By The Editors 11/01/11 6:59pm

opinion

Liu, With No Choice, Makes a Good One

City Comptroller John Liu really had no choice. Faced with serious questions about his campaign fund-raising, Mr. Liu backtracked from his position that an inquiry could be handled in-house. Instead, under mounting public criticism, Mr. Liu asked former State Attorney General Robert Abrams to conduct an independent audit of his campaign’s books.

Good move. And good choice. Mr. Abrams, who served as A.G. from 1979 to 1993, has an impeccable reputation and would seem to have no ax to grind.

What remains uncertain, however, is whether Mr. Abrams will have the resources—in terms of a budget and personnel—to conduct a thorough investigation of Mr. Liu’s tangled campaign finances. Read More

By The Editors 10/19/11 1:34pm

opinion

Liu’s Dubious Donors

City Comptroller John Liu— the man who oversees the city’s financial ledger—says that revelations about phantom donors, bundled contributions and other irregularities in his fund-raising practices do not require the services of an outside auditor.

Would he say that same about, say, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, one of Mr. Liu’s favorite targets? Hardly. So why Read More

By The Editors 8/02/11 7:44pm

Opening Shot

Boehner and Obama.

As the Debt Ceiling Rises, the Dow Drops

It would almost seem that the stars had finally aligned. After weeks of stalled talks and contentious meetings between House Republicans and Democrats that escalated into a public spat between Speaker John Boehner and President Obama, a bill finally made it through the House and into the Senate, where it was speedily approved Tuesday morning Read More

By The Editors 6/08/11 12:19am

Editorial

Mr. Liu's Math Needs Work

According to City Comptroller John Liu, all those warnings you’ve been hearing about the escalating costs of public employee pensions and health benefits are wrong. Mr. Liu recently put out a report that argues that the cost of pensions and benefits actually will go down beginning in 2016.

Did we mention that Mr. Liu is Read More

By Azi Paybarah 4/05/11 11:44pm

The Budget

New York's New Governor Leaves Bloomberg Begging

At the Somos el Futuro legislative conference in Albany this weekend, State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli could be seen hugging Senator Charles Schumer-not because he was feeling particularly affectionate, but because Assemblyman Felix Ortiz, chairman of the conference, which gathers top Democratic officials to discuss issues of concern to Hispanic New Yorkers, had urged attendees to Read More

By The Editors 3/30/11 12:03am

Editorial

Letting the Public Peek at Pensions: Props to You, Liu!

Transparency in government is a good thing, so we welcome City Comptroller John Liu’s plan to allow unprecedented public access to the city’s vast $113 billion pension system. Fund managers may not be so thrilled about this sort of transparency, but they’ll have to get used to it as part of the price of doing Read More