Have you ever been out to dinner with a group where some members of the group order appetizers and steaks, choose a premium bottle from the wine list, and signal for extra truffle shavings for their gnocchi, while others in The table asks for a salad and water?
And doesn’t it always seem to be the case that as soon as the bill is withdrawn, one of those Joey Chestnut wannabes suggests “let’s all split the bill” while pulling the Wagyu tendon out of his Châteauneuf-du-stained teeth? Dad? ?
This same story is playing out at City Hall: not over food, of course, but over funding, with the mayor and elected officials who demanded more and more spending from immigrants now suggesting that we all suffer the same cuts.
In my private life, I hang out with down-to-earth people. In my public life perhaps not so much.
If I join a table with friends and declare: “Nothing for me, just a glass of wine” (admittedly a rare occurrence given my healthy 17 stone frame), one of my dear friends will inevitably foot the bill. “Don’t be stupid,” they said. “You didn’t order anything.”
But of course, my personal friends are not total. gavonsto use your native Staten Island language.
They wouldn’t spend over their credit card limits, they wouldn’t ruin their rainy day funds.
If their Uncle Joe had told them there would be no family bailout, they would have tightened their belts instead of buying their Amex.
However, my friends at City Hall and the state Legislature acted just the opposite when it came to spending on immigrants.
Even when it was clear that the federal government wouldn’t contribute a dime and the governor would barely tip, many of them demanded that the city order Lobster Thermidor, Beef Wellington and Canard à l’Orange for our immigrant guests.
And when the quality of our hospitality was poor, those same elected officials demanded that our immigrants be treated at the Four Seasons, not the Motel 6. Surely they need all kinds of comprehensive services and amenities, so they requested room service.
At some point during the summer, the maître d’ approached the man presiding over the table, Mayor Adams, and gave him a look at the bill. But by then it was too late.
The city spent more per migrant per year than the combined annual salaries of three rookie firefighters. Next fiscal year’s roughly $6 billion bill for our four-Michelin-star immigrant soirée could cover Mississippi’s entire state budget, on a Waffle House scale.
But back to those rude dinner guests: Not all of them were ordering from the top shelf.
Many of my colleagues were reading the price list and looking for early bird specials. Some said they were not eating; some simply left out dessert. Not everyone paid the same bill at the bar.
And as for my Staten Island colleagues, both Democrats and Republicans, we took one look at the fancy menu and said, “No way, let’s eat somewhere else.” When it came to immigrants, we wanted to take away the Burger King drive-thru.
Now that the check is on the table, why should our constituents pay? They did not want, support or ask for this food. We even sued to close the restaurant!
The same goes for many rational elected officials across the city. Many wanted just two servings and a Coke, and now their constituents may be forced to pay for the surf and turf at the next table.
The migration crisis is finally entering into its own predictable consequences.
There were some politicians who had false hopes that the federal government would bail us out, and there were others who simply put on blinders.
However, the result was painfully obvious to anyone who has to balance a checkbook or pay a credit card bill at the end of each month.
The right way to handle the immigrant deficit is like the right way to handle inequality in dinner orders. Let our gluttonous elected officials (those who think they have all the money in the world to spend) be the heavyweights they pretend to be, the big guys machinists who graciously pays the entire bill.
When cuts have to be made to police staff, fire stations, school safety officers, trash collection or whatever, the districts where responsible elected officials and their constituents demanded we stop this should be forgiven. out of control spending.
As the waiter drops the bill this month, the public must denounce politicians who suddenly consider it a convenient time to go to the bathroom. They should be the ones to step up and not give New Yorkers another reason to dine and run.
Joe Borelli is the minority leader of the New York City Council.
