As I covered Monday, in light of recent events, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has an idea: Remove $1 billion from the city’s police budget.

Step 2: Redirect that “savings” to “young people.”

This was Bill at his June 29th press conference:

“My office presented to City Council a plan that would achieve the billion in savings for the NYPD and shift resources to young people, to communities in a way that would help address a lot of the underlying issues that we know are the cause of so many problems in our society.”

What are those underlying issues? We may never be told. But to Bill, the game’s changed:

“We’re in a whole different situation in fact than New York City has ever faced in our history – a health care crisis, an economic crisis, a disparity crisis, a budget crisis all wrapped into one and on a massive, massive scale. … It‘s important to show that we are going to make changes in this city. We are going to refocus our efforts on young people in particular.”

No doubt, many a taxpayer would appreciate getting back their dough from any “savings,” but as I previously noted, government doesn’t usually do refunds, only exchanges.

And speaking of an exchange, on Fox News hit The Five Tuesday, an impassioned quintet debated Bill’s plan to save the city amid a surge in crime with a police rug-pull and a turn toward Big Apple boys and girls.

During that volley, the great MTV alum Kennedy had strong words for de Blasio. In fact, she called the guy “a commie.”

Host Dana Perino inquired:

“You’re a mom, you live in the city, and I wonder what you’re feeling right now as the crime rates in the city continue to skyrocket.”

In Kennedy’s view, the residents of the five boroughs don’t want the police defunded. In fact, “They actually have good interactions with NYPD.”

“By and large,” she insisted, “they want that institution to stay intact.”

The political pundit fingered the mayor as a student of Stalin, managing an Archie Bunker reference along the way:

“The problem with Mayor de Blasio is he’s a commie. He’s talking — he’s using the word ‘redistribution’ like a shameful pinko. And what’s going to happen here — and this is what’s so awful — is they’re going to demoralize the department so badly, you’re not going to have necessary philosophical changes needed for true police reform.”

Interesting point.

Personally, I’m a proponent of change within American law enforcement. And amid this entire episode of tumult, I’ve feared political entities would take the opportunity to make empty symbolic gestures — such as the redirection of funds — rather than doing anything toward real mechanical improvement.

To hear Kennedy tell it, Bill might make those undesirable dreams come true in New York, complemented by more people robbing and stealing. Or robbing and stealing more.

Panelist Dan Bongino punctuated the situation:

“[R]emember the Seinfeld episode when George does everything backwards and it works out? Well, this isn’t that way. George does everything backwards and nothing will work out, okay? We’ve already been here in New York. Anyone remember Ed Koch or David Dinkins? Yeah, David Dinkins, when thousands of people were murdered on the streets of New York City, and he lost his election to a Republican in a 2-to-1 New York City Democrat-to-Republican enclave? … It’s because people had enough, Dana, not surprisingly, of things like getting killed. That’s not a sales pitch for your city. We’ve been here, de Blasio’s going there again.”

He also called getting rid of the plainclothes cop units “the singlemost catastrophic decision you’ve seen yet.”

Back to Kennedy, she asserted people’ll just leave the nation’s most populous city for some place safer.

And saner:

“You’re going to have more officers leaving the department — going to different departments or leaving the profession entirely. Crime is going to go up, and then you’re going to see…a mass exodus of people who — now, because of the pandemic — can work from home. And they don’t wanna pay exorbitant taxes that are going to programs that are toothless and are totally underserving.”

Makes sense. And cutting the police budget by a thousand million, it seems to me, doesn’t.

See 3 more pieces from me:

De Blasio Cuts NYPD Budget by $1 Billion, Says He’ll Funnel the ‘Savings’ to ‘Young People’

Hollywood Star Denzel Washington Recalls the Moment He Gave His Life to Christ

Chick-fil-A CEO Tells White Americans to Shine Black People’s Shoes as a Show of Humility (VIDEO)

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