-08-07 11:55  

#10  Nah, the Chinese will be allowed to buy everything up.
Posted by: gorb   2020-08-07 11:12  

#9  I expect a handful of wealthy democrats to buy up property as the prices fall. Then law & order will return to make it safe for the new elites.
Posted by: rjschwarz   2020-08-07 11:10  

#8  de Blasio and his buddy Soros is turning New York City into a target rich area. Trained mules will tear off their peckers and no one will object.
If there are no funds available for police and firemen's pensions what happens then ?
Posted by: Thaith Elmeresing6163   2020-08-07 11:07  

#7  I am simply astonished at Cuomo's complete and utter childishness with this 'Please come back - I'll cook you dinner!' bullshit. Dems keep hitting new lows.
Posted by: Raj   2020-08-07 11:05  

#6  When you laughed because certain people were not welcome in New York....then you realize, you aren't going back to New York.
Posted by: swksvolFF   2020-08-07 09:11  

#5  DeBlasio watched Escape from NY as a kid and thought that would be cool...
Posted by: rjschwarz   2020-08-07 09:02  

#4  Glenn has been a Fred-Fan since the WOT started
Posted by: Frank G   2020-08-07 07:36  

#3  Congratz Rantburg community. You made Insty's links.
Posted by: Procopius2k   2020-08-07 07:19  

#2  Maybe Cuomo can lodge them in one of his vacated nursing homes.
Posted by: gorb   2020-08-07 05:08  

#1  "Après moi, le déluge" -- Louis XV Andre Cuomo
The Richest can move to avoid taxes (or pay to have the rules changed) -- so predatory taxing only works if they can't flee.
Poor People have no money to tax (unless you are in to slave labor) -- so no money there.
The Middle Class can be plucked, sheared and plundered, but the problem is that they just don't have enough money to paper over the gaping fiscal hole (you also can only drive the corner Pizza Parlor into bankruptcy once!)...
Posted by: magpie   2020-08-07 01:48  

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