The Liberal City’s Tax Dilemma
9th August 2020
Cities—especially coastal cities in blue states—are the stronghold of Democratic political power. They’ve been the social base for radical left-wing ideas now breaking into the mainstream. Yet as Mr. Cuomo’s plea highlights, those same states and cities depend immensely on the affluent to fund their hugely expensive government programs.
Mr. Cuomo’s friends with Hamptons homes may donate to liberal causes and willingly pay higher taxes for New York’s amenities in normal times. But they probably don’t support confiscatory taxation, and they’re wary of the revolutionary mood on the left insofar as it is producing crime and disorder where they live. The pandemic may cause some to move permanently, leaving cities like New York with fewer resources to finance progressive policies.
If Democrats win the 2020 elections, they promise to raise taxes. Will they try to spare the liberal rich? If they don’t, progressive governance will come under more strain, and liberal high-earners may take a second look at a GOP offering lower rates all around.