**Written by Doug Powers

I’m going to go ahead and assume Bloomberg and the progressive mayors who will take him up on his offer won’t be able to grasp the multiple levels of irony:

Entrepreneur and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (I) plans to launch a $17 million contest to incentivize U.S. cities to bypass policymaking in Washington under the Trump administration, according to The Associated Press.

Thirty-five cities will win $100,000, while four other cities will get $1 million. The grand prize is $5 million for one city.

The contest, which will be publicly unveiled on Monday, is aimed at pushing mayors across the country to tackle issues on their own, without federal help.

Alternate headline: “Former NYC Mayor to Pay US City Leaders to Ignore Federal Laws.”

Defy Trump, win cash! Maybe mayors who ignore federal laws can use Bloomberg’s prize for bail money.

But at least one consequence of Trump’s election has been to get those who have until Jan. 20th been proponents of a gigantic and over-reaching central government suddenly concerned about being squashed by their own creation.

**Written by Doug Powers

Twitter @ThePowersThatBe