August 6, 2013

Who has not, at one time or another, fantasized about living under a benign dictator?

Certainly the majority of people living in Dubai and United Arab Emirates have prospered in recent years.

It may not be apparent to New Yorkers who tend to live in narcissistic bubbles, but the Big Apple has also prospered under a benign dictator for the past twelve years. His name is Michael Bloomberg – and he doesn’t even own an oil field. (At least not to my knowledge.)

Under his tutelage, crime has been reduced to unprecedented levels, tourism has surged, infrastructure has been improved, the arts are thriving and terrorism threats have dramatically declined thanks to a terrorism task force the performance of which exceeds that of federal agencies.

So what if we have to drink smaller fountain drinks and stop smoking in bars? These are petty inconveniences to a few with uncontrolled addictions compared to the greater good he has brought to the city, many times using his own money – not the public trough.

Now the end is near. Bloomberg cannot stand for re-election in November and the cast of inept mayoral wannabees is lining up pandering to the intellectual underclass all in the ill-defined names of ‘equality’ and ‘fairness’. Look around, New Yorkers! How did that work in Detroit, Camden, Watts, East St. Louis, Oakland and others? The list is long.

Even before the next hurricane builds in the Mid-Atlantic, the folks who have kept New York afloat these past twelve years are heading for the life boats. There’s not a benign dictator in sight.