Socialist New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has accused Mayor Eric Adams of “defunding safety” in New York City by increasing police wages instead of investing the money into public schools and violence prevention programs. Speaking on “The Daily Show,” the Democratic representative argued that Adams’ decision to increase police officer salaries was a mistake, claiming that most officers were now paid more than a teacher with a master’s degree serving the same children.

Ocasio-Cortez claimed that cutting investments into community programs and increasing funding for the “militarized” NYPD meant that leaders were “defunding safety.” She argued that this was evident in the fact that resources were being taken away from public schools, pools, parks, and libraries.

“We are defunding safety. Defunding our public schools. Defunding our public pools. Defunding our parks. Defunding our libraries. When we are taking all of those resources and demanding every single department except the militarized ones be cut, we are sending a message about who and what we care about,” Ocasio-Cortez said.

Starting teachers’ salaries in the 2021-2022 school year, according to the New York City Department of Education, ranged from $61,070 for a bachelor’s degree to $83,972 for a master’s degree with eight years of prior teaching experience. New teachers with a graduate degree but no prior teaching experience earned $68,252.

Adams recently announced a tentative agreement with the city’s largest police union to increase rookie officer salaries amidst a mass exodus of officers. The press release stated that new officers would be paid approximately $60,000 when including all differentials, holiday pay, and a uniform allowance, starting in August. Members of the union would also receive retroactive wage increases ranging from 2.25 percent to 4.00 percent.

During her appearance on the late-night show, Ocasio-Cortez also criticized the treatment of former President Donald Trump, who was indicted and arraigned at a Manhattan courthouse. She complained that the former president received better treatment than violent criminals serving time at Rikers Island prison. The congresswoman stated that she witnessed people getting treated far worse for doing far less and suggested that Trump received a “red carpet” treatment despite causing harm to “millions of people”.

“I have to go in [to my district] every single day watching people get treated far worse for doing far less. And then you know it’s like this red carpet that gets rolled out [for Trump.] I mean if you hurt one person you get ten years in prison. But if you hurt millions of people, you get your name on a building,” she said.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)