Long Default: New York City and the Urban Fiscal Crisis

by William K. Tabb

Tabb, William K.

Genres: History, United States, Finance, Urban Studies

160 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1982

Reviews

[Abe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sort of reads a little too much like a left wing Wikipedia article on the fiscal crisis. A little bit too plain and descriptive and finishes with just some paint by the numbers left-neolib solution to urban/municipal policy but I did appreciate being informed on the issues that plagued this city at the time. It’s before my time but even as a 90s kid I remember the memory of this rather traumatic period still lingering in the background of national social political and cultural dialogue. I will say I think I would’ve liked a deeper discussion on the collapse of the South Bronx things really took a turn for the worse and I don’t think it gets enough analysis here.

[Brent Saindon · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a piece of non-fiction, it is not really a page turner. I read this to find a chapter for my students on the NYC fiscal crisis. Though dry, the analysis work here is fantastic, and it puts the NYC crisis in conversation with national and international structural conditions that made it possible. Most importantly, it centers the human cost of the crisis, rather than it's politics. The end calls for a version of Democratic Socialist politics, or referred to here as "Humanistic Capitalism." It is pretty dated, but is still a real gem.