POLITICAL ECONOMY OF NYC

Answer ALL questions by drawing from the appropriate class readings and class ;

discussions. ;Each answer should be two to three paragraphs long and must be ;

supported by a careful selection of details taken from the class material. ;

1) What were main characteristics of NYC when it was, as Freeman called it, a “social ;

democratic polity?” ;What kind of urban economy supported this polity while it lasted? ;

2) The simplistic way of understanding the Fiscal Crisis of 1975 merely stresses the fact that ;

the city was spending beyond its means on social services. ;What is the more complex ;

and more historically accurate explanation? ;

3) How was the Fiscal Crisis settled? ;What impact did the particular form this settlement ;

took have on the social democratic polity, on the city’s working class, on the relations ;

between classes in the city more generally? ;

4) Describe the main characteristics of the Post—Crisis Regime in NYC, from Koch to ;

Bloomberg. ;What happened to the public sector and public services? ;What kind of ;

economic/tax policies were put in place and who in the main benefitted from them? ; ;

What kind of city do we now have? ;

5) What do WE mean by “quality of life” and how do we make sure ALL have access to it?