Mamdani's Socialist Utopia Debuts with "Tax the Rich"
A short take
Zohran Mamdani wants to be Robin Hood, stealing from the rich to give to the poor. Or that’s the idea anyway, as he comes out swinging in a video aimed right at the heart of Gen-Z.
He promised to tax the rich, and he’ll deliver on that promise, at least for now. Once the rich move out of the city and dump their money elsewhere, things might get a little more tricky.
This is the first time in the city’s history that the often-proposed but never-passed pied-à-terre tax has been enacted. While it still needs legislative approval before it can become law, Mamdani is hoping to raise $500 million, enough for his programs, such as universal childcare, free buses, rent freezes, and now a city-run grocery store project.
The first store in Harlem will cost $30 million, bringing the total to $70 million. Anyone will be able to shop there, regardless of income.
Why would they need to spend $70 million to build city-run grocery stores when “food insecurity” is already addressed with SNAP/EBT benefits, you might ask? Well, because it’s a visual symbol that is necessary to sell a movement. The symbolic nature of it matters almost more than its practical purpose.
It’s like AOC’s Met Ball dress.
If it’s something people can see, success they can measure, that builds a model that can be implemented in other big cities, as long as voters keep electing Democratic Socialists. Who knows, maybe New York will become America’s first “Socialist” city. If it can make it there, it can make it anywhere.
The city-run grocery stores will be a visible marker of Mamdani’s influence, not unlike Trump’s ballroom or proposed arch in the other direction. What a stark contrast between two opposing visions for America’s future. Funnily enough, it’s the wealthy who tend to side with Mamdani, while the working class tends to side with Trump.
These buildings will be their own campaign ads, for better or worse. If things don’t turn around with America’s economy, city-run grocery stores might look a lot more appealing than the lavish ballroom. The difference is, of course, that the taxpayers will pay for Mamdani’s dream, whereas Trump’s ballroom won’t cost them a dime.
We’ll have to see how it all works out for Mamdani. If all goes well, he’ll emerge a hero. But if the food sells out so fast that the shelves are bare, or if there are lines around the block and no one can even get in to shop, least of all the poor, then it will be a disaster not just for Mamdani but for his utopian dreams of a Democratic Socialist America.
It’s not just Mamdani’s dream. Increasingly, it’s the dream of Gen-Z, who have been raised on convenience culture, with a smartphone in their hand, DoorDash a click away, TikTok at the ready. Hard work, to the Coddling of the American Mind generation, is anathema, even traumatic. If there was ever a time to sell socialism to America, this is it.
They don’t yet realize that without capitalism, there would be no iPhone on which to make their pro-socialist videos, no way to call in a Starbucks order and have it delivered hot and fresh to their door. All they know is that they’ve been told by the likes of AOC and Mamdani that the answer to their problems is to TAX THE RICH.
A Living Virtue Signal
The city-run grocery store idea doesn’t make me think it will solve the problems of the poor so much as provide absolution for the rich. It reminds me of the kinds of signs I see around my mostly white, mostly liberal, high-income town. They proudly broadcast pledges like “ethnically grown coffee” and “sustainably manufactured yoga pants,” no child labor, no fast fashion, won’t pollute the environment, etc. They’ll only spend their money if they believe what they’re buying is ethically pure.
What better way to feel like good people than by paying higher taxes for city-run grocery stores? Given that, Mamdani might be careful of what he wishes for. What might seem like a simple plan to lift people out of poverty could become a purity-struggle session. Where does this food come from? How was it grown? How was it farmed? Were any laborers exploited? How will they recycle their waste? How will they hire their staff?
One thing we know for sure about today’s progressives: nothing is ever good enough.
I’m working on a podcast about Swalwell. I hope to post later today.
must remember: they don't really care if it raises $5 or $500million. It just gives them the excuse, pretext, smoke-cover, to go SPEND $500million.
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Which of course will actually be $750million. No, $1billion. Wait, give it a minute BOOM $3billion in spending! That goes through Democrat allied "non profits" and their consultants!
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Two things: One, the Robin Hood story. Robin Hood and his band of Merry Men did not rob from the rich to give to the poor. They robbed from the Sherrif of Nottingham, who was over-taxing the populace, to return their own money to the poor. Two: Interesting illustration for the Harlem branch of the Mamdani Municipal Grocery Store. I could be wrong, but it seems all of the people illustrated are white, though I think I see one black person. Has Harlem been taken over why white people?