October 30, 1975: In what is arguably its most memorable cover story, The News sharply criticized President Gerald Ford for his stance on New York City’s financial crisis. Ford had announced his intention to veto any federal bailout for the city, suggesting instead legislative measures that would make it easier for New York to declare bankruptcy.
Although Ford never explicitly said the words “drop dead,” the perception of his indifference was so pervasive that it is believed to have played a significant role in his loss to Jimmy Carter in the 1976 presidential election. Carter narrowly won the state of New York, a key battleground. Eventually, Ford did authorize federal loans to New York City, which the city repaid with interest.
Editorial Insight: “President Gerald Ford made it unmistakably clear that the White House was unwilling to participate in any meaningful effort to prevent New York City from defaulting. The President seems to view insolvency as a necessary purification for the city’s past fiscal mismanagement. This negative stance was paired with a moralistic critique of the city’s financial missteps, its supposed welfare excesses, and the perceived extravagance in civil servants’ salaries and pensions. Such rhetoric was nothing short of a betrayal of a great city, exploiting anti-New York sentiment for political gain.”
From the editorial pages: “President Gerald Ford made it abundantly clear yesterday that the White House wants no part of any constructive effort to help New York City avoid default. Indeed, the President seems to feel that we ought to welcome insolvency as a healthy, purifying atonement for all our past fiscal sins of omission and commission. … This totally negative approach was accompanied by a great deal of solemn sermonizing on the city’s abysmal record for waste, extravagance and financial finagling, the lushness of its welfare-state programs, the exorbitant salaries and pensions it has granted civil servants. This recital of wrongdoing was nothing less than a stab in the back of a great city — an act of cheap politics that plays recklessly on anti-New York sentiment across the nation.”
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