Mayor Bloomberg has finally injected some sense of decency into the debate over how much aid the federal government ought to be directing toward New York. While it is reasonable that at least some aid come to the state — the tragedy of September 11 was a national one — there does at some point need to be a limit to what we ask of the rest of the nation. Mr. Bloomberg’s tone of gratitude and restraint must be welcome words to Congress and are set in sharp relief to the gimme politics of New York’s Senators Clinton and Schumer. While bringing home the bacon is part of every politician’s job, a point can be reached where the heartland of America will begin to perceive the Empire State as transforming into the Gimme State, exploiting a solemn tragedy for political and financial gain.

The aid that has been given to New York thus far is generous, as would be expected in the wake of a catastrophe that prompted an outpouring of support from Americans around the country to our sometimes-maligned home state and city. More than $20 billion has been earmarked for the city, even if the process of dispersing the funds is slower than many might wish. Aid has gone to the cleanup at Ground Zero, health care for victims and relief workers, loans to small businesses, unemployment benefits for those put out of work by the attacks, the restoration of utility networks, as well as other assorted programs. On top of this mélange, New York’s senators called yesterday to add longterm health monitoring for rescue and response workers, extending already extended disaster unemployment assistance, and forgiving student loans of spouses of personnel who died or were disabled as a result of the events of September 11.

The senators seem to have learned from Governor Pataki, who asked for a host of subsidies post-September 11 — including $3 billion for transportation projects including rail, bridge, and road upgrades in upstate New York — and had his requests shaved down significantly. Taken individually, new requests from New York’s senators may seem reasonable, but they are expanding in concentric circles. Instead of begging for an ever-growing host of benefits from Washington, the state might follow the advice of Mayor Giuliani, who said that cutting taxes is the way that the federal government could best help New York. To some extent, Mr. Bloomberg’s comments were also meant to convey that New Yorkers can’t count on limitless federal largesse to make up for the shortfall in the city’s budget. New York took a hit on September 11. It affected the economy, it affected tax revenues, and it will affect the services that the city will be able to provide. In the absence of a sudden economic boom, budget cuts will be a necessity.