Under Rudy's Watch, Culture of Spending and Fiscal Recklessness Thrived

As Rudy Giuliani today unveiled details about his so-called "commitment" to fiscal discipline in Iowa, his record as mayor of New York City shows that he actually led a culture of fiscal recklessness. The facts show that under Rudy Giuliani's watch, government spending grew and the size of government ballooned. Giuliani left behind a large deficit and he wasted city funds.

"Once again, Rudy Giuliani has tried to dupe voters by touting a fiscal record that never came to pass," said DNC Press Secretary Stacie Paxton. "While Rudy Giuliani has claimed that he would reverse the 'culture of spending' in Washington, the truth is that a culture of spending and fiscal recklessness thrived under his watch. How can voters trust him to tell the truth about his candidacy if he is willing to mislead them about his record as mayor?"

THE TRUTH BEHIND GIULIANI'S COMMITMENTS:
FISCAL DISCIPLINE AND TAXES EDITION

FACT: NYC Spending Under Giuliani Went Up 30%. In New York City, spending went up 30% under Giuliani as mayor, or by $9.5 billion. Even stopping the tally before costs related to 9/11 finds a 28% increase, or $8.9 billion more in annual spending then before he took office, according to data from the city's Independent Budget Office (IBO). [NYC IBO Rev. & Expen. Summary comparing FY94 to FY01 /FY02 (Link)]

• RE-BUTTAL: Giuliani Spending Increases Well Outpaced Inflation. At a recent debate, Giuliani actually admitted he increased spending but said it was by less then the increase in inflation. But according to spending data from New York City's Independent Budget Office and inflation statistics from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, this simply isn't true. Inflation from 1994 to 2001 was 19.7%. Under Giuliani, spending went up 28%, or $8.9 billion even before 9/11. [Debate, 5/16/07; http://inflationdata.com/Inflation/Inflation_Rate/InflationCalculator.asp#results (data from US Bureau of Labor Statistics; NYC Independent Budget Office Revenue and Expenditure Summary (Link)]

FACT: Giuliani Left Behind Large Deficit. As he left office at the end of 2001, the New York Times wrote that Giuliani himself "estimated the 2003 fiscal year budget gap at $2.9 billion" for his successor. However, JoinRudy.com brags that Giuliani "turned a $2.3 billion budget deficit into a multi-billion dollar surplus." [New York Times, 1/4/02; Link, accessed 4/23/07]

FACT: Giuliani Refused To Sign Pledge Not To Raise Taxes. "Rudy Giuliani - who touts his record as a tax cutter on the campaign trail - has refused to sign a pledge not to raise taxes if elected president." [New York Post, 6/2/07]

EXAGGERATION ALERT: Giuliani Self-Reported Tax Cut Figure More Than Doubled. In June 2007, Giuliani said he "lowered taxes by over $9 billion dollars." However, in his own press release announcing his final budget (FY02), Giuliani's office said, "Since 1994, the Mayor has reduced taxes by $3.2 billion. This Executive Budget proposes an additional $494 million in tax cuts. [Bloomberg TV, 6/13/07; Giuliani release, 4/25/01 (Link) (emphasis added)]

FACT: NYC Government Staff, Personnel Budget Grew Dramatically Under Giuliani. According to data from the city's Independent Budget Office, overall spending on personnel went up dramatically, by 35.6%, under Giuliani. In the last full fiscal year (FY93) before Giuliani took office, overall city spending for "personal services" was $15.72 billion. In Giuliani's last full fiscal year (FY01) the bill was $21.32 billion, a $5.6 billion increase. Plus, there were actually more employees in city government at the end of Giuliani's term then at the beginning. The summer (1993) before Giuliani took office, there were 248,850 employees. The summer he was preparing to leave office (2001), 249,824 were on the rolls, an increase of 974. [NYC Independent Budget Office, Agency Expenditures, Full Time Positions (Link; Link)]

FACT: Giuliani Filed Lawsuit That Stopped The Line Item Veto. Giuliani "filed the lawsuit that succeeded in getting a federal line-item veto declared unconstitutional" [The Wall Street Journal, 5/16/2007]

FACT: Giuliani Wasted City Funds, Steering Money To Contributors, Corporate Welfare

• Troubled Bus Companies Got Contract Extension After Executives Contributed $15,000 to Giuliani PAC. Eight executives at bus companies serving Queens and Brooklyn gave Giuliani's Solutions America PAC $15,000 in contributions on December 7, 1998, the same day a city committee controlled by Giuliani approved a six-month extension of their exclusive contracts despite complaints "of shoddy service" and inspection reports that "show the companies often fail to meet the city's minimum standards for cleanliness and on-time service." Together, the companies getting the contracts "reap $139 million a year." [Daily News (New York), 2/3/99, 1/12/00]

• Giuliani Contributor Received "Lion's Share of a Citywide Children's Daycare Program." Rabbi Yeshoshua Milton Balkany, who along with family members has contributed $23,000 to Giuliani's mayoral and senate campaigns, "secured daycare vouchers for selected families by personally delivering their names to top Giuliani administration officials." The families "jumped them over thousands of others on waiting lists." Balkany said he met with the mayor's former chief of staff and current campaign manager about the program. The number of families registered in Balkany's neighborhoods was more than the number of participants in Queens, Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island combined. [New York Daily News, 1/24/00, 3/4/01, 3/7/01]

• Conservative Watchdog Says Giuliani Supported Corporate Welfare: The conservative Club For Growth says that "Giuliani also demonstrated an alarming propensity for doling out corporate welfare." [Club For Growth, 5/14/07]