Via Bloomberg:
Bill de Blasio, who won the Democratic mayoral nomination vowing to tax New York’s richest residents to pay for universal pre-school, called himself a “fiscal conservative” in a speech to business leaders.
Speaking before 800 executives hosted by the Association for a Better New York today, de Blasio, 52, was interrupted by applause at least 10 times as he told the civic group he would use the mayoralty to fight economic inequality.In a speech to ABNY exactly one year ago, a smaller audience sat in silence. New York Democratic Mayoral Candidate Bill de Blasio said, “I’m a progressive-activist fiscal conservative, but I’m still a fiscal conservative. We can’t talk about tax cuts in any sector until we sort out our financial situation.”
“I want to pleasantly shock the room and say I’m a fiscal conservative,” de Blasio said, responding to a questioner seeking lower hotel-occupancy taxes. “I’m a progressive-activist fiscal conservative, but I’m still a fiscal conservative. We can’t talk about tax cuts in any sector until we sort out our financial situation.”