New York under 'progressive' siege

 Telegraph:

It should be the most prosperous, exciting city in the world. The one which never sleeps and where, to misquote Mark Twain, you can make your mark and be a made man.

It should be drawing capital from every corner of the capital markets. It should be dominating the technology and media industries. It should stand in stark contrast to London, which is sinking under the weight of red tape and high taxes.

Yet New York is not doing any of this right now. Instead, like its West Coast cousin San Francisco, it has fallen victim to far-left policies. It is being run by officials who seem intent on destroying its economy, driving out businesses, entrepreneurs, and the hard-working middle classes.

It is becoming yet another in a long list of great trading hubs of the Western economy that are in decline thanks to the wokery that has gripped local governments.

It has just been reported that New York City is passing a bill outlawing discrimination on the basis of weight. The legislation is expected to be signed into law by its Democrat Mayor Eric Adams later this month.

As with so much employment legislation, it was probably introduced with good intentions. It is now estimated that 40pc of American adults are obese, and no one believes that these individuals should experience prejudice.

But weight (and height, for that matter) now joins a list of over two dozen “protected characteristics” in New York's human rights law, which also includes age, marital status, military status and natural origin.

Well-meaning though this move may be, it adds further layers of confusion and complexity for employers. Hiring staff now involves navigating a minefield of legislation and a constant unease that any missteps could lead to a lawsuit.

The council's Republican minority leader Joseph Borelli told the New York Times that the regulation is a license to “sue anyone and everyone” and he might be right. The lawyers may get rich, but everyone else will get poorer.

Yet this is just one of a number of burdens being placed on New York's economy. For the last twenty years, its local government has become one of the most zealously paternalistic in the world, with rules on everything from drink sizes to sugar content in food.

Businesses are micro-regulated to a bewildering extent. Just to become a “cosmetologist” – or, as most people might know it, a “beautician” – you have to complete 1,000 hours of approved study and pass both written and practical exams.

Locksmiths require training certificates. Meanwhile, a business owner can be fined for leaving a door or window open while the aircon is running or if the pavement outside their premises is not sufficiently clean.

This is happening against a backdrop of worsening crime. In 2022, there was a 22pc increase in major crimes driven not by homicide, but mostly by burglaries, theft and assault – the offences that tend to have a direct impact on businesses.
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Wherever "progressives" are in control they create rot and ruin.  Their crime policies are absurd.  Like San Francisco, St. Louis, and other major cities they suffer under Soros-backed prosecutors.