(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .



Budgeting within Constraints [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2025-07-13

Budgeting takes place within constraints, and in 2025, these constraints are growing. On June 30th, the Trump administration announced it would not release $7 billion in federal funding for after-school and summer programs, ESL funds, and teacher training nationwide. This is in addition to the billions being cut from the current bill under consideration in Congress. Although the $7 billion move is illegal, since it has been appropriated by Congress and approved by President Trump in March, it could take months of court battles to restore these funds. Meanwhile, summer programs will not start, and at the beginning of the school year in late August, no after-school programs will open for millions of children. This is just one funding stream.

There are many federal programs that the city relies on. Take NYCHA, the city’s public housing, which is primarily funded by the federal government and rent from nearly 400,000 residents. NYCHA receives $1.4 billion in federal public housing operating subsidies, accounting for approximately 45 percent of its operating budget. It spends roughly $730 million each year on federal capital subsidies and gets $2 billion in federal funds for rental subsidies (Section 8) for over 96,000 units. Also, don’t forget about HPD’s Section 8 program, which receives an additional $703 million in federal funding. What might happen if the current federal administration significantly cuts those funds?

The list goes on — the city’s hospitals, the MTA, social services, and more. For a complete list, visit the Citizens Budget Commission website, which states that federal aid accounts for $7.4 billion of the city’s initial budget, excluding special districts such as NYCHA and the MTA.

What will Zohran Mamdani face if he becomes mayor, and how will he fulfill his promises with such uncertainty in federal funding? He probably won’t. That’s what history shows us. Progressive Mayor LaGuardia, during the Great Depression, cut the budget and raised taxes, and he had a friend in the White House who supported LaGuardia’s public housing campaign. Mayor Lindsay had Nixon in the White House, and we know how that ended—countless deficits and the city’s finances taken over by the state. Mayor Dinkins didn’t have a friend in the White House (the first George Bush) for three years, and he faced repeated rounds of budget cuts. And we haven’t even begun to discuss the issue of state funding.

Let’s assume Mamdani wins. He is not Mamdani the magician; he will be Mamdani the mayor, navigating very tough headwinds. Now is the time for Mamdani to face our uncertain future. What talented staff will he bring on board to help us get through this? What can he advocate for the city to do now to support us over the next few years? What strategies did LaGuardia, Lindsay, and Dinkins use to fight fiscal scarcity? LaGuardia spent a lot of time in D.C., and it paid off. Governor Rockefeller and Mayor Lindsay disliked each other, which hurt the city. Dinkins used criminal justice funds to finance non-criminal justice services. Mamdani must now begin to assemble a team of experts, recognizing that the past shapes our future, and plot a course to guide us through the next few years.

[END]
---
[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/7/13/2333216/-Budgeting-within-Constraints?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web

Published and (C) by Daily Kos
Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified.

via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/