J.D. Tuccille: NYC mayor hopeful's stated goal is 'seizing the means of production'

National Post

a day ago

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In his formal response as a New York State Assemblyman to Hamas's bloody October 7 attack on Israel, Mamdani commented: 'the path toward a just and lasting peace can only begin by ending the occupation and dismantling apartheid.' He also frequently accuses Israel of engaging in ' genocide ' in its response to Hamas and refuses to condemn calls to 'globalize the intifada' which many view as targeting Jews outside Israel with attacks such as we've seen in Boulder, Montreal, and Washington, D.C.
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In an analysis of voting data, Bloomberg found that — contrary to socialists' claims of representing the working class — Mamdani's votes were concentrated at the higher end of the income spectrum. He edged out Cuomo for the votes of those making more than $150 thousand per year and romped to victory among middle-class voters who earn between $50 thousand and $150 thousand per year. 'The former governor, however, outperformed Mamdani in low-income neighborhoods by a 13-point margin.'
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Cost of living is a major concern for New York City residents, topping issues in polls. The wealthy can insulate themselves from the problem and the poor have programs that ease their burdens. That leaves middle-income voters — especially renters — as the most anxious in a pricey city. 'High costs of living are pushing middle-income families out of New York City,' commented the Bloomberg analysts.
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That's true, but socialist math doesn't add up in any way that will lower the cost of living. A New York University Stern School of Business annual survey shows a net profit margin of 1.97 per cent for retail grocery stores. Mamdani's city-owned grocery stores aren't going to squeeze a lot of savings out of that — especially given the sad history of government-owned businesses, and especially grocery stores.
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Mamdani doesn't help his case when he bases his proposal for funding the grocery scheme on a misreading of the city's books. Mamdani's plan assumes the city is subsidizing private grocery stores with $140 million that he wants to divert to socialist markets. But as the Washington Examiner's Timothy Carney points out, 'Mamdani is counting the $140 million in private spending as government spending.'
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Mamdani's rent freeze also runs into math problems. New York City already limits rent increases for many units, and its famous bureaucracy puts barriers in the way of constructing more. A rent freeze would further reduce incentives to build housing — or even to maintain existing stock.
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'It's regulation on top of regulation, rather than addressing the root cause of housing undersupply and just making it easier to build housing of all types at all price points,' Emily Hamilton, director of the Urbanity Project at George Mason University's Mercatus Center, commented.
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Mamdani also forgets that the wealthy people he wants to tax the hardest are the most mobile. Put the screws to them and they can choose to keep their money in Florida — already a popular destination.
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But all of that is for New Yorkers to consider as they decide who to put in the mayor's office — and to confirm as the new face of the Democratic Party. A young-ish socialist who dislikes Israel and is iffy about his opinion of Jews in general is a dangerous bet in a country where socialism remains unpopular with the majority and most Americans are concerned about antisemitism.
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