The New York Post editorial board has sharply criticized Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) following her recent comments about the high cost of living in New York City for the working class.
In a town hall meeting earlier this week, Ocasio-Cortez expressed concern over the city's affordability, stating, "The people who are moving out of the city are not by and large the wealthiest people. Theyre the working class. They cant afford to live here anymore." She used this argument to advocate for increased taxation of the city's affluent residents.
However, the editorial board of the New York Post, in a piece published on Tuesday, argued that the policies championed by Ocasio-Cortez and her progressive allies are the very cause of the city's high cost of living. The board wrote, "For once, AOC is right: They cant afford to live here anymore, she said Monday of working-class Gothamites. The thing is, its the policies that she and her progressive allies want more of that have made the city so expensive."
The editorial further criticized Ocasio-Cortez's stance on immigration, arguing that the influx of immigrants, particularly in New York, has been a significant financial burden. "To pay for the migrants AOC and her ilk demand we admit in infinite numbers, and house and feed forever at a cost of more than $12 billion through fiscal 2025," the editorial stated.
The board also took issue with the progressive approach to housing, citing a recent survey that revealed a third of New Yorkers are spending over half their income on rent. The editorial argued that the push for more rent control has exacerbated the housing shortage in the city. It pointed out that progressive lawmakers have "done so much to reduce the amount of housing, from blocking renewal of the 421a tax break for developers (responsible for the vast majority of new affordable housing in the past two decades) to 2019s Tenant Protection Act, which has taken 43,000 units off the market because it doesnt let landlords cover the costs of bringing old apartments up to code."
The editorial also criticized Ocasio-Cortez's climate change agenda, asserting that it has led to soaring power prices for New Yorkers. It further lambasted the progressive "criminal justice reforms,'" claiming they have resulted in "billions of dollars stolen by shoplifting thugs from retailers big and small."
The board concluded by warning of the consequences of continued progressive rule in New York, stating, "AOC and her fellow leftists simply dont care what their ideas actually mean for the people whose interests they claim to represent. And if progressive ideology continues to rule New York, itll get ever more unaffordable and the exodus will accelerate."
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