According to officials and experts, the city's financial crisis is almost over and the job market is on the rise, but who do we thank for the less-devastating-than-expected downturn? Address cards and flowers to the federal government, which provided huge bailouts to Wall Street institutions like Citigroup, JPMogran Chase and Goldman Sachs, economists say. “If you pick almost any economic statistic—income, house prices, construction activity—it would tell the same story: New York has gotten hit, but it hasn’t gotten creamed," Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody's Economy.com, tells the Times.
NYC was helped more by the federal government than any other city in the country and is faring better as a direct result, sources say. On Wall Street Citigroup got a $45 billion bail out, JPMorgan Chase got $25 billion, and Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley borrowed $10 billion each. By paying thousands of top-salary jobs (and bonuses, not so sickening after all?) the cash infusions saved the city lost tax revenue and provided a "spillover effect" for the rest of us. According to the Times, there's a "widely accepted idea that each job on Wall Street supports two other in and around the city."
City officials second the motion: Mayor Bloomberg has been saying that the city may cut 100,000 fewer jobs than originally anticipated as a result of the quickly improving economy. In addition to job stats, tourism and housing prices are healthier than in other metropolitan centers.
