Changes

Bloomberg is a supporter of illegal immigration, saying that [[New York City]] would "collapse" if they didn't have illegal aliens.

Bloomberg is a supporter of illegal immigration, saying that [[New York City]] would "collapse" if they didn't have illegal aliens.

His crime-fighting tactics have been criticized by the NRA and other Second Amendment advocates for his position on handguns, having founded the organization, "Mayors Against Illegal Guns." His gun policies have continued those implemented by his predecessor, Giuliani, and crime statistics for 2007 are the lowest ever recorded for the city. As of December 2007, compared to 2001 figures (the year before Bloomberg took office), shootings are down 11%, murder is down 25%, auto theft is down 55% and major crime overall is down 26%.<ref>http://www.nyc.gov:80/portal/site/nycgov/menuitem.c0935b9a57bb4ef3daf2f1c701c789a0/index.jsp?pageID=mayor_press_release&catID=1194&doc_name=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nyc.gov%3A80%2Fhtml%2Fom%2Fhtml%2F2007b%2Fpr473-07.html&cc=unused1978&rc=1194&ndi=1</ref>

His crime-fighting tactics have been criticized by the NRA and other Second Amendment advocates for his position on handguns, having founded the organization, "[[Mayors Against Illegal Guns]]." His gun policies have continued those implemented by his predecessor, Giuliani, and crime statistics for 2007 are the lowest ever recorded for the city. As of December 2007, compared to 2001 figures (the year before Bloomberg took office), shootings are down 11%, murder is down 25%, auto theft is down 55% and major crime overall is down 26%.<ref>http://www.nyc.gov:80/portal/site/nycgov/menuitem.c0935b9a57bb4ef3daf2f1c701c789a0/index.jsp?pageID=mayor_press_release&catID=1194&doc_name=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nyc.gov%3A80%2Fhtml%2Fom%2Fhtml%2F2007b%2Fpr473-07.html&cc=unused1978&rc=1194&ndi=1</ref>

Bloomberg took office as mayor in January 2002, just four months after the September 11th terrorist attacks. Upon taking office, he inherited the largest fiscal crisis in recent New York history. Giuliani spent lavishly during his final year in office, increasing capital spending by 60%. Not anticipating the [[dot-com bubble]] burst and the unforeseen attacks of September 11th, Giuliani left office passing on a $4 billion city budget gap, where city law mandates a balanced budget.<ref>http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/02_05/b3768089.htm</ref> A large portion of New York City's budget are fixed costs. This created a predicament for the fiscally conservative new mayor. Bloomberg made some very unpopular budget cuts in the portions of the budget under his control, even closing many redundant fire-houses, a subject of severe public outcry so soon after September 11th. These cuts however, had only marginal effect on the city's budget gap, which was ultimately addressed with the largest property tax increase in the city's history. Later in his second term, Bloomberg lowered property taxes, but not enough to completely remove the increases of his first term. On the subject of taxes, Bloomberg has effectively used tax breaks as an incentive to lure companies to the city. When Bloomberg first took office, the city's budget crisis brought threats from Albany that the state may step in and take over the city's finances. By June 2007 S&P (Standard and Poor's) raised New York City's bond rating to AA, the highest bond rating in the city's history.<ref>http://home2.nyc.gov:80/portal/site/nycgov/menuitem.c0935b9a57bb4ef3daf2f1c701c789a0/index.jsp?pageID=mayor_press_release&catID=1194&doc_name=http%3A%2F%2Fhome2.nyc.gov%2Fhtml%2Fom%2Fhtml%2F2007a%2Fpr174-07.html&cc=unused1978&rc=1194&ndi=1</ref>

Bloomberg took office as mayor in January 2002, just four months after the September 11th terrorist attacks. Upon taking office, he inherited the largest fiscal crisis in recent New York history. Giuliani spent lavishly during his final year in office, increasing capital spending by 60%. Not anticipating the [[dot-com bubble]] burst and the unforeseen attacks of September 11th, Giuliani left office passing on a $4 billion city budget gap, where city law mandates a balanced budget.<ref>http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/02_05/b3768089.htm</ref> A large portion of New York City's budget are fixed costs. This created a predicament for the fiscally conservative new mayor. Bloomberg made some very unpopular budget cuts in the portions of the budget under his control, even closing many redundant fire-houses, a subject of severe public outcry so soon after September 11th. These cuts however, had only marginal effect on the city's budget gap, which was ultimately addressed with the largest property tax increase in the city's history. Later in his second term, Bloomberg lowered property taxes, but not enough to completely remove the increases of his first term. On the subject of taxes, Bloomberg has effectively used tax breaks as an incentive to lure companies to the city. When Bloomberg first took office, the city's budget crisis brought threats from Albany that the state may step in and take over the city's finances. By June 2007 S&P (Standard and Poor's) raised New York City's bond rating to AA, the highest bond rating in the city's history.<ref>http://home2.nyc.gov:80/portal/site/nycgov/menuitem.c0935b9a57bb4ef3daf2f1c701c789a0/index.jsp?pageID=mayor_press_release&catID=1194&doc_name=http%3A%2F%2Fhome2.nyc.gov%2Fhtml%2Fom%2Fhtml%2F2007a%2Fpr174-07.html&cc=unused1978&rc=1194&ndi=1</ref>