The Issues

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg Accepts The National Mayoral Leadership Award From The U.S. Conference Of Mayors      

Mayor Bloomberg was thankful for being the recipient of the National Mayoral Leadership Award and joked that he was given the award so he would be obligated to reciprocate by providing those who selected him with Super Bowl tickets, which is not much of a stretch considering that Bloomberg owns the Super Bowl.

Bloomberg noted that the award could have gone to any of several other mayors who are considered the country's strongest environmental leaders. The mayors of Chicago, Seattle, and Miami were all singled out by name, but none of them has as much money as Bloomberg... {click to see full article}

Mayor Bloomberg was thankful for being the recipient of the National Mayoral Leadership Award and joked that he was given the award so he would be obligated to reciprocate by providing those who selected him with Super Bowl tickets, which is not much of a stretch considering that Bloomberg owns the Super Bowl.

Bloomberg noted that the award could have gone to any of several other mayors who are considered the country's strongest environmental leaders. The mayors of Chicago, Seattle, and Miami were all singled out by name, but none of them has as much money as Bloomberg. The three of them combined don't have that much money. Actually, if you totaled the net worth of all the nation's mayors it would fall short of Bloomberg's net worth, which is why when the mayors get together at events such as this one and send out for coffee Bloomberg picks up the tab.

Mayor Bloomberg admitted that although he could well afford to buy the best ideas from other large cities—both in the U.S and around the world—he prefers instead to steal them and then work to push these ideas to the next level. And with Bloomberg's dough he can do a lot of pushing. For example, turning New York's fleet of cabs into hybrids would not only reduce C02 emissions by 50 percent, but would also save cab drivers about $5,000 a year, which is about what Bloomberg spends for a pair of socks, or perhaps for each sock.

Bloomberg's view is that innovative environmental policies also make good economic cents . . . ooops, make that sense. In his remarks, Bloomberg noted that, due to current market conditions, the stock market—which he owns—has lost more than all the gains it made in the last year. In addition, housing starts are at a 16-year low, oil is at $90 a barrel, food prices are up sharply, banks are turning to foreign funds to maintain reserves, and homeowners are defaulting at record rates. Of course, none of this affects Bloomberg because he's a multi-millionaire. The market could drop like a stone, housing starts could grind to a halt, oil prices could skyrocket to $900 a barrel, food prices could go through the roof, bank presidents could be standing in front of their banks holding tin cups and begging for change, and homeowners could default like there's tomorrow . . . and Bloomberg would still coast along without a care in the world.

In his remarks, Bloomberg quoted John F. Kennedy, who said, "The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining." When you're as rich as Bloomberg, the sun is always shining. Of course, if you're as well off as Bloomberg, you've got a much bigger roof to fix.

According to Bloomberg, while cities tightened their belts in anticipation of worsening economic times, the federal government continued on a spending spree. In short, the feds did not save for a rainy day. The result? In Mike's words, no seed corn and no harvest. That's the surprising thing about Mike Bloomberg. He's an East Coast billionaire entrepreneur, and he talks like a farmer from Iowa. Ain't that sumthin'? Hee-haw!

The problem, as Bloomberg sees it, is that two things drive decisions in Washington: votes and campaign cash. Bloomberg says we, as a nation, can do better. In his opinion, we need to come up with common sense policies to deal with the multitude of issues facing the country.

An idea proposed by Bloomberg, as well as by other mayors, is to pump money into the economy in the short-term, and benefit the country in the long-term, by financing infrastructure projects that cities and states can't afford to fund. If Bloomberg had been on the scene, London Bridge would never have fallen down. And even if it had collapsed, Bloomberg would have flown in the best engineers and had it rebuilt lickety-split, sparing no expense.

Further, as a successful and experienced businessman, Bloomberg proposes establishing a capital budget for the federal government. According to Bloomberg, capital budgets are used routinely by mayors as well as most industrialized nations—but not by Washington.

What sets us apart from other countries, in Bloomberg's estimation, is our innovation. Bloomberg noted that we invented the telegraph and the telephone, and built an industry that began a communications revolution. The result? Bloomberg invested in telcom stock. Similarly, we invented the airplane and built an industry that began a transportation revolution. The result? Bloomberg invested in airline stock. And closer to Bloomberg's heart, we invented the personal computer and built an industry that began a technological revolution. The result? Bloomberg invested in computer stock. What a portfolio.

What we're talking about here is ideas, which are sometimes referred to as a dime a dozen, but which in reality could cost hundreds of millions of dollars a dozen. Maybe even more. Fortunately, ideas can come from many sources. Bloomberg stresses the need to tap knowledgeable individuals on both the left and the right who, regardless how wealthy they may or may not be. Rather than "a penny for your thoughts," the prevailing Bloombergian philosophy may be "a billion dollars for your thoughts." Chicken feed.

Bloomberg finally noted that a comprehensive immigration bill would strengthen the nation's economy. In short, we need to stop turning away people that we, as a country, need. And the immigrant population is comprised of more than just unskilled workers; rather, this group includes scientists, doctors, engineers, and—perhaps more importantly—innovators of every kind. That's where the big money is.

According to Bloomberg, for America to remain the world's economic superpower, we need to welcome the best and brightest from all over the world, especially those who flew first class. Bloomberg is optimistic about our ability to build a strong and stable economy, one where entrepreneurship is encouraged, there is freedom to innovate, opportunities are open to all, benefits are shared by everyone, families find economic security, and a man can still make a buck. Or two. Or three or four.

Arts & Culture      

Simply stated, rich people love art. And not the kind of art you find on a boardwalk, but art created by people you’re ashamed to say you never heard of. Rich people also like culture, which seems to bore those of us who are not wealthy... {click to see full article}

Simply stated, rich people love art. And not the kind of art you find on a boardwalk, but art created by people you’re ashamed to say you never heard of. Rich people also like culture, which seems to bore those of us who are not wealthy. It should go without saying that Mike Bloomberg enjoys both are and culture. One of his philanthropic endeavors and one of his initiatives as mayor is to force art and culture on those of us who are neither artistic nor cultured.

The Facts

• Mike once dropped so much money in a beggar’s cup that the beggar dislocated his shoulder.
• Mike took a seat on a bus once and his wallet fell out of his pocket and the bus tipped over.
• If Mike ran a store, instead of one of those little containers near the register filled with pennies, he'd have one filled with hundred dollar bills.
• A pickpocket once got a hernia trying to lift Mike's wallet.
• Mike's allergies have been acting up. Poor guy's allergic to gold dust.
• If a bank had a choice of being held up or having Mike Bloomberg make a withdrawal, it would choose being held up.
• Mike has his own private ATM . . . there's a wheelbarrow to haul away the cash.
• Mike went into the bank to make a withdrawal and the entire bank had a panic attack.
• Mike's bank account has just been designated the eighth wonder of the world.
• Mike's idea of a white sale is to go shopping wearing his white tux and tails.

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