Justice
Is It the Job of City Government to Decrease Inequality?
The New York mayoral candidates come at the question from different sides.
"Do you actually think it is the role of city government to decrease inequality?"
That question was posed to Republican New York mayoral candidate Joseph Lhota, and again in slightly different words to his opponent, Democrat Bill de Blasio, at The Atlantic's CityLab summit Tuesday. Though framed in the context of a local election, the question has universal application to the way city governments interact with city residents. Is it, in fact, the job of a mayor to take an active role in reducing the gap between rich and poor?