Zohran Mamdani’s Real-World Constraints

[ThatRobGuy]

The Problems with a Socialist Vision for NYC

Yale’s Jeffrey Sonnenfeld and co-authors suggest that some of New York City mayoral candidate Zohram Mamdani’s socialism-inspired proposals, such as city-owned grocery stores, are likely to run into inefficiencies and unanticipated downsides. They write that capitalism can be a better engine of...

insights.som.yale.edu

Yale’s Jeffrey Sonnenfeld and co-authors suggest that some of New York City mayoral candidate Zohram Mamdani’s socialism-inspired proposals, such as city-owned grocery stores, are likely to run into inefficiencies and unanticipated downsides. They write that capitalism can be a better engine of progress.

Vital City | Zohran Mamdani’s Real-World Constraints

He has big plans — but the mayor’s power has clear limits.

www.vitalcitynyc.org

The mayor of the City of New York is the most powerful municipal official in the United States, and it isn’t even close. But to say this isn’t to say that the next mayor, likely Zohran Mamdani, will have the ability to unilaterally do some of the things he’s been promising on the campaign. There are very real structural, budgetary and legal limits on what the city’s chief executive can accomplish without the cooperation and support of other branches of city or state government.


These articles outline some of the challenges Zohran's policies will likely encounter (both logistically, and structurally)


Larry Summers (whose Economics chops and Democratic bona fides should speak for themselves)
- MIT & Harvard education (and was a travelling professor who ended up teaching at both Harvard and at economics departments in England, and was even president of Harvard for a few years)
- Served on the Economics Advisors council for Reagan (he's worked with people from both parties)
- Chief Economist for World Bank
- Under-secretary of the treasury for international affairs under Clinton
- 71st Secretary of the treasury
- Director of the National economic council under Obama

...sufficed to say, has a little bit of knowledge on the subject of economics having held positions for both teams, as well as having both academic and real-world high-level leadership positions in the field.


...had this to say

 

[Colo Millz]

Excellent OP

Some more food for thought:

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/07/17/new...alth-flight-with-mamdanis-political-rise.html

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5377838-democrats-party-zohran-mamdani/

 

[iluvatar5150]

The Problems with a Socialist Vision for NYC

Yale’s Jeffrey Sonnenfeld and co-authors suggest that some of New York City mayoral candidate Zohram Mamdani’s socialism-inspired proposals, such as city-owned grocery stores, are likely to run into inefficiencies and unanticipated downsides. They write that capitalism can be a better engine of...

insights.som.yale.edu

Yale’s Jeffrey Sonnenfeld and co-authors suggest that some of New York City mayoral candidate Zohram Mamdani’s socialism-inspired proposals, such as city-owned grocery stores, are likely to run into inefficiencies and unanticipated downsides. They write that capitalism can be a better engine of progress.

Vital City | Zohran Mamdani’s Real-World Constraints

He has big plans — but the mayor’s power has clear limits.

www.vitalcitynyc.org

The mayor of the City of New York is the most powerful municipal official in the United States, and it isn’t even close. But to say this isn’t to say that the next mayor, likely Zohran Mamdani, will have the ability to unilaterally do some of the things he’s been promising on the campaign. There are very real structural, budgetary and legal limits on what the city’s chief executive can accomplish without the cooperation and support of other branches of city or state government.


These articles outline some of the challenges Zohran's policies will likely encounter (both logistically, and structurally)


Larry Summers (whose Economics chops and Democratic bona fides should speak for themselves)
- MIT & Harvard education (and was a travelling professor who ended up teaching at both Harvard and at economics departments in England, and was even president of Harvard for a few years)
- Served on the Economics Advisors council for Reagan (he's worked with people from both parties)
- Chief Economist for World Bank
- Under-secretary of the treasury for international affairs under Clinton
- 71st Secretary of the treasury
- Director of the National economic council under Obama

...sufficed to say, has a little bit of knowledge on the subject of economics having held positions for both teams, as well as having both academic and real-world high-level leadership positions in the field.


...had this to say
View attachment 372198

Nobody questions Larry’s pedigree, but his fortune telling skills leave something to be desired.

Larry Summers warns unemployment must rise to cool inflation

Ex-Treasury Secretary Larry Summers argued Monday that a number of currently employed Americans will need to lose their jobs in order for the Federal Reserve to succeed in its bid to cool inflation…

nypost.com

 

[rjs330]

I actually really hope Mamdani wins and is able to put into place all his promises. I obviously think they will fail, but what I think is irrelevant. Maybe they won't. Maybe us conservatives will all be proven wrong.

Either case, we should be able to put to rest the idea of theae kinds of policies, one way or another. Does this kind of socialism work? Or doesn't it?

Yeah I know we can show in other places that it didn't work, but its not NY. The left can say over and over again that the other places didn't do it right. I think with NY we can finally say, it does or doesn't work.

 

[ThatRobGuy]

I actually really hope Mamdani wins and is able to put into place all his promises. I obviously think they will fail, but what I think is irrelevant. Maybe they won't. Maybe us conservatives will all be proven wrong.

Either case, we should be able to put to rest the idea of theae kinds of policies, one way or another. Does this kind of socialism work? Or doesn't it?

Therein lies the rub, in our system of government, there's both
A) a system of checks and balances
B) a system of state and federal safety nets and restrictions that limit how much a local executive official can actually do.

There was a time when B didn't exist to the level it does today.

But with both of those things in place, there's little chance that it'll prove anything conclusively one way or the other.

If it doesn't end up being a monumental success or a spectacular failure, and just ends up being kind of a mediocre "meh" blip in NYC history, proponents and opponents will both cite those aspects
Proponents: "It would've been great had those other entities not interfered and prevented him from doing all he wanted to do"
Opponents: "Had it not been for the city council and state government blocking some of his wild ideas, this would've left NYC a broken pile of rubble and despair"


There's that old saying about "democracy is the idea that voters should get exactly what they vote for, and deserve to get it good and hard", but that rarely plays out in local level government.

Per my notes in another thread, the only thing that makes NYC a little more fragile/volatile than other cities, is that's it's the de facto seat of an entire major financial sector in the US, so negative effects could potentially be felt by people other than New Yorkers.

For instance, he's proposing bumping the corporate tax rate for the city from 7.25% to 11.5% (a near sixty percent increase). If JP Morgan Chase and Citibank decide to compensate and offset that by increasing credit card annual fees and loan origination fees, that'll be an impact that a lot of people outside of the big apple will feel some of the brunt of.

 

[Hazelelponi]

I don't know if there's any hope to avoid what these communists want. People bought into all the lies hook line and sinker. The Democrats aren't capitalists. They don't value anything we do. . We are two countries

 

[ThatRobGuy]

I don't know if there's any hope to avoid what these communists want. People bought into all the lies hook line and sinker. The Democrats aren't capitalists. They don't value anything we do. . We are two countries

I don't know that it's quite to that extreme *yet*

There still seems to be something of a internal beef between the establishment democrats vs. populist progressives.

The former seem to still be advocating for capitalism, just with expanded safety nets, where as the latter seem to be more inclined to embrace the other systems.

Where I see a breakdown occurring is with the fact that among the progressive populists, "establishment democrat" is becoming a "dirty word".

(Much like the rise of MAGA was preceded by movements like the Tea Party where "establishment republican" became a dirty word)

So if the timelines follow the same pattern, that would mean that the establishment democrats have about 1-2 more election cycles to start appealing to some independents and moderates, else they'll lose their party to the Mamdani-types the same way the GOP lost their party to MAGA.

 

[iluvatar5150]

Maybe us conservatives will all be proven wrong.

When has that ever stopped you guys from pursuing a policy?

 

[Yarddog]

Therein lies the rub, in our system of government, there's both
A) a system of checks and balances
B) a system of state and federal safety nets and restrictions that limit how much a local executive official can actually do.

There was a time when B didn't exist to the level it does today.

But with both of those things in place, there's little chance that it'll prove anything conclusively one way or the other.

If it doesn't end up being a monumental success or a spectacular failure, and just ends up being kind of a mediocre "meh" blip in NYC history, proponents and opponents will both cite those aspects
Proponents: "It would've been great had those other entities not interfered and prevented him from doing all he wanted to do"
Opponents: "Had it not been for the city council and state government blocking some of his wild ideas, this would've left NYC a broken pile of rubble and despair"


There's that old saying about "democracy is the idea that voters should get exactly what they vote for, and deserve to get it good and hard", but that rarely plays out in local level government.

Per my notes in another thread, the only thing that makes NYC a little more fragile/volatile than other cities, is that's it's the de facto seat of an entire major financial sector in the US, so negative effects could potentially be felt by people other than New Yorkers.

For instance, he's proposing bumping the corporate tax rate for the city from 7.25% to 11.5% (a near sixty percent increase). If JP Morgan Chase and Citibank decide to compensate and offset that by increasing credit card annual fees and loan origination fees, that'll be an impact that a lot of people outside of the big apple will feel some of the brunt of.

I just listened to him on the Daily Show, and he is proposing a 2% raise to match New Jersey's corporate rate.

 

[ThatRobGuy]

I just listened to him on the Daily Show, and he is proposing a 2% raise to match New Jersey's corporate rate.

Did he scale back from his original proposal?

What are Mamdani’s plans to tax the rich?

Legislative leaders have previously proposed increasing state taxes, and mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani wants to raise taxes on wealthy New York City residents.

www.cityandstateny.com

Mamdani has proposed various policies that would require large levels of funding, including city-wide free buses, universal child care and city-owned grocery stores. To pay for them, he has proposed creating an additional tax bracket for New York City residents with income over $1 million, which would be taxed at 5.9%.

In addition to increasing income taxes, Mamdani has proposed raising the state’s highest corporate tax rate from 7.25% to 11.5%.

 

[Hans Blaster]

increasing credit card annual fees

What are these? Some sort of ancient mythical beast? I do remember the banks proclaiming they did not charge these when I got a CC ... 30 years ago.

 

[ThatRobGuy]

What are these? Some sort of ancient mythical beast? I do remember the banks proclaiming they did not charge these when I got a CC ... 30 years ago.

They're fairly commonplace on some of the newer cards.

Two of mine have annual fees (one of which is from Citibank)

 

[GoldenBoy89]

What are these? Some sort of ancient mythical beast? I do remember the banks proclaiming they did not charge these when I got a CC ... 30 years ago.

Couldn’t we also, in theory, pass consumer protection laws that prevent that kind of arbitrary punitive rate hike?

 

[ThatRobGuy]

Couldn’t we also, in theory, pass consumer protection laws that prevent that kind of arbitrary punitive rate hike?

With regards to the card interest rates... not easily.

Since a lot of that is based off of credit score, and the original agreement states that the APR% can be subject to change, I don't see how they would.

With regards to various punitive fees, they can (and already have) put certain limits and protections in place.

However, with regards to annual fees and maintenance fees, I don't see how they would, short of some miraculous court ruling.

They would need to somehow justify the premise of "Hey, lending institutions, you have to be less profitable and less solvent in order to facilitate this one mayor wanting to give people free stuff"


According to Mamdani's own words, he intends on trying to generate an additional $5 Billion (with B) dollars in city revenue via corporate tax increases.

MSN

An interesting wrinkle in this is the way he's doing a bit of "double dipping" so to speak via the fact that the relationship between NY (State) and NYC (city) is a relationship that has some unique "features". (like how much control the state government in Albany retains over NYC affairs with regards to taxation and budget for NYC)

Since he's currently a member of the state legislature in New York, he's making some proposals on the floor in his current role that are aimed at giving himself a more "cushy landing" into the new role he hopes to have in a few days.

 

[rjs330]

Proponents: "It would've been great had those other entities not interfered and prevented him from doing all he wanted to do"

Very true. Everytime something like this fails that seems to be rhe response. It just wasn't done correctly, seems to be a typical response. I'm really hoping no one in NY interferes with him. The City Council may just go along. If he is voted in, that would say there are a LOT of people supporting him and those people probably won't support any councilman who refuses to go along. I hope enough pressure is put on them to just buckle under. Quite frankly I'm tired of hearing how these ideas would work if just done correctly and how good they are for everyone. Then when they dont work some sort of excuse like you mentioned is used.

Per my notes in another thread, the only thing that makes NYC a little more fragile/volatile than other cities, is that's it's the de facto seat of an entire major financial sector in the US, so negative effects could potentially be felt by people other than New Yorkers.

You are probably correct, but I'm willing to deal with that in order to put this to bed. Although I'm skeptical rhat it will, because there are too many who will refuse to see the failure should it fail. Which, obviously I think it will. Becauae America is not really set up for this type of action. But let's let NYC be the guinea pig. If it succeeds then fine, let's make the changes everywhere because it will be good for everyone.

 

[Hazelelponi]

If it succeeds then fine, let's make the changes everywhere because it will be good for everyone.

Or how about if they don't know it's wrong, evil and won't work this or any other time from a quick perusal of history, we declare them enemies of the state?

Bring back McCarthyism... Not "oh let's give them a whack at it in America, what could go wrong?"

We won't survive it if they get real and unrestrained power. They will murder people in the streets just for the opening ceremony.

It's not a game. It's not something new to try. People die . Real people. Every single time.

We have fought against communism since communism. It's not time to give up just because it's here.

I think we should look into what it would take to start making arrests... I really do. Whatever laws we lack we need to create and pass now.

Communism didn't exist prior to the 19th century and so we need to go ahead and make sure no communist will be able to take office. It's an ideology but it's the antithesis of ours, not something compatible with our way of life.

Surviving one term is one thing but we have 3 terms already with Biden and Obama and everything they were doing was undermining our system.

We can't just take onslaught after onslaught after onslaught of Marxists at every level of government We will fall eventually, if not the very next time.

I don't think people have long enough memories, we need to start codifying things.

 

[Hans Blaster]

They're fairly commonplace on some of the newer cards.

Two of mine have annual fees (one of which is from Citibank)

Maybe I'm grandfathered in. Mine don't have fees, but they were both issued in the 90s.

 

[Hans Blaster]

Since a lot of that is based off of credit score, and the original agreement states that the APR% can be subject to change, I don't see how they would.

If the laws says you can't charge above 18% APR then you can't. An agreement can't override the law.

 

[rjs330]

Or how about if they don't know it's wrong, evil and won't work this or any other time from a quick perusal of history, we declare them enemies of the state?

Bring back McCarthyism... Not "oh let's give them a whack at it in America, what could go wrong?"

We won't survive it if they get real and unrestrained power. They will murder people in the streets just for the opening ceremony.

It's not a game. It's not something new to try. People die . Real people. Every single time.

We have fought against communism since communism. It's not time to give up just because it's here.

I think we should look into what it would take to start making arrests... I really do. Whatever laws we lack we need to create and pass now.

Communism didn't exist prior to the 19th century and so we need to go ahead and make sure no communist will be able to take office. It's an ideology but it's the antithesis of ours, not something compatible with our way of life.

Surviving one term is one thing but we have 3 terms already with Biden and Obama and everything they were doing was undermining our system.

We can't just take onslaught after onslaught after onslaught of Marxists at every level of government We will fall eventually, if not the very next time.

I don't think people have long enough memories, we need to start codifying things.

Totally agree. But since the left is so convinced that it will work and he wonderful, I want them to have the shot in NY. Its really the place to do it. It will fail as it always has, but perhaps this time, if it fails in NY maybe we can put a stop to this nonsense.

Hey if it all.works and is wonderful it would be silly not to implement it everywhere. After all it will be good for everyone.

By all current measures it's going to fail. Then we can point to NY and say, if it didn't work there it's not going to work anywhere. The left is convinced that it will. Let them prove it.

 

[ThatRobGuy]

If the laws says you can't charge above 18% APR then you can't. An agreement can't override the law.

If they passed such a law, it would be detrimental to everyone.

A) I wouldn't trust my financial institution if they were extending lower interest unsecured lines of credit to someone with a 500 credit score.

B) most financial institutions aren't going to want to do that either due to the risk, so capping the APR would likely mean the end of accessible credit for people who made some financial mistakes in the past.