N.Y. mayor criticizes stimulus

New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said Wednesday that the White House and Congress were negotiating a shortsighted economic stimulus package and should focus instead on encouraging immigration and on helping strapped homeowners.

“We can’t borrow our way out of this. The jig is up,” Bloomberg said during a speech to the U.S. Conference of Mayors, which honored his environmental efforts.

The billionaire mayor, who is said to be considering an independent presidential bid yet denies that he is a candidate, said the $150-billion stimulus package being hammered out between Democratic and Republican leaders would not be enough.

“It’s not going to make much of a difference because we’ve already been running huge deficits,” Bloomberg said.

“If we spend all the money right now, and there is no recovery because of it, then we don’t have a second hand to play.”

Some of those urging Bloomberg to run for president say his record as a corporate executive is his biggest selling point in a time of economic turmoil.

Despite his public denials of presidential ambitions, Bloomberg has been conducting an analysis of voter data in every state to better understand his chances as a third-party candidate.

Aides have said he would delay a decision until after the major parties produce clear front-runners.

For months, Bloomberg has been criticizing the two parties, saying that they have failed to reach practical compromises.

His speech Wednesday night on the economy was unusual in that he publicly opposed the one area where there is wide bipartisan agreement: the economic stimulus package.

Bloomberg argued that the government’s first goal should be to stop the bleeding in the housing sector. “What good is a rebate going to do for a family who’s about to lose the place that they sleep in?” he said. Keeping people in their homes, he added, “is more important than giving everyone a check.”

Instead, the mayor argued, the government should:

* Adopt a capital budget to oversee long-term infrastructure spending, instead of the current year-to-year spending.

* Offer financial counseling, modified loans and, in some cases, subsidized loans to homeowners who find themselves unable to afford their mortgages.

* Overhaul immigration laws to bring more workers in, not keep workers out.

“Illegal immigration has become the pandering politician’s best friend,” he said. “We have to stop turning away people that our economy needs.”