How many migrants New York can afford to shelter, whether the city should limit aid to official asylum seekers or to all migrants, how long it should provide such shelter-all are critical public-policy questions, placing demands on the city's finite budget and on its tourism infrastructure.
Another case affects state, not city, spending: in 2002, in a lawsuit brought on behalf of New York City schoolchildren, the state's top court ruled that New York State was deficient in not guaranteeing that city students receive a "Sound, basic education," as the state constitution demands.
The state, in response, has boosted city education spending over the past two decades, though no one has ever defined "Sound, basic education." What does it mean in New York City, where education spending has long exceeded national levels? Is money the only way to define it?
It is the New York City government's job to provide public and limited social services competently-and it is up to a free press, the city council, the state legislature, and the governor to ensure that the city carries out this public charge.
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