In NYC, Dem Mayors Vow to Fight Inequality

More than 30 U.S. big-city mayors gathered on Monday to fight an alleged widening income gap between the rich and the poor in urban areas.

The task force, called Cities of Opportunity and hosted by Mayor Bill de Blasio, was formed in June and represents some of the most populous cities in the nation. Chief among the pledges were a push to raise the minimum wage, an expansion of pre-kindergarten, affordable housing and increased internet access.

“The question of how you get there is a local question, but the aspiration and the belief that we have to do things like that is what unites us,” de Blasio said during a press conference after the meeting at Gracie Mansion.

De Blasio was elected last fall on a campaign to fight income inequality, or, as he dubbed it, The Tale of Two Cities. Other mayors who attended the meeting and voiced similar ideas included Marty Walsh of Boston, Rahm Emanuel of Chicago, Michael Nutter of Philadelphia and Mitchell Landrieu of New Orleans.

The group, made up primarily of Democrats, released a report they say showed that the wealthiest households had 43.6 percent of the nation’s income in 1975, while the poorest had a share of 4.3 percent. That disparity had increased by 2012, when high earners had 51 percent of the nation’s income and low-income households had only 3.2 percent.

This article appeared in print on page 4 of the August 12th, 2014 edition of Hamodia.