What factors do you perceive as being responsible for New York sliding into a fiscal abyss? Fingers have been pointed in many directions: Politicians who kept borrowing more money to meet the city’s expenses; municipal unions who constantly demanded higher wages and benefits; the federal government’s failure to support the city.   Question Two: Do you think that commonalities can be drawn between the economic crisis that confronted NYC during the 1970s and the financial challenges it is currently experiencing because of the pandemic? Are both of these events likely to leave a permanent imprint on the city?