Governor Greg Abbott of the Lone Star State has bused about 1,500 illegals from the border to the Big Apple in August, and the city can’t handle it. The failure of overwhelmed officials to provide the promised support for the migrant influx from Texas reveals the foolishness of the left-wing “sanctuary city” model, but that should surprise no one. The illusion of a socialist utopia propped up by progressives has never held up to reality; why would it now?
Migrant Influx Overwhelms
About 6,000 migrants have sought shelter in the Big Apple since May, but of those, only 1,500 came in from the Lone Star State, courtesy of Gov. Abbott’s administration. By comparison, there were 207,416 known Texas border crossings in June alone. For NYC officials to complain is akin to crying about a stubbed toe – to someone who lost a leg.
One must recall that, back in January, the Biden administration was caught secretly flying planeloads of illegals from the border to unsuspecting states in the nation’s interior during the dead of night. Suddenly, Gov. Abbott’s fully transparent and publicly announced busing of just a fraction to NYC and Washington, DC, doesn’t sound so sinister. But to the leftist elite in their ivory towers of the Swamp and Big Apple, far removed from the beleaguered southern border, it’s a heinous crime indeed.
NYC Mayor Eric Adams has appealed to the White House and the US Conference of Mayors for assistance, but he has thus far received no extra help. The failure of the city to manage is, as political consultant Hank Sheinkopf told the New York Post, “a public-relations disaster.” When added to the crime issue, Sheinkopf explained, it makes the mayor look like he can’t control his city – which could be disastrous come election time.
Progressive Propaganda
The public image issues this brings may not be as undeserved as Democrats would like folks to think, however. That a city so known for welcoming immigrants – “documented” or otherwise – can’t handle a mere 1,500 more is telling, but it isn’t the only crack in the façade. Even before the Abbott Express – as Liberty Nation’s Jeff Charles likes to call it – started chugging down the line, New York’s socialist tendencies were failing its residents.
(Photo by Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)
Thanks to the “Fight for Fifteen” campaign by the left, New York’s minimum wage ranges from $13.20 to $15 an hour, varying by location. Texas, on the other hand, enforces a mere $7.25 hourly to its poor workers. Yet somehow, despite Texans earning fewer dollars, considerably less of the population lives in abject poverty. In 2020, there were 27,229 homeless in the Lone Star State, out of a total population of 28.64 million. That’s just one tenth of a percent. Of New York’s 19.51 million people, 91,271 – half a percent – were displaced, with the majority of the homeless found in New York City alone.
One often sees mention of that $15 minimum wage in the left-wing media, but rarely is the problem of homelessness covered. Not a word in the establishment press, for that matter, on just how heavy the tax burden really is in these bastions of social enlightenment. In New York, individuals are taxed at a range from 4% to 10.9% of their annual income, just for the state. Corporations face a 6.5%-7.25% income tax. Texas, on the other hand, doesn’t have income tax. Individuals don’t pay it, and neither does any sole proprietorship, general partnership, or other form of corporation bringing in under $1,230,000 a year. For FFY2020, New York commandeered just over twice the tax revenue per capita as Texas.
In short, the Democrats running the Empire State demand their fellow New Yorkers be given more by both corporations and the government – but they also require those same neighbors to fork over a higher share of their own incomes. Then, of course, there are all the other rules and regulations imposed by the statist overlords that most Americans don’t have to deal with. Taken together, it’s no surprise the state can’t make good on its promises to care for the less fortunate. The failure today to handle the migrants from Texas may be trending in the news cycle, but it’s just part of a much larger problem. It puts the lie to the progressive propaganda of socialism itself.
