A Democrat opens an office in Grand Rapids for the Oligarch Michael Bloomberg

Last weekend, WOOD TV 8 ran a story about Presidential Candidate Michael Bloomberg opening a campaign office in Grand Rapids, on East Fulton. 

Kent County Commission and staffer for State Rep. David LaGrand, Phil Skaggs, was the point for the new Bloomberg campaign office in Grand Rapids. In the channel 8 story, Skaggs said:

“There are major things at stake here and another four years of Donald Trump is going to turn America into a place we don’t recognize,” Skaggs said during a speech. 

Skaggs says he supports Bloomberg because he has a great track record for getting things done and pragmatic solutions. He also mentioned Bloomberg’s campaign being moderate enough to capture voters who are undecided.

The WOOD TV 8 story goes on to say:

When asked about the criticism Bloomberg has faced for the “stop and frisk” policy he instituted while serving as New York City mayor, Skaggs said every candidate may have issues that people may be concerned about.

With this line of thinking, lets look at what issues people “may be concerned about,” as it relates to Michael Bloomberg.

• Michael Bloomberg is, by definition, an oligarch. An oligarch is a very rich business leader with a great deal of political influence.
• Bloomberg presided over a police force in New York City, which engaged in a war against black people and other people of color. 
• Michael Bloomberg ran a massive Stop & Frisk program, allowing the NYPD to stop, frisk, harass and intimidate mostly black residents, but also other residents of color. 
• As Mayor of New York, Bloomberg also ran a massive surveillance program targeting Muslims, as is well documented in the report, Mapping Muslims.  
• Michael Bloomberg defended the NYPD amidst accusations that cops used the Stop & Frisk practice to regularly assault black and latinx women. 
• Bloomberg has a long history of womanizing and sexism, including dozens of lawsuits brought against him for sex discrimination and sexual harassment. 
• Bloomberg has used prison labor to make campaign calls. 
• As Mayor of New York, Bloomberg sought to take control of the public schools, shut down numerous “low-performing schools” and promoted Charter Schools. 
• Poverty in New York City expanded during the Bloomberg years. 
• Gentrification escalated while Bloomberg was Mayor of New York City. Michael Bloomberg says that the financial crisis of 2008 was cause by end red-lining.
• As Mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg engaged in repressive tactics against the Occupy Wall Street Movement and removed their camp.
• Bloomberg has a history of not supporting an increase in the minimum wage.  
• Bloomberg has bankrolled numerous GOP candidates over the years, including former Michigan Governor Rick Snyder. 
• Bloomberg has used his wealth to buy the silence of non-profit and think tank groups like Emily’s List and the Center for American Progress. 
• Michael Bloomberg is spending millions on paid political ads, which is creating a tremendous amount of bias in support of Bloomberg by pundits. 

This is just the tip of the iceberg in regards to any serious critique of the billionaire Michael Bloomberg. It is important for people to not be swayed by the ads blitz from Bloomberg, but to do so real investigation of his history.