New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg blamed the sluggish economy on both major parties during a speech at the Economic Club of Washington, D.C., on Wednesday.
“The work that cities are doing to spur job growth has been held back by Washington’s two-party failure,” said Bloomberg, an independent.
“I’ve always said that the biggest difference between government and business is that in business, you move resources to the most successful product line in order to drive growth. But in Washington, too often, it’s exactly the reverse,” he said.
Addressing the question “Are we better off than we were four years ago?” Bloomberg said: “I think we’re asking the wrong question. It’s not whether we are better off, it’s whether we are as well off as we should be. And whether either party has a plan to give us the levels of growth we need. Sadly, the answer to both those questions seems to be no.”
The mayor is known for his business acumen for building a multi-billion dollar company from the ground up, but he also is also a crusader for health and social issues, most recently banning large sizes of sugary drinks in an effort to curb obesity. He attracted criticism from both parties and many New Yorkers for trying to turn his city into a “nanny state.”
“We’re already over the fiscal cliff, the question is are we gonna pull a ripcord or just keep falling. But we’re on a cliff socially as well,” warned Bloomberg. “And the world is not necessarily on our side.”