Progressivism and Fiscal Crisis: A Purview of New Yorks Radical and Fiscal History - Assignment Example

Progressivism and Fiscal Crisis: A Purview of New York’s Radical and Fiscal History Introduction Every American has its unique response to change. Changes, which were spurred by the US country as a whole, cascaded into its cities and gave them the opportunity to respond in accord to its unique composition or demographic profile. This paper aims to present the purview of the responses to Progressivism and fiscal crisis of America’s New York City. Progressivism The Progressivism is a political party that existed together with the Republicans, Democrats and Socialists in US.

An English political out-pour and American adopted-movement, progressivism targeted the inefficiencies within the governments, as well as introduced reform coalitions and invented “methods of mobilizing public opinion” through “muck racking, celebrity picket line, forcing of an official witness-calling investigation, launching of a referendum campaign,” and poring over the city planner or commission government’s outputs (Rodgers, “Atlantic Crossings” 52; Thelen 1885 qtd. in Rodgers, “In Search of Progressivism” 117).

Progressivism caused a lot of civil-focused reforms via the amendment of the Constitution; these reforms covered or created the personal income tax, Federal Reserve, antitrust laws, immigration-restrictions and food regulation (Leonard 207). A significant highlight of progressivism in New York City is its participation in the reformation of prostitution in the Tammany Hall. A published report, which linked “Tammany Hall with police-protected brothels,” paved the way to “redefine” policies that caused the proliferation of prostitution (Engs 76).

In an incumbent party’s view, the Progressives took its opportunity to strike whenever government inefficiencies are spotted. Exploiting government flaws through reform proposals is a foolproof idea to firmly root the Progressive Party in New York. The only drawback of this movement is the simultaneous reforms’ sustainable capacity; with all the reformation occurring, there may be not enough people to watch its effectivity. Consequently, feedback is not captured to be incorporated to reform-improvements.

Fiscal Crisis The fiscal crisis in New York consisted of the primary and secondary cause. While the primary cause is considered the root cause, the secondary causes were government responses to the primary cause. The primary cause was the “city’s exaggerated forecast of real estate revenue collections” (Fuchs 56). This forecast left the city with significant deficits. However, instead of cutting spending, the government resorted to short-term borrowing (Fuchs 56). Evidently, government debts skyrocketed -- revenue deficits plus short-term borrowing-derived interest.

This is the secondary cause of New York’s fiscal crisis -- fiscal mismanagement and exacerbation by the government. Moreover, “expenditures increased for all city services” and relief budgets were granted for ‘Depression casualties’ (Fuchs 58). While the city government was devising spending plans, it failed to formulate a paying plan for all its accumulating debts. New York City’s fiscal difficulty is explained by the aforementioned events. The Chicago City had a different story to tell.

While the causes of fiscal crisis were deemed similar for the two cities, the response of each city was essentially different (Fuchs 41). The city government of New York responded through targeting short-term goals and neglected the long-term goal of achieving fiscal stability. The Chicago government, on the other hand, responded through spotting the holes of the fiscal policies and fixing them, which insulated the city from further fiscal crisis (Fuchs 41). The act of fixing the fiscal policy process of Chicago City enabled them to sustain from any fiscal attacks, while the lack of it in New York City exposed and weaken its fiscal condition.

ConclusionNew York City’s progressivism and fiscal crisis shaped the city’s political, social and economic frameworks. It had invented and laid mechanisms and opportunities to succeed and fail. Most important amongst these two events’ contributions is aiding the government and its citizen to realistically view the sustainable health required to make New York City a prosperous city. Works CitedEngs, Ruth C. The Progressive Eras Health Reform Movement: A HistoricalDictionary. Westport: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2003. Print.Fuchs, Ester R.

Mayors and Money: Fiscal Policy in New York and Chicago. Chicago:University of Chicago Press, 1992. Print.Leonard, Thomas C. “Retrospectives: Eugenics and Economics in the Progressive Era.”Journal of Economic Perspectives 19.4 (2005): 207-224. Print.Rodgers, Daniel T. Atlantic Crossings: Social Politics in a Progressive Age.Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1998. Print.---. “In Search of Progressivism.” Reviews in American History: The Promise ofAmerican History -- Progress and Prospects 10.4 (1982): 113-132. Print.