Michael Bloomberg
Elected Mayor of New York City in 2001.
"In 1975, Congress passed a law requiring fuel efficiency standards to double over 10 years, with incremental targets that auto manufacturers were required to meet. That was the responsible approach, and it worked. But since 1985, we’ve done nothing — even as technology has moved at light speed."
"We're not going to deport 12 million people, so let's stop this fiction."
"If it wasn't for O'Flanagan's Pub on Manhattan's Upper East Side, I don't know where I would have spent my Friday nights as a young man."
Today, we are seeing hundreds of years of scientific discovery being challenged by people who simply disregard facts that don’t happen to agree with their agendas. Some call it "pseudo-science," others call it "faith-based science," but when you notice where this negligence tends to take place, you might as well call it "political science."
"Creationism by another name."
"Partisanship may be King in Washington – but the rest of us don’t have to pay tribute."
"Progress is not inevitable. It's up to us to create it."
On his controversial initiative "Opportunity NYC": "Now, you might say, 'why should we pay people for doing what they're supposed to do?' It's a fair question -- but think of it this way. Every other anti-poverty program that's been tried has failed to get the national poverty rate below 11 percent. ... Why shouldn't we experiment with a program built around the one strategy that has proven time and again to work wonders -- capitalism?"
Today, you're a piranha if you are seen having coffee with somebody from the other party in many cases.
"We're the world's second home, the place where every religion is practiced and every culture is celebrated."
"Any friend of fossil is a friend of mine. ... We've got to do everything we can to get people out of their automobiles and into mass transit."
"As the city continues to grow, the costs of congestion – to our health, to our environment, and to our economy – are only going to get worse. The question is not whether we want to pay but how do we want to pay. With an increased asthma rate? With more greenhouse gases? Wasted time? Lost business? And higher prices? Or, do we charge a modest fee to encourage more people to take mass transit?"
"I believe we can turn around our country’s current, wrong-headed course, if we start basing our actions on ideas, shared values, and a commitment to solve problems without regard for party."
In response to criticism from Democratic mayoral candidates for appearing at a 2004 event for the Independence Party: "To all the critics who are rushing out to criticize me tonight, criticize me for being here tonight, let me point out that this night is about the one million New Yorkers who are denied the most basic rights by the two major political parties."
"The press really is not doing its job of holding [the candidates'] feet to the fire. ... The tough questions are not what are you in favor of, but how are you going to get it through Congress?"
"...[W]e’re paying more for the privilege of getting sick and dying early. Once again, it makes no sense. And once again, no one in Washington is talking about how to fix it."
"It's scary in this country, it's probably because of our bad educational system, but the percentage of people that believe in Creationalism is really scary for a country that's going to have to compete in the world where science and medicine require a better understanding."
"I was elected to be independent. I was elected because I owed no political debts. I was elected to “do the job,” and not to spend my first four years in office campaigning. I’ve kept that promise -- and that’s why we face the future with renewed optimism."
"Despite its potential, the federal government has restricted funding for creating new cell lines – putting the burden of any future research squarely on the shoulders of the private sector. Government’s most basic responsibility, however, is the health and welfare of its people, so it has a duty to encourage appropriate scientific investigations that could possibly save the lives of millions."
"Taxes are not good things, but if you want services, somebody's got to pay for them so they're a necessary evil."