Michael Bloomberg and His Political Ideas

Nadene Goldfoot
                                                                           

born February 14, 1942
On Valentine's Day will be 78 years old
14th richest man in the world

"Michael Rubens Bloomberg is an American politician, businessman, and author. He is the co-founder, CEO, and majority owner of Bloomberg L.P. He was mayor of New York City from 2002 to 2013. He is a candidate in the Democratic Party primaries for the 2020 United States presidential election." Bloomberg is the 8th richest man in the USA and just announced that even if he loses out in the 2020 running, he will spend his own money fighting against Trump.  

That was just announced on NBC.  Now 77,  and a former Wall Street executive.  he was founder of Bloomberg LP and Bloomberg Philanthropies.   What I have found about his work position is that his company covers much:
  "At the end of Mike's Mayoralty, New York City was Safer, Stronger, and Healthier. Learn More Today About how he Can do the Same for America.

Paid for by MIKE BLOOMBERG 2020 INC."

   "LIVE ON BLOOMBERG  Bloomberg Television:  watch live TV, Listen to Live Radio

LIVE ON BLOOMBERG

Balance of Power on Bloomberg Politics as on

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-01-12/netanyahu-attempt-to-delay-start-of-corruption-trial-founders                           

Bloomberg with Netanyahu

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How does he feel towards Israel?  The multi-billionaire businessman was awarded the first Genesis Prize in 2014. "During his acceptance speech in Jerusalem that May, he noted that his parents instilled in him the importance of Israel".  So, as the Jerusalem Post put it, he passes the kishke test in not regarding Israel as if she were just another country like South Korea or Jamaica.  "You know the “kishke test,” the question many Israelis and Jews around the world ask when weighing the pros and cons of a US president or presidential candidate: “Does he have a warm spot in his heart for Israel? Does she get us in her kishkes?  I have a feeling that he would be more sympathetic to the Labor party than Netanyahu's Likud.  His visits to Israel were in the days of Labor.   

“My parents saw in our lives just why Israel had to exist – and why it must always exist – and those lessons were passed on to us,” he said. “We are as one with this city [Jerusalem] and this country and this people as you can be.”  

"Enter Michael Bloomberg. Mr. Bloomberg has in the past flirted with the idea of running as a Democrat for president, but each time he has pulled back and decided against the idea. We all are aware of Bloomberg’s Jewishness and his support of Israel and numerous institutions in the Jewish state. Another major dichotomy between Sanders and Bloomberg is that the first is an avowed socialist (estimated worth nevertheless about $10 million), while Bloomberg is a capitalist (estimated worth $52 billion)."http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/24742

"When a mayor, Bloomberg visited Israel 7 times.  "Traveling with him were Raymond W. Kelly, the police commissioner, and Representative Gary L. Ackerman of Queens. They spent most of their day in the southern part of the country, first in Ashkelon, which has become a main target of Hamas rocket fire in the last week, and then in Sderot, a town on the Gaza border that has suffered most of the attacks.

They later met with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Ehud Barak at the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv. They left for New York on Sunday night.

Sunday’s visit was Mr. Bloomberg’s seventh to Israel since he entered public life, and it comes as he works hard to secure support for re-election this year."

"Bloomberg grew up in Medford, Mass., a town with few other Jewish families, yet lived in a kosher-keeping household and was bar mitzvahed. His hometown synagogue, Temple Shalom, was renamed the William and Charlotte Bloomberg Community Center of Medford after Bloomberg endowed the synagogue. "It is a conservative congregation.  He still attends High Holiday services, but his two daughters were not bat mitzvahed."   

                                                       

Aryeh  Mekel in 2013 :  Ambassador Mekel joined Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1984 as a Senior Researcher at the Center for Political Research. He has held a long succession of prominent positions since then, including adviser to Foreign Minister Yitzhak Shamir (1985-1986), Director of the Government’s Media Center, Chargé d'Affaires at the Embassy of Israel to South Korea (2001), Special Adviser to the Deputy Foreign Minister on combating antisemitism (2001-2002) and Special Government Spokesman for Foreign Media (2000-2002).

Aryeh Mekel, who was Israel’s consul-general in New York for part of the time that Bloomberg was the city’s mayor, described him to The Jerusalem Post as a “liberal New York Jew” who is “very supportive of Israel.”"Saying that candidates such as Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren would be “problematic” for Israel,  Mekel said that from an Israeli point of view, Bloomberg would be the best candidate."

Although Bloomberg disagrees with BDS, "Bloomberg also thinks pro-Israel groups have given too much attention to BDS."

Bloomberg, who is 5'8" is up against Trump at 6'2" and may be feeling that since he entered the race so late, he doesn't stand a chance at this point and that's why he's already said that he'll fight Trump with his money even if he's not in the race.  It will be billionaire against billionaire, and Bloomberg has more with some $58 billion dollars to Trump's $3.1 billion.  He even seemed dubious in the beginning,  insisting in March that he would instead “double down on the work that I am already leading and funding” rather than run.  Then he changed his mind and entered the race on November 24th.  

                                                        

His gal pal registered as Democrat last year.

The man he has to fight is a born New Yorker of Manhattan was born on June 14, 1946 and is 73 years old with 4 years of experience now under his belt as President of the USA.  Where Trump has Melania  Knavs as his wife, a former fashion model, who is  5'11" and immigrant from Yugoslav Republic of Slovenia, Bloomberg is not married.  Bloomberg had been married to a British Susan Brown and has 2 daughters, but is divorced and lives with his partner, the former Superintendent of banks, Diana Taylor.  

What are Michael Bloomberg's policy positions?

• On healthcare:
  • Doesn't support Medicare for All, or single-payer healthcare. Has said the US could "never afford that." 
  • He's suggested he supports a public option, or what he called "Medicare for all for people that are uncovered." 
  • He championed several major public health measures as New York mayor, including successful smoking bans, calorie counts on restaurant menus, and failed efforts to implement a portion cap on sugary drinks, also known as the "soda ban." In a series of laws, Bloomberg banned smoking in bars, restaurants, the majority of workplaces, and city parks and beaches.
• On guns:                                
  
  • Gun control is one of Bloomberg's biggest issues. He founded and funds Everytown for Gun Safety, which pushes for more regulations on guns. 
  • He supports universal background checks, efforts to limit gun trafficking, and a ban on assault weapons. 
  • He doesn't support mandatory assault weapons buybacks. 

• On immigration:
  • Teamed up with conservative media mogul Rupert Murdoch to fund pro-immigration advocacy group Partnership for a New American Economy. The group has pushed lawmakers to protect "dreamers," undocumented immigrants who arrived in the US as children. 

• On climate change and the environment:
  • Pledged $500 million to his Beyond Carbon initiative, a smaller-scale alternative to the Green New Deal, which is working towards eradicating coal-fired power plants in the US by 2030, ending the expansion of natural gas, and moving the country to renewable energy sources.
  • Founded Beyond Coal with the Sierra Club in 2011. The project has helped shut down many of the US's coal plants. 
  • Called Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Green New Deal resolution a "pie in the sky" proposal that "stands no chance of passage in the Senate over the next two years" in March 2019.

• On campaign finance:
  • Unlike many other Democrats, Bloomberg endorses self-funding bids for public office. 
• On the social safety net:
  • As mayor, Bloomberg imposed stricter requirements on who could receive homeless services. 
  • He did little to improve conditions for the 400,000 low-income New Yorkers living in public housing and his administration stopped inspecting public housing for lead paint. 

• On abortion:
  • Supports abortion rights. Has donated to the Democratic group Emily's List, which helps elect pro-choice women candidates.
  • On taxes: 
    • Opposes wealth tax, has called it "probably unconstitutional," and believes government should only implement income taxes. 
    • Opposed New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio's attempt to raise income taxes on New Yorkers earning over $500,000 annually.
  • On corporate regulation: 
    • Bloomberg has been critical of government regulation of the financial industry                     
      
    • A thought.  If Bloomberg fights against Trump with his money and is successful at it, what Democrat would be likely to win?  Would that person be good for Israel? 
    •                                                   

      

      “Based on polling I’ve seen, both public and private, Bloomberg isn’t on track to pick up a single delegate on the Super Tuesday states, even places he’s got endorsements,” one unattached top strategist familiar with the delegate process told The Daily Beast. “Not nearly enough to get to 15 percent right now.”

    • Updated: 1/14/2020 , added information

Resource:
https://www.businessinsider.com/who-is-michael-bloomberg-bio-age-family-and-key-positions-2019-11
https://templeshalommedford.org/wp/
https://www.jpost.com/American-Politics/Is-Michael-Bloomberg-leading-Jewish-presidential-candidate-good-for-Israel-608956
https://www.jpost.com/American-Politics/Where-does-Michael-Bloomberg-stand-on-antisemitism-Israel-in-2020-610795
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diana_Taylor_(superintendent)
https://www.heyalma.com/where-michael-bloomberg-stands-on-jewish-issues/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Bloomberg
https://www.thedailybeast.com/bloomberg-spent-dollar200-million-and-isnt-on-track-to-score-a-single-delegate-on-super-tuesday