Liberal Hypocrisy is Fueling American Inequality. Here’s How. | NYT Opinion

It’s easy to blame the other side. And for many Democrats, it’s obvious that Republicans are thwarting progress toward a more equal society.

But what happens when Republicans aren’t standing in the way?

In many states — including California, New York and Illinois — Democrats control all the levers of power. They run the government. They write the laws. And as we explore in the video above, they often aren’t living up to their values.

In key respects, many blue states are actually doing worse than red states. It is in the blue states where affordable housing is often hardest to find, there are some of the most acute disparities in education funding and economic inequality is increasing most quickly.

Instead of asking, “What’s the matter with Kansas?” Democrats need to spend more time pondering, “What’s the matter with California?”

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[johnnyharris]

Hi, I'm Johnny Harris, one of the producers for this Opinion Video. I've always wondered why famously liberal states like California and Washington struggled to advance progressive policies, so I teamed up with NYT Editorial Board member Binya Appelbaum to get some answers. I'd love to know what most surprised you most in this video, or answer any questions you may have about how we made it — leave your comments below.

[Paul-ftxy]

"I love poor people, I just don't want them living anywhere near me."

[nordic]

I would never have believed the NYT would run a story like this. Well done.

[Herz.Seele.Verstand]

It was never a "republican vs democrats" - thing. It is always rich and powerful people against poor people.

[Enigma]

I got assigned this video for one of my college classes, but the professor did not discuss the video during class. It seems like the main people who need to hear this aren't going to.

[yeahnah]

Coming from a left wing person, it’s great to see a video that isn’t just mindlessly bashing the right but shows us what we are doing wrong

[Highintensityhealth]

Wow! The NYT’s is criticizing Democrats now. Stuff’s getting real! 💪🏽

[tfustudios]

California: Let's build affordable housing while we make it insanely expensive and difficult to build anything!

[PearlyGates]

Note: this was 2 years ago!! It's much, much worse now-5/2024 !!

[nqh]

As a wise man once said: "Politicians are regarded as people who have learned to talk, but not to act."

[FatherElectric]

As a native Californian, trust was sugar-coated to death. This is the rated G version.

[jesussalazar]

kinda like when migrants were sent to Martha's Vineyard and the residents were in an uproar but were the same ones who called it racist to close the border smh

[ToeRagFC]

This isn't exclusive to the US.

Both sides of the political spectrum have been captured by corporate interests in the UK as well. Nothing will change until we remove the bribery, sorry, campaign donation model of government.

Its actually a disgrace!

[micah]

As a conservative, I would absolutely love a piece from the New York Times that approached the Republican Party in this way. Respectful criticism is refreshing.

[jeffb]

Binya said "people aren't living their values". He's got it backwards: they are living their true values while espousing a completely different set of values.

[ExecutiveAutomotiveSociety]

I've been saying this as long as I've been able to understand it. Liberal ideology represents the opposite of what it professes. It was and still is literally the pot calling the kettle black. I moved to a liberal state to help run a church that fed the poor and the liberals said it should pay taxes, which would mean giving less to the poor. It's just one of a million examples that baffled me and I thought I was liberal. My family certainly was, college educated psychologists, so you'd think they'd be the first to be critical, but no. Whenever I would point out a problem they'd just blame it on conservatives and now, even worse, no Trump. I don't want to assign malice when ignorance is an option, but there comes a point when the deficits are glaring. Like supporting things that literally cannot share the same space. It's taken blindness to a whole new level. Now it's so bad that even living an exemplary life does nothing. It's a bunch of people screaming, "somebody should do something" and when I say, "well you could do that, " they aren't willing. It's always somebody else's problem or a political one. So I give up. I hope your example gets seen, but the truth is it's only going to empower Conservatives to say, "see, I told you so, " and move on. The algorithm will make sure it never gets into the hands of those that should see it and if they did they are too brainwashed to the cult to do anything other than deny it.

[ashishpj]

Congratulations NewYork Time, for keeping your Journalism as it needs to be.

[Dotmw]

Everybody is progressive until they're even mildly inconvenienced

[TheCSC]

I live in Toronto, a very liberal city in a very liberal country. And the whole “equality… so long as it’s not in my backyard” is spot on for most alleged progressives here.

[texasbeerlord]

I am stunned the NYT allowed this to be made! Sadly it will not be widely available on all their platforms. It would be great to send it over to NPR to watch and maybe learn.