As the premature and increasingly surreal and ridiculous
presidential debates continue, we can expect to hear more about
the growing gap between rich and poor Americans. The Democrats
plan to focus their campaigns on the needs of whom they perceive
to be the poor, but in New York City it's harder to label an
individual's economic status based on the usual liberal
stereotypes: Those who work in the service industry here are
likely to be earning the same salary as those holding loftier job
positions.
Apparently not many politicians are aware of this, but I did
expect some community leaders to have a more realistic assessment
of their constituents. However, they seem to be just as clueless.
When Herman Badillo was on a book tour earlier this year, a
director of a Latino policy group described one affair at the
Harvard Club by noting how few Latinos were at that event - with
the exception of those serving the meals and drinks. He referred
to those attending as the "Other New York."
In many ways, his remarks were as condescending to those workers
as the ones in Mr. Badillo's book "One America, One
Standard," in which he declares that success for Hispanics
should be defined by academic achievements. I think both men are
stuck on stereotyping those in the service community.
Many of the events I cover for my column are held in deluxe hotel
ballrooms and private clubs. I, too, have always noted that these
functions were staffed almost exclusively by blacks and
Hispanics, but my reaction has always been, "America, what a
country!" because I know that they are being very well paid
for their services.
Here in New York City, service jobs are a career choice, not - as
in other cities, where college students and single parents fill
these positions - merely a stepping stone to a better job. My
husband works in a major Midtown hotel where banquet waiters and
waitresses can command six-figure salaries and where the bell
staff includes landlords who drive BMWs and Lexuses.
They are workers who come from South America, Central America,
and the Caribbean. They have bought homes in their native
countries but have no intention to return there until they
retire. They are living the American dream, for these positions
do not require academic degrees or technical skills and yet the
monetary rewards are greater than anything that's available in
their homelands.
Union hotel and restaurant workers also have great health
coverage, with full-service health clinics providing all their
laboratory and radiological testing onsite. Insurance is with
Empire Blue Cross/Blue Shield, which is accepted at nearly all
medical facilities.
When I worked in the city on a late shift years ago, I always
chatted with the cleaning staff because I was curious about their
lives and what brought them to America. At the time, illegal
immigration was not a hot issue, so I never asked about their
status. Their stories all bore the same theme: They came for a
better life for their families; they shared living quarters with
siblings and other family; their children were in college; they
worked hard, ergo they succeeded. They may hold menial jobs, but
they're certainly not poor.
One can always tell how well the economy is doing by the way
corporations spend, and they are spending big time now. The city
is booming. Conference rooms, banquet halls, and hotels are fully
booked. Trickle-down economics work because when the rich spend,
everyone benefits.
In addition to the legitimate service industry, the city also
thrives on an underground economy in which working off-the-books
is common. Who's afraid of the taxman when you're below his
radar? Thanks to the Internet, more and more individuals have
become entrepreneurs by setting up home-based businesses. Many of
those mass layoffs of corporate executives with years of
experience in the 1990s could have resulted in a depression.
Instead, a good number of these individuals used their marketing
skills and business acumen to start their own Internet
enterprises. Leave it to the Democrats to figure out a way to
stifle growth through taxation.
The three leading contenders for the Democratic presidential
nomination are promising that they will repeal or let the tax
cuts for wealthier voters expire. One even proposed additional
tax hikes on capital gains, hedge funds, and corporations to help
pay for new tax breaks for lower-income families. Talk about
clueless. But what do you expect from candidates who actually
answer debate questions from a YouTube snowman?