Liberal Hypocrisy is Fueling American Inequality. Here’s How. | NYT Opinion
9,718,042
Published 2021-11-09
But what happens when Republicans aren’t standing in the way?
In many states — including California, New York and Illinois — Democrats control all the levers of power. They run the government. They write the laws. And as we explore in the video above, they often aren’t living up to their values.
In key respects, many blue states are actually doing worse than red states. It is in the blue states where affordable housing is often hardest to find, there are some of the most acute disparities in education funding and economic inequality is increasing most quickly.
Instead of asking, “What’s the matter with Kansas?” Democrats need to spend more time pondering, “What’s the matter with California?”
Subscribe: bit.ly/U8Ys7n
More from The New York Times Video: nytimes.com/video
----------
Whether it's reporting on conflicts abroad and political divisions at home, or covering the latest style trends and scientific developments, New York Times video journalists provide a revealing and unforgettable view of the world. It's all the news that's fit to watch.
All Comments (21)
-
Hi, I'm Johnny Harris, one of the producers for this Opinion Video. I've always wondered why famously liberal states like California and Washington struggled to advance progressive policies, so I teamed up with NYT Editorial Board member Binya Appelbaum to get some answers. I'd love to know what most surprised you most in this video, or answer any questions you may have about how we made it — leave your comments below.
-
"I love poor people, I just don't want them living anywhere near me."
-
I would never have believed the NYT would run a story like this. Well done.
-
“You cannot say you are against inequality if you oppose affordable housing in YOUR neighborhood.” Yep.
-
Very accurate, especially the NIMBY democrats in CA. I used to work as a city planner in the Bay Area and I'll never forget the most ridiculous public hearing for a condo development in a wealthy liberal neighborhood - about 90 people spoke against the development including people crying, claiming they would die if it was built and the neighborhoood coalition made a whole presentation against the development lol.
-
I join the chorus of people extremely surprised that NYT run a story like this. Good on you. Criticise Republicans when they deserve it and criticise Democrats when they deserve it. Applaud Republicans when they deserve it and applaud Democrats when they deserve it. Then people will trust media again.
-
This is huge - someone put their foot down and said hey let’s actually do journalism again. I’m thrilled.
-
I am from Connecticut, throughout my school years I changed locations multiple times and saw the best and worst of the school system. The difference is staggering and you are 100% put at a disadvantage if you land yourself in the wrong zip code by just a few miles. Insanity.
-
I didn’t know NYT was capable of journalism. Good video
-
As a native Californian, trust me.......this was sugar-coated to death. This is the rated G version.
-
Coming from a left wing person, it’s great to see a video that isn’t just mindlessly bashing the right but shows us what we are doing wrong
-
I got assigned this video for one of my college classes, but the professor did not discuss the video during class. It seems like the main people who need to hear this aren't going to.
-
Congratulations NewYork Time, for keeping your Journalism as it needs to be.
-
"If you're poor... just be rich" - California
-
As a conservative, I would absolutely love a piece from the New York Times that approached the Republican Party in this way. Respectful criticism is refreshing.
-
Almost a decade ago (In 2014) I moved to Portland, OR, and at the time, me and my buddy got a 2 bedroom apartment together. $895/month for 1,000 sq ft apartment. Pretty good, right? Fast Forward, and THIS YEAR, the rent at that 2bdr apartment, the same exact one, is just over $1,800, and that is the AVERAGE rental price now. Ten years, the average rent doubled, and the only reason we haven't been priced out was because when the rental prices started rising, we had access to a VA Home Loan, which since my buddy got a job at Intel, he could afford. His mortgage is cheaper than the price of rent every month. Housing prices are destroying every business in Portland. No one can really afford to go out anywhere, so local businesses are suffering, and suffering hard. Theft skyrocketed, the homeless population increased by leaps and bounds. Housing prices are choking the life out of the city, and at this point, the people of Oregon as a whole are getting so sick of the liberal policies in Portland, that half the state is trying to become Idaho. What policy DID the Dems of Portland manage to pass in the last couple of years while all this was going on? A single county ban on Menthol cigarettes. That's about it, really. Everything else is either so weak-kneed, or so late, that the measures are no longer relevant to the problems we're going through.
-
If it requires someone else's labor, its not a human right
-
Everybody is progressive until they're even mildly inconvenienced
-
Coming from a progressive leftist, this kind of criticism of the American left is completely necessary. Continuing to just blame conservatives for everything that's wrong will not help anyone but liberals' egos. Good video! Edit: No I am not a liberal or a democrat, I am well aware that is different from a progressive leftist. I'm not conflating these things, just pointing out something I see in both circles
-
Great video from the New York Times. I’m from Maine a very liberal state and I grew up in a town with a world class private school where kids applied from all over the world while the two school districts next to me struggled to get teachers and fund their sports teams as we built new turf fields and dorm facilities. Disgusting show of inequality that happens in every corner of the United States that no political party wants to address.
