Despite Ford, City Didn't Drop Dead

Yogi Berra once said, "I never said half the things I said."

As with many of Berra's utterances, this one makes more sense than might first be apparent. What he really meant is that many statements attributed to him never crossed his lips.

Such is the case with Gerald Ford, who, despite being President in 1975, never told New York City to drop dead. Yet you wouldn't know it if you read the New York Daily News on Oct. 30, 1975. The banner headline that day read "Ford to City: Drop Dead."

The subhead reads "Vows He'll Veto Any Bail-Out," but people tend to forget those words and focus on the ones in bigger type (which is only natural).

New York City, at that time, was in trouble. It was nearly bankrupt and had applied to the federal government for a bailout. President Ford denied the request, refusing to pour federal money into a sinking ship. Instead, he proposed a bill that would ease the city on its way into bankruptcy, from which it could claim protection from a host of federal laws.

Shocked New Yorkers were quick to voice their outrage, but Ford and the White House held their ground: New York must solve its own financial problems. History shows that Ford was right to stick to his guns and insist on getting the city to tame its own excessive spending, since New York did just that, the Daily News headline to the contrary.