The bad reason New York didn't crack down on money laundering
Adam Davidson in discussion with Ezra Klein (a), starting around 24:00:
Davidson: Money laundering is rife. In specifically real estate, in New York, in London, in Miami. That's something the US government recognizes, the UK government recognizes – and does way too little about. It's very rarely prosecuted.
It's billions of dollars.
I spoke with the former head of real estate regulation for the New York State Department of Financial Supervision, and he told me that there was a genuine conversation at the highest levels, and the decision was "we cannot come down too hard on money laundering because it would devastate the New York economy."
...
Klein: You sure don't hear that said about crimes that poor people commit. "Well we can't come down too hard on this because it will destroy the community..."
There's a real toxicity to that sentiment that I just wanna call out.