New Book, Mike! Wall Street's Mayor, Tells How Michael Bloomberg sold out the people of New York

June 1, 2012 - PRLog -- Mike! Wall Street's Mayor, by Neil Fabricant exposes how Michael Bloomberg and the New York Times sold out the people of New York to further the interests of the 1%. Told from the perspective of a political insider, Mike! recounts in a compelling narrative the rise and reign of the Wall Street billionaire who became Wall Street's Mayor.

Politicians sold him their ballot lines, and religious and civic leaders were paid to sing his praises and push his policies. He said it would be 'disgraceful' to overturn two voter referenda establishing and upholding terms limits--and then he overturned them.

The faux hamburger-eating, subway-riding, self-proclaimed 'people's mayor' (Call me Mike!) accepted a salary of only one dollar a year--and yet grew his personal fortune while in office from an estimated three to twenty billion dollars. His foundation holds hundreds of millions of dollars of taxable unrelated business income in tax-free off-shore accounts.

This mayor's 'Luxury City' vision, failed education policies, abusive police practices, and much else revealed in this book are the legacy of a corrupt administration--a betrayal of all but the richest New Yorkers, who continue to celebrate his leadership.

According to the author, “Bloomberg represents an entirely new urban governance model, the difference between big money influencing government and becoming the government.” The book also tells the story of what it feels like to live in Luxury City for the millions of New Yorkers who aren’t one-percenters.

Finally, Fabricant who is president emeritus of the George Washington University Graduate School of Political Management, former special counsel to a New York State senate majority leader, and legislative director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, places Bloomberg in a historical context. That part of the story begins with New York’s last mega billionaire, “progressive” Republican governor, Nelson Rockefeller. It describes the little known, long forgotten causes and the ongoing impact of New York’s 1975 fiscal crisis.

Fabricant argues that the history of that crisis is repeating itself today.  “It was caused not by the narrative retailed to the public by the bankers, politicians, and other insiders, namely that that the liberal John Lindsay and the clubhouse politician, Abe Beame entered into corrupt political alliances with labor unions and hid their profligate spending on poverty programs.” That bogus explanation, which contained just enough truth to make it convincing to the general public, gave us the enduring tag line, Limousine Liberal, coined by Mario Procaccino, John Lindsay’s Democratic opponent.

The crisis in fact was triggered by Rockefeller’s massive “moral obligation” debt, much of whose proceeds ended up in the deep pockets of the bankers, bond underwriters, real estate barons, wired politicians, and other insiders.  It also ushered in the Age of Austerity when New York City became known as “Calcutta on the Hudson.”  

Ed Koch was mayor and Rupert Murdoch took over the once-liberal New York Post. New York politics transitioned from a labor-to a capital-intensive business. Candidates needed far more money to mount credible campaigns and the city’s real estate lobby, which put up the cash, grew even more powerful.

Understanding that history and the interplay of real estate and politics, New York’s hometown businesses, are essential to understanding how New York works today even under the man who doesn’t need the real estate money. The exploitation of racial and ethnic tensions first by Koch and Murdoch then by Giuliani and Bloomberg is another of the book’s themes.

“I’ve tried to tell these interconnected stories in an accessible way. Keith Seidel’s brilliant cartoons help bring the Bloomberg story to life,” adds Fabricant.

The 218-page paperback (ISBN 978-0-9849111-1-0) book contains over 40 original illustrations by Keith Seidel and is also available as a Kindle ebook. List price for print is $15.95 and $3.99 for the Kindle edition.

Visit http://www.WallStreetsMayor.com for more information or to request a review copy.