Fear City : New York's Fiscal Crisis and the Rise of Austerity Politics (9780805095265)

An Epic And Riveting History Of New York City On The Edge Of Disaster--and An Anatomy Of The Politics Of Austerity That Continues To Shape The World Today. When The News Broke In 1975 That New York City Was On The Brink Of Fiscal Collapse, Few Believed It Was Possible: How Could The Capital Of The Financial World Go Bankrupt? And Yet The City Was Billions Of Dollars--maybe Twelve, Maybe Fourteen, No One Even Really Knew How Much--in The Red. Bankers And Politicians Alike Seized Upon The Situation As Evidence That Social Liberalism, Which New York Famously Exemplified, Was Doomed To Failure--and Promised Apocalyptic Scenarios If The City Didn't Fire Thousands Of Workers, Freeze Wages, And Slash Social Services. In This Vivid, Gripping Account, Historian Kim Phillips-fein Tells The Remarkable Story Of The Crisis That Engulfed The City, Forever Transforming The Largest Metropolis In The United States And Reshaping Ideas About Government Throughout The Country. In Doing So, She Brings To Life A Radically Different New York, The Legendarily Decrepit City Of The 1970s. Drawing On Never-before-used Archival Sources As Well As Interviews With Key Players In The Crisis, Phillips-fein Guides Us Through The Hairpin Turns And Sudden Reversals That Brought New York City To The Edge Of Bankruptcy--and Kept It From Going Over. At Once A Sweeping History Of Some Of The Most Tumultuous Times In The City's Past, A Colorful Portrait Of The Unwieldy Mechanics Of Municipal Government, And An Origin Story Of The Politics Of Austerity, Fear City Is Essential Reading For Anyone Seeking To Understand The Resurgent Fiscal Conservatism Of Today.-- Part I: Origins -- Warnings -- The Gap -- The Neighborhood Bookkeeper -- Sounding The Alarm -- Things Fall Apart -- Washington Politics -- Part Ii: Crisis -- Big Mac -- Fear City -- The Facts Of Life -- On The Brink -- Drop Dead -- Pastrami And Rambouillet -- Part Iii: Legacies -- State Of Emergency -- The People's Firehouse -- The College In The Tire Factory -- A New New York -- Blackout Politics -- The Final Storm. Kim Phillips-fein. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. " An epic and riveting history of New York City on the edge of disaster--and an anatomy of the politics of austerity that continues to shape the world today When the news broke in 1975 that New York City was on the brink of fiscal collapse, few believed it was possible: how could the capital of the financial world go bankrupt? And yet the city was billions of dollars--maybe twelve, maybe fourteen, no one even really knew how much--in the red. Bankers and politicians alike seized upon the situation as evidence that social liberalism, which New York famously exemplified, was doomed to failure--and promised apocalyptic scenarios if the city didn't fire thousands of workers, freeze wages, and slash social services. In this vivid, gripping account, historian Kim Phillips-Fein tells the remarkable story of the crisis that engulfed the city, forever transforming the largest metropolis in the United States and reshaping ideas about government throughout the country. In doing so, she brings to life a radically different New York, the legendarily decrepit city of the 1970s. Drawing on never-before-used archival sources as well as interviews with key players in the crisis, Phillips-Fein guides us through the hairpin turns and sudden reversals that brought New York City to the edge of bankruptcy--and kept it from going over. At once a sweeping history of some of the most tumultuous times in the city's past, a colorful portrait of the unwieldy mechanics of municipal government, and an origin story of the politics of austerity, Fear City is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the resurgent fiscal conservatism of today. "-- Provided by publisher

PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST

An epic, riveting history of New York City on the edge of disaster—and an anatomy of the austerity politics that continue to shape the world today

When the news broke in 1975 that New York City was on the brink of fiscal collapse, few believed it was possible. How could the country’s largest metropolis fail? How could the capital of the financial world go bankrupt? Yet the city was indeed billions of dollars in the red, with no way to pay back its debts. Bankers and politicians alike seized upon the situation as evidence that social liberalism, which New York famously exemplified, was unworkable. The city had to slash services, freeze wages, and fire thousands of workers, they insisted, or financial apocalypse would ensue.

In this vivid account, historian Kim Phillips-Fein tells the remarkable story of the crisis that engulfed the city. With unions and ordinary citizens refusing to accept retrenchment, the budget crunch became a struggle over the soul of New York, pitting fundamentally opposing visions of the city against each other. Drawing on never-before-used archival sources and interviews with key players in the crisis, Fear City shows how the brush with bankruptcy permanently transformed New York—and reshaped ideas about government across America.

At once a sweeping history of some of the most tumultuous times in New York's past, a gripping narrative of last-minute machinations and backroom deals, and an origin story of the politics of austerity, Fear City is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the resurgent fiscal conservatism of today.

PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST An epic, riveting history of New York City on the edge of disaster—and an anatomy of the austerity politics that continue to shape the world today When the news broke in 1975 that New York City was on the brink of fiscal collapse, few believed it was possible. How could the country's largest metropolis fail? How could the capital of the financial world go bankrupt? Yet the city was indeed billions of dollars in the red, with no way to pay back its debts. Bankers and politicians alike seized upon the situation as evidence that social liberalism, which New York famously exemplified, was unworkable. The city had to slash services, freeze wages, and fire thousands of workers, they insisted, or financial apocalypse would ensue. In this vivid account, historian Kim Phillips-Fein tells the remarkable story of the crisis that engulfed the city. With unions and ordinary citizens refusing to accept retrenchment, the budget crunch became a struggle over the soul of New York, pitting fundamentally opposing visions of the city against each other. Drawing on never-before-used archival sources and interviews with key players in the crisis, Fear City shows how the brush with bankruptcy permanently transformed New York—and reshaped ideas about government across America. At once a sweeping history of some of the most tumultuous times in New York's past, a gripping narrative of last-minute machinations and backroom deals, and an origin story of the politics of austerity, Fear City is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the resurgent fiscal conservatism of today.