Zohran Mamdani...

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Mamdami learned from the Democratic party failures in the 2024 presidential election. You have to listen to the young people.

The young people told Biden and Harris that if they didn't speak out against Israel, they wouldn't vote for them...and they did not vote for them.

Also, if you get on BlueSky and TikTok where most Gen Z and Millennials are communicating, you'll realize the young people have learned a valuable lesson: there are more of us than old people. If we band together and vote, we can get the candidate we want who will enact the policies we want. Older generations roll their eyes at millennials, but we are the most educated generation and also the generation with the least (in terms of wealth, real estate holdings, and kids). We are also one of the most well-traveled generations. We've been to other places in the world and seen how the citizens of other countries live better than us because of proper taxation of the wealthy and corporations. We have learned that we could have all that in the US if our government simply taxed the rich and corporations at appropriate rates.

Also, just for reference, because for some reason reason people on DCUM have it perpetually stuck in their heads that Gen Z are teenagers and Millennials are 20-somethings, here are the official age breakdowns:

Baby Boomers: 1946-1964 (ages 79-61)
Gen X: 1965-1980 (ages 60-45)
Millennials: 1981-1996 (ages 44-29)
Gen Z: 1997-2012 (ages 28-13)

I'm 43. I make more right now than both of my parents did combined at this age. I don't own a house. I live with a partner, but we are not married. We do not want kids because of the cost of everything. My parents owned a house, 2 cars, and took 3 kids on 2-3 vacations each year when they were in their 40s and they did that on the salaries of a tow truck driver and an office admin.

43 is not “young”. You are middle aged (as am I, also 43).

Your observations are generally correct and applicable to millennials (but not universal; I enjoy a much better standard of living than my parents did, I am married and I have 3 kids). ZM is not going to deliver a standard of living you seek, and, if his policy proposals are actually implemented, it will make your problems worse.

NP here. Do you not think there is an affordability and housing crisis in our country? That fact seems undeniable to me and should not be surprising given the energy of the occupy wall street movement over a decade ago and the growing inequality since then. So if there are problems with affordability/housing, why not try to some ideas? What I find refreshing about Mamdani is that he does not seem wed to ideology - listen to him talk about his grocery stores. It's one in each borough (which can be funded through existing city food programs) and he outright says if it doesn't work, then he will close them. Food deserts are a huge issue that the private sector has not tried so why not experiment with a public sector solution?

PP.

Yes, there is a housing/affordability crisis. The problem with “trying ideas” is that it can make problems much worse and destroy capital, making the road to recovery that much harder. Look at California: they’ve tried many ideas for making housing affordable and it’s only gotten worse and they are in a deeper hole. Most of ZM’s proposals will make the problems worse. The answer is and will continue to be more supply, but ZM isn’t going near that. Instead he’s proposing ideas that have been proven to fail.

To be fair, as much as I disagree with him about most things, his idea to let property tax valuations float to be more aligned with market value is a correct position.

The grocery store issue does highlight how he can make problems worse as well as the incoherence of his positions.

There is no such thing as just trying changes to an economic ecosystem. Once you introduce the government stores it will be extremely difficult to get rid of them and they will destabilize the economic system. Whoever runs them will be incentivized to expand their footprint/mandate. While the bodegas are a real problem, grocery stores have notoriously thin margins and undercutting them on price will be destabilizing.

ZM simultaneously believes that greedy capitalists will exploit everyone but for some reason food deserts exist where capitalists don’t go do business. Perhaps his mental model is off….

How does 5 grocery stores (one in each burrough in food desserts where there are no private grocery stores operating) risk “destabilizing the economic system”?

And, why might there be food deserts in the city? Is it because crime drove businesses that used to be there out? If so, how do you think these government run grocery stores will fare?

And, as to your question.....

Economists and business leaders are sounding alarms over New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani’s plan to roll out city-owned grocery stores that he says will lower food costs.

"You don’t lower grocery bills by having government-run stores," Ryan Bourne, a top economist at the libertarian leaning Cato Institute think tank, told Fox Business. "Government-run entities have no market discipline — no need to earn profits, compete, or serve customers efficiently. That leads to bloated costs, empty shelves, and zero accountability."

Bourne called Mamdani's city-run grocery stores "the height of political hubris" by failing to acknowledge that grocers operate in competitive arenas and on razor-thin profit margins.

"If we just do the simple math here, there's no way you can sell these products at lower prices and still make money," said E.J. Antoni, chief economist at the conservative leaning Heritage Foundation think tank.

"The other problem is that if he (Mamdani) is selling things substantially less than the private market, who is going to want to go to the private market? Everyone is going to want to go to these grocery stores," Antoni told Fox Business, adding that the city-run grocery stores have the potential to exacerbate food shortages in New York City.

"If the government is going to make it impossible for the private market to compete, then the private market will stop competing. If you make it unprofitable for a grocer to do business in Manhattan, then people like John Catsimatidis are going to pull the plug," Antoni said, referencing the billionaire supermarket magnate.

In an interview with Fox Business, Catsimatidis said retail food was the toughest company in his Red Apple Group portfolio, which also includes real estate, energy and insurance assets.

"If the city of New York is going socialist, I will definitely close, or sell, or move or franchise the Gristedes locations," he said. Catsimatidis, a high-profile political donor in conservative circles, operates more than 15 Gristedes and nearly a dozen D'Agostino grocery stores in Manhattan.

"It’s going to hurt New York," Catsimatidis said of Mamdani's economic agenda should he win the November general election. He added that he is considering moving his corporate offices to New Jersey if that happens.

https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/mamdanis-public-grocery-stores-may-have-devastating-effects-citys-food-supply

I live in Manhattan and didn’t vote for Mamdani, but… have you ever been to a Gristedes or D’Agostino? It would not be a loss if they all shut down. They are all extortionately priced and somehow still gross. Even Whole Foods is at least 25-40% cheaper. I would love for the free market to deal with them.

This news actually makes me like Mamdani more.

DP. A government grocery store is not the free market.

PP. Any market, then, including one where there’s five government-subsidized grocery stores in NYC. The proposal is one per borough. I think it’s kind of a dumb idea personally, but the fact that it’s causing so much hysteria is also dumb. It’s at least a new idea and it’s not like it’s going to cost billions of dollars. And those grocery stores will still at least be better than Gristedes.

Because it's fake hysteria. The real hysteria is due to him not being Pro-Israel.

"The lobby" will either physically try to harm him or they will plant a false flag operation in NYC.

What they don't understand is it will open the floodgates.

I see only of two ways they can rid of him:
A. Deport him under the guise of national security. Not likely because it would raise way too much controversy
B. Have someone try to harm him via false flag. Most likely a Zionist masquerading as a Pro-Palestinian supporter who's pretending to be upset that Mamdani said Israel has a right to exist

No, they can let him be elected, and then watch what happens when NYC becomes a magnet for illegals, the police are defunded out of existence, and the tax base moves to Florida. The city will become a third world cesspool and frame the 2028 election as a choice between conservative values and lawlessness.

This is what will likely happen and even without any framing, just by virtue of his stupid policies. He needs to be put in a Time Machine and transported to USSR and then let’s revisit his policies when he comes back. It’s just all ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:White House press secretary. Leavitt indicates the administration is open to a denaturalization-oriented investigation against Zohran Mamdani

This is how you know they are not planning on there ever being another Presidential election in the US. They aren't worried about retaliation from another Admin coming in and doing the same thing to the Trump family members or to naturalized/birth-right GOP House and Senate members.

He is scaring the crap out of the Republicans for some reason.

He is scaring everyone, Republicans and democrats. He is highly experimental in our largest city. If he fails it’s a disaster for democrats, if he succeeds it’s a disaster for the billionaire class. It also shows just how unpopular Israel has became lately. People elected an Anti Zionist to the most Jewish city in America without a second thought.

He will fail just like the Soviet Union failed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mamdami learned from the Democratic party failures in the 2024 presidential election. You have to listen to the young people.

The young people told Biden and Harris that if they didn't speak out against Israel, they wouldn't vote for them...and they did not vote for them.

Also, if you get on BlueSky and TikTok where most Gen Z and Millennials are communicating, you'll realize the young people have learned a valuable lesson: there are more of us than old people. If we band together and vote, we can get the candidate we want who will enact the policies we want. Older generations roll their eyes at millennials, but we are the most educated generation and also the generation with the least (in terms of wealth, real estate holdings, and kids). We are also one of the most well-traveled generations. We've been to other places in the world and seen how the citizens of other countries live better than us because of proper taxation of the wealthy and corporations. We have learned that we could have all that in the US if our government simply taxed the rich and corporations at appropriate rates.

Also, just for reference, because for some reason reason people on DCUM have it perpetually stuck in their heads that Gen Z are teenagers and Millennials are 20-somethings, here are the official age breakdowns:

Baby Boomers: 1946-1964 (ages 79-61)
Gen X: 1965-1980 (ages 60-45)
Millennials: 1981-1996 (ages 44-29)
Gen Z: 1997-2012 (ages 28-13)

I'm 43. I make more right now than both of my parents did combined at this age. I don't own a house. I live with a partner, but we are not married. We do not want kids because of the cost of everything. My parents owned a house, 2 cars, and took 3 kids on 2-3 vacations each year when they were in their 40s and they did that on the salaries of a tow truck driver and an office admin.

43 is not “young”. You are middle aged (as am I, also 43).

Your observations are generally correct and applicable to millennials (but not universal; I enjoy a much better standard of living than my parents did, I am married and I have 3 kids). ZM is not going to deliver a standard of living you seek, and, if his policy proposals are actually implemented, it will make your problems worse.

NP here. Do you not think there is an affordability and housing crisis in our country? That fact seems undeniable to me and should not be surprising given the energy of the occupy wall street movement over a decade ago and the growing inequality since then. So if there are problems with affordability/housing, why not try to some ideas? What I find refreshing about Mamdani is that he does not seem wed to ideology - listen to him talk about his grocery stores. It's one in each borough (which can be funded through existing city food programs) and he outright says if it doesn't work, then he will close them. Food deserts are a huge issue that the private sector has not tried so why not experiment with a public sector solution?

PP.

Yes, there is a housing/affordability crisis. The problem with “trying ideas” is that it can make problems much worse and destroy capital, making the road to recovery that much harder. Look at California: they’ve tried many ideas for making housing affordable and it’s only gotten worse and they are in a deeper hole. Most of ZM’s proposals will make the problems worse. The answer is and will continue to be more supply, but ZM isn’t going near that. Instead he’s proposing ideas that have been proven to fail.

To be fair, as much as I disagree with him about most things, his idea to let property tax valuations float to be more aligned with market value is a correct position.

The grocery store issue does highlight how he can make problems worse as well as the incoherence of his positions.

There is no such thing as just trying changes to an economic ecosystem. Once you introduce the government stores it will be extremely difficult to get rid of them and they will destabilize the economic system. Whoever runs them will be incentivized to expand their footprint/mandate. While the bodegas are a real problem, grocery stores have notoriously thin margins and undercutting them on price will be destabilizing.

ZM simultaneously believes that greedy capitalists will exploit everyone but for some reason food deserts exist where capitalists don’t go do business. Perhaps his mental model is off….

How does 5 grocery stores (one in each burrough in food desserts where there are no private grocery stores operating) risk “destabilizing the economic system”?

And, why might there be food deserts in the city? Is it because crime drove businesses that used to be there out? If so, how do you think these government run grocery stores will fare?

And, as to your question.....

Economists and business leaders are sounding alarms over New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani’s plan to roll out city-owned grocery stores that he says will lower food costs.

"You don’t lower grocery bills by having government-run stores," Ryan Bourne, a top economist at the libertarian leaning Cato Institute think tank, told Fox Business. "Government-run entities have no market discipline — no need to earn profits, compete, or serve customers efficiently. That leads to bloated costs, empty shelves, and zero accountability."

Bourne called Mamdani's city-run grocery stores "the height of political hubris" by failing to acknowledge that grocers operate in competitive arenas and on razor-thin profit margins.

"If we just do the simple math here, there's no way you can sell these products at lower prices and still make money," said E.J. Antoni, chief economist at the conservative leaning Heritage Foundation think tank.

"The other problem is that if he (Mamdani) is selling things substantially less than the private market, who is going to want to go to the private market? Everyone is going to want to go to these grocery stores," Antoni told Fox Business, adding that the city-run grocery stores have the potential to exacerbate food shortages in New York City.

"If the government is going to make it impossible for the private market to compete, then the private market will stop competing. If you make it unprofitable for a grocer to do business in Manhattan, then people like John Catsimatidis are going to pull the plug," Antoni said, referencing the billionaire supermarket magnate.

In an interview with Fox Business, Catsimatidis said retail food was the toughest company in his Red Apple Group portfolio, which also includes real estate, energy and insurance assets.

"If the city of New York is going socialist, I will definitely close, or sell, or move or franchise the Gristedes locations," he said. Catsimatidis, a high-profile political donor in conservative circles, operates more than 15 Gristedes and nearly a dozen D'Agostino grocery stores in Manhattan.

"It’s going to hurt New York," Catsimatidis said of Mamdani's economic agenda should he win the November general election. He added that he is considering moving his corporate offices to New Jersey if that happens.

https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/mamdanis-public-grocery-stores-may-have-devastating-effects-citys-food-supply

I live in Manhattan and didn’t vote for Mamdani, but… have you ever been to a Gristedes or D’Agostino? It would not be a loss if they all shut down. They are all extortionately priced and somehow still gross. Even Whole Foods is at least 25-40% cheaper. I would love for the free market to deal with them.

This news actually makes me like Mamdani more.

This was just an example. You think Whole Foods will stay? It will soon be like those pictures of the Soviet grocery stores with a scale and empty counters and a line of babushkas waiting for that one type of meat that is available today.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Israel is a socialist country.

It is actually a parliamentary democracy operating on a free-market model after some early experimentation with socialist economic policies which failed dramatically in the 1970s. It now has a highly developed economy with a strong private sector, features not present in socialist states. Having some social welfare programs and some people living in kibbutzim does not make a country "socialist"; the defining characteristic is whether the means of production are owned only by the state.

Socialism believes the government makes better decisions for people than people can make for themselves, the fundamental approach taken by Communist nations behind the Iron Curtain which all had extremely feeble economies - inefficient, unmotivated to innovate, and incapable of actually providing what people want.

This is capitalist propaganda. No socialist project has been allowed to exist without interference from the West. We literally will not allow them to succeed. Ask yourself why that is. If socialism is such a bad system, why do we have to interfere so heavily to make them fail?

And the idea that socialism believes government makes better decisions than people can make for themselves is ridiculous on it's face. Under socialism, the government literally IS the people. Our current system is IMPOSED on us. We spend huge chunks of our lives at work, in an entirely undemocratic environment where everything is imposed on us. Everything you accuse socialism of being is true of our capitalist system.

Communist and socialist states fall under their own weight, although some take longer to fall than others. The list of formerly socialist countries is a long one, none ever had successful economies. Those which survive presently afford their people wretched standards of living. A few countries with socialist features, like Iceland, manage to provide a decent standard of living, but they are exceedingly rare.

As far as the people being the government, that's nonsense - "the people" have no say in their government's composition, priorities, or activities in countries like the PRC, Russia, N. Korea, Vietnam, Cuba and other socialist paradises.

Russia is not a socialist country. USSR was. I don’t think any of the countries you listed besides N Korea are socialist either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is more outrage over this man than all of Trump’s blatant corruption. FFS, even WAPO editorial is outraged, but not about the felon’s corruption. MAGA isn’t going to see the wave that will crash over them with the backlash against their silence. Blatant corruption brought us the new deal. Get ready for tons of Mamdanis.

Jeff Bezos’ newspaper upset about the election of someone who wants Billionaires to pay taxes? I’m shocked.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mamdami learned from the Democratic party failures in the 2024 presidential election. You have to listen to the young people.

The young people told Biden and Harris that if they didn't speak out against Israel, they wouldn't vote for them...and they did not vote for them.

Also, if you get on BlueSky and TikTok where most Gen Z and Millennials are communicating, you'll realize the young people have learned a valuable lesson: there are more of us than old people. If we band together and vote, we can get the candidate we want who will enact the policies we want. Older generations roll their eyes at millennials, but we are the most educated generation and also the generation with the least (in terms of wealth, real estate holdings, and kids). We are also one of the most well-traveled generations. We've been to other places in the world and seen how the citizens of other countries live better than us because of proper taxation of the wealthy and corporations. We have learned that we could have all that in the US if our government simply taxed the rich and corporations at appropriate rates.

Also, just for reference, because for some reason reason people on DCUM have it perpetually stuck in their heads that Gen Z are teenagers and Millennials are 20-somethings, here are the official age breakdowns:

Baby Boomers: 1946-1964 (ages 79-61)
Gen X: 1965-1980 (ages 60-45)
Millennials: 1981-1996 (ages 44-29)
Gen Z: 1997-2012 (ages 28-13)

I'm 43. I make more right now than both of my parents did combined at this age. I don't own a house. I live with a partner, but we are not married. We do not want kids because of the cost of everything. My parents owned a house, 2 cars, and took 3 kids on 2-3 vacations each year when they were in their 40s and they did that on the salaries of a tow truck driver and an office admin.

43 is not “young”. You are middle aged (as am I, also 43).

Your observations are generally correct and applicable to millennials (but not universal; I enjoy a much better standard of living than my parents did, I am married and I have 3 kids). ZM is not going to deliver a standard of living you seek, and, if his policy proposals are actually implemented, it will make your problems worse.

NP here. Do you not think there is an affordability and housing crisis in our country? That fact seems undeniable to me and should not be surprising given the energy of the occupy wall street movement over a decade ago and the growing inequality since then. So if there are problems with affordability/housing, why not try to some ideas? What I find refreshing about Mamdani is that he does not seem wed to ideology - listen to him talk about his grocery stores. It's one in each borough (which can be funded through existing city food programs) and he outright says if it doesn't work, then he will close them. Food deserts are a huge issue that the private sector has not tried so why not experiment with a public sector solution?

PP.

Yes, there is a housing/affordability crisis. The problem with “trying ideas” is that it can make problems much worse and destroy capital, making the road to recovery that much harder. Look at California: they’ve tried many ideas for making housing affordable and it’s only gotten worse and they are in a deeper hole. Most of ZM’s proposals will make the problems worse. The answer is and will continue to be more supply, but ZM isn’t going near that. Instead he’s proposing ideas that have been proven to fail.

To be fair, as much as I disagree with him about most things, his idea to let property tax valuations float to be more aligned with market value is a correct position.

The grocery store issue does highlight how he can make problems worse as well as the incoherence of his positions.

There is no such thing as just trying changes to an economic ecosystem. Once you introduce the government stores it will be extremely difficult to get rid of them and they will destabilize the economic system. Whoever runs them will be incentivized to expand their footprint/mandate. While the bodegas are a real problem, grocery stores have notoriously thin margins and undercutting them on price will be destabilizing.

ZM simultaneously believes that greedy capitalists will exploit everyone but for some reason food deserts exist where capitalists don’t go do business. Perhaps his mental model is off….

How does 5 grocery stores (one in each burrough in food desserts where there are no private grocery stores operating) risk “destabilizing the economic system”?

And, why might there be food deserts in the city? Is it because crime drove businesses that used to be there out? If so, how do you think these government run grocery stores will fare?

And, as to your question.....

Economists and business leaders are sounding alarms over New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani’s plan to roll out city-owned grocery stores that he says will lower food costs.

"You don’t lower grocery bills by having government-run stores," Ryan Bourne, a top economist at the libertarian leaning Cato Institute think tank, told Fox Business. "Government-run entities have no market discipline — no need to earn profits, compete, or serve customers efficiently. That leads to bloated costs, empty shelves, and zero accountability."

Bourne called Mamdani's city-run grocery stores "the height of political hubris" by failing to acknowledge that grocers operate in competitive arenas and on razor-thin profit margins.

"If we just do the simple math here, there's no way you can sell these products at lower prices and still make money," said E.J. Antoni, chief economist at the conservative leaning Heritage Foundation think tank.

"The other problem is that if he (Mamdani) is selling things substantially less than the private market, who is going to want to go to the private market? Everyone is going to want to go to these grocery stores," Antoni told Fox Business, adding that the city-run grocery stores have the potential to exacerbate food shortages in New York City.

"If the government is going to make it impossible for the private market to compete, then the private market will stop competing. If you make it unprofitable for a grocer to do business in Manhattan, then people like John Catsimatidis are going to pull the plug," Antoni said, referencing the billionaire supermarket magnate.

In an interview with Fox Business, Catsimatidis said retail food was the toughest company in his Red Apple Group portfolio, which also includes real estate, energy and insurance assets.

"If the city of New York is going socialist, I will definitely close, or sell, or move or franchise the Gristedes locations," he said. Catsimatidis, a high-profile political donor in conservative circles, operates more than 15 Gristedes and nearly a dozen D'Agostino grocery stores in Manhattan.

"It’s going to hurt New York," Catsimatidis said of Mamdani's economic agenda should he win the November general election. He added that he is considering moving his corporate offices to New Jersey if that happens.

https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/mamdanis-public-grocery-stores-may-have-devastating-effects-citys-food-supply

I live in Manhattan and didn’t vote for Mamdani, but… have you ever been to a Gristedes or D’Agostino? It would not be a loss if they all shut down. They are all extortionately priced and somehow still gross. Even Whole Foods is at least 25-40% cheaper. I would love for the free market to deal with them.

This news actually makes me like Mamdani more.

This was just an example. You think Whole Foods will stay? It will soon be like those pictures of the Soviet grocery stores with a scale and empty counters and a line of babushkas waiting for that one type of meat that is available today.

Take your posts to chatGPT and ask it to make it believable. It will make adjustments that will keep people from laughing at you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mamdami learned from the Democratic party failures in the 2024 presidential election. You have to listen to the young people.

The young people told Biden and Harris that if they didn't speak out against Israel, they wouldn't vote for them...and they did not vote for them.

Also, if you get on BlueSky and TikTok where most Gen Z and Millennials are communicating, you'll realize the young people have learned a valuable lesson: there are more of us than old people. If we band together and vote, we can get the candidate we want who will enact the policies we want. Older generations roll their eyes at millennials, but we are the most educated generation and also the generation with the least (in terms of wealth, real estate holdings, and kids). We are also one of the most well-traveled generations. We've been to other places in the world and seen how the citizens of other countries live better than us because of proper taxation of the wealthy and corporations. We have learned that we could have all that in the US if our government simply taxed the rich and corporations at appropriate rates.

Also, just for reference, because for some reason reason people on DCUM have it perpetually stuck in their heads that Gen Z are teenagers and Millennials are 20-somethings, here are the official age breakdowns:

Baby Boomers: 1946-1964 (ages 79-61)
Gen X: 1965-1980 (ages 60-45)
Millennials: 1981-1996 (ages 44-29)
Gen Z: 1997-2012 (ages 28-13)

I'm 43. I make more right now than both of my parents did combined at this age. I don't own a house. I live with a partner, but we are not married. We do not want kids because of the cost of everything. My parents owned a house, 2 cars, and took 3 kids on 2-3 vacations each year when they were in their 40s and they did that on the salaries of a tow truck driver and an office admin.

43 is not “young”. You are middle aged (as am I, also 43).

Your observations are generally correct and applicable to millennials (but not universal; I enjoy a much better standard of living than my parents did, I am married and I have 3 kids). ZM is not going to deliver a standard of living you seek, and, if his policy proposals are actually implemented, it will make your problems worse.

NP here. Do you not think there is an affordability and housing crisis in our country? That fact seems undeniable to me and should not be surprising given the energy of the occupy wall street movement over a decade ago and the growing inequality since then. So if there are problems with affordability/housing, why not try to some ideas? What I find refreshing about Mamdani is that he does not seem wed to ideology - listen to him talk about his grocery stores. It's one in each borough (which can be funded through existing city food programs) and he outright says if it doesn't work, then he will close them. Food deserts are a huge issue that the private sector has not tried so why not experiment with a public sector solution?

PP.

Yes, there is a housing/affordability crisis. The problem with “trying ideas” is that it can make problems much worse and destroy capital, making the road to recovery that much harder. Look at California: they’ve tried many ideas for making housing affordable and it’s only gotten worse and they are in a deeper hole. Most of ZM’s proposals will make the problems worse. The answer is and will continue to be more supply, but ZM isn’t going near that. Instead he’s proposing ideas that have been proven to fail.

To be fair, as much as I disagree with him about most things, his idea to let property tax valuations float to be more aligned with market value is a correct position.

The grocery store issue does highlight how he can make problems worse as well as the incoherence of his positions.

There is no such thing as just trying changes to an economic ecosystem. Once you introduce the government stores it will be extremely difficult to get rid of them and they will destabilize the economic system. Whoever runs them will be incentivized to expand their footprint/mandate. While the bodegas are a real problem, grocery stores have notoriously thin margins and undercutting them on price will be destabilizing.

ZM simultaneously believes that greedy capitalists will exploit everyone but for some reason food deserts exist where capitalists don’t go do business. Perhaps his mental model is off….

How does 5 grocery stores (one in each burrough in food desserts where there are no private grocery stores operating) risk “destabilizing the economic system”?

And, why might there be food deserts in the city? Is it because crime drove businesses that used to be there out? If so, how do you think these government run grocery stores will fare?

And, as to your question.....

Economists and business leaders are sounding alarms over New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani’s plan to roll out city-owned grocery stores that he says will lower food costs.

"You don’t lower grocery bills by having government-run stores," Ryan Bourne, a top economist at the libertarian leaning Cato Institute think tank, told Fox Business. "Government-run entities have no market discipline — no need to earn profits, compete, or serve customers efficiently. That leads to bloated costs, empty shelves, and zero accountability."

Bourne called Mamdani's city-run grocery stores "the height of political hubris" by failing to acknowledge that grocers operate in competitive arenas and on razor-thin profit margins.

"If we just do the simple math here, there's no way you can sell these products at lower prices and still make money," said E.J. Antoni, chief economist at the conservative leaning Heritage Foundation think tank.

"The other problem is that if he (Mamdani) is selling things substantially less than the private market, who is going to want to go to the private market? Everyone is going to want to go to these grocery stores," Antoni told Fox Business, adding that the city-run grocery stores have the potential to exacerbate food shortages in New York City.

"If the government is going to make it impossible for the private market to compete, then the private market will stop competing. If you make it unprofitable for a grocer to do business in Manhattan, then people like John Catsimatidis are going to pull the plug," Antoni said, referencing the billionaire supermarket magnate.

In an interview with Fox Business, Catsimatidis said retail food was the toughest company in his Red Apple Group portfolio, which also includes real estate, energy and insurance assets.

"If the city of New York is going socialist, I will definitely close, or sell, or move or franchise the Gristedes locations," he said. Catsimatidis, a high-profile political donor in conservative circles, operates more than 15 Gristedes and nearly a dozen D'Agostino grocery stores in Manhattan.

"It’s going to hurt New York," Catsimatidis said of Mamdani's economic agenda should he win the November general election. He added that he is considering moving his corporate offices to New Jersey if that happens.

https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/mamdanis-public-grocery-stores-may-have-devastating-effects-citys-food-supply

I live in Manhattan and didn’t vote for Mamdani, but… have you ever been to a Gristedes or D’Agostino? It would not be a loss if they all shut down. They are all extortionately priced and somehow still gross. Even Whole Foods is at least 25-40% cheaper. I would love for the free market to deal with them.

This news actually makes me like Mamdani more.

DP. A government grocery store is not the free market.

PP. Any market, then, including one where there’s five government-subsidized grocery stores in NYC. The proposal is one per borough. I think it’s kind of a dumb idea personally, but the fact that it’s causing so much hysteria is also dumb. It’s at least a new idea and it’s not like it’s going to cost billions of dollars. And those grocery stores will still at least be better than Gristedes.

Because it's fake hysteria. The real hysteria is due to him not being Pro-Israel.

"The lobby" will either physically try to harm him or they will plant a false flag operation in NYC.

What they don't understand is it will open the floodgates.

I see only of two ways they can rid of him:
A. Deport him under the guise of national security. Not likely because it would raise way too much controversy
B. Have someone try to harm him via false flag. Most likely a Zionist masquerading as a Pro-Palestinian supporter who's pretending to be upset that Mamdani said Israel has a right to exist

No, they can let him be elected, and then watch what happens when NYC becomes a magnet for illegals, the police are defunded out of existence, and the tax base moves to Florida. The city will become a third world cesspool and frame the 2028 election as a choice between conservative values and lawlessness.

This is what will likely happen and even without any framing, just by virtue of his stupid policies. He needs to be put in a Time Machine and transported to USSR and then let’s revisit his policies when he comes back. It’s just all ridiculous.

I can’t until summer is over and these kids go back to school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mamdami learned from the Democratic party failures in the 2024 presidential election. You have to listen to the young people.

The young people told Biden and Harris that if they didn't speak out against Israel, they wouldn't vote for them...and they did not vote for them.

Also, if you get on BlueSky and TikTok where most Gen Z and Millennials are communicating, you'll realize the young people have learned a valuable lesson: there are more of us than old people. If we band together and vote, we can get the candidate we want who will enact the policies we want. Older generations roll their eyes at millennials, but we are the most educated generation and also the generation with the least (in terms of wealth, real estate holdings, and kids). We are also one of the most well-traveled generations. We've been to other places in the world and seen how the citizens of other countries live better than us because of proper taxation of the wealthy and corporations. We have learned that we could have all that in the US if our government simply taxed the rich and corporations at appropriate rates.

Also, just for reference, because for some reason reason people on DCUM have it perpetually stuck in their heads that Gen Z are teenagers and Millennials are 20-somethings, here are the official age breakdowns:

Baby Boomers: 1946-1964 (ages 79-61)
Gen X: 1965-1980 (ages 60-45)
Millennials: 1981-1996 (ages 44-29)
Gen Z: 1997-2012 (ages 28-13)

I'm 43. I make more right now than both of my parents did combined at this age. I don't own a house. I live with a partner, but we are not married. We do not want kids because of the cost of everything. My parents owned a house, 2 cars, and took 3 kids on 2-3 vacations each year when they were in their 40s and they did that on the salaries of a tow truck driver and an office admin.

43 is not “young”. You are middle aged (as am I, also 43).

Your observations are generally correct and applicable to millennials (but not universal; I enjoy a much better standard of living than my parents did, I am married and I have 3 kids). ZM is not going to deliver a standard of living you seek, and, if his policy proposals are actually implemented, it will make your problems worse.

NP here. Do you not think there is an affordability and housing crisis in our country? That fact seems undeniable to me and should not be surprising given the energy of the occupy wall street movement over a decade ago and the growing inequality since then. So if there are problems with affordability/housing, why not try to some ideas? What I find refreshing about Mamdani is that he does not seem wed to ideology - listen to him talk about his grocery stores. It's one in each borough (which can be funded through existing city food programs) and he outright says if it doesn't work, then he will close them. Food deserts are a huge issue that the private sector has not tried so why not experiment with a public sector solution?

PP.

Yes, there is a housing/affordability crisis. The problem with “trying ideas” is that it can make problems much worse and destroy capital, making the road to recovery that much harder. Look at California: they’ve tried many ideas for making housing affordable and it’s only gotten worse and they are in a deeper hole. Most of ZM’s proposals will make the problems worse. The answer is and will continue to be more supply, but ZM isn’t going near that. Instead he’s proposing ideas that have been proven to fail.

To be fair, as much as I disagree with him about most things, his idea to let property tax valuations float to be more aligned with market value is a correct position.

The grocery store issue does highlight how he can make problems worse as well as the incoherence of his positions.

There is no such thing as just trying changes to an economic ecosystem. Once you introduce the government stores it will be extremely difficult to get rid of them and they will destabilize the economic system. Whoever runs them will be incentivized to expand their footprint/mandate. While the bodegas are a real problem, grocery stores have notoriously thin margins and undercutting them on price will be destabilizing.

ZM simultaneously believes that greedy capitalists will exploit everyone but for some reason food deserts exist where capitalists don’t go do business. Perhaps his mental model is off….

How does 5 grocery stores (one in each burrough in food desserts where there are no private grocery stores operating) risk “destabilizing the economic system”?

And, why might there be food deserts in the city? Is it because crime drove businesses that used to be there out? If so, how do you think these government run grocery stores will fare?

And, as to your question.....

Economists and business leaders are sounding alarms over New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani’s plan to roll out city-owned grocery stores that he says will lower food costs.

"You don’t lower grocery bills by having government-run stores," Ryan Bourne, a top economist at the libertarian leaning Cato Institute think tank, told Fox Business. "Government-run entities have no market discipline — no need to earn profits, compete, or serve customers efficiently. That leads to bloated costs, empty shelves, and zero accountability."

Bourne called Mamdani's city-run grocery stores "the height of political hubris" by failing to acknowledge that grocers operate in competitive arenas and on razor-thin profit margins.

"If we just do the simple math here, there's no way you can sell these products at lower prices and still make money," said E.J. Antoni, chief economist at the conservative leaning Heritage Foundation think tank.

"The other problem is that if he (Mamdani) is selling things substantially less than the private market, who is going to want to go to the private market? Everyone is going to want to go to these grocery stores," Antoni told Fox Business, adding that the city-run grocery stores have the potential to exacerbate food shortages in New York City.

"If the government is going to make it impossible for the private market to compete, then the private market will stop competing. If you make it unprofitable for a grocer to do business in Manhattan, then people like John Catsimatidis are going to pull the plug," Antoni said, referencing the billionaire supermarket magnate.

In an interview with Fox Business, Catsimatidis said retail food was the toughest company in his Red Apple Group portfolio, which also includes real estate, energy and insurance assets.

"If the city of New York is going socialist, I will definitely close, or sell, or move or franchise the Gristedes locations," he said. Catsimatidis, a high-profile political donor in conservative circles, operates more than 15 Gristedes and nearly a dozen D'Agostino grocery stores in Manhattan.

"It’s going to hurt New York," Catsimatidis said of Mamdani's economic agenda should he win the November general election. He added that he is considering moving his corporate offices to New Jersey if that happens.

https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/mamdanis-public-grocery-stores-may-have-devastating-effects-citys-food-supply

I live in Manhattan and didn’t vote for Mamdani, but… have you ever been to a Gristedes or D’Agostino? It would not be a loss if they all shut down. They are all extortionately priced and somehow still gross. Even Whole Foods is at least 25-40% cheaper. I would love for the free market to deal with them.

This news actually makes me like Mamdani more.

DP. A government grocery store is not the free market.

PP. Any market, then, including one where there’s five government-subsidized grocery stores in NYC. The proposal is one per borough. I think it’s kind of a dumb idea personally, but the fact that it’s causing so much hysteria is also dumb. It’s at least a new idea and it’s not like it’s going to cost billions of dollars. And those grocery stores will still at least be better than Gristedes.

Because it's fake hysteria. The real hysteria is due to him not being Pro-Israel.

"The lobby" will either physically try to harm him or they will plant a false flag operation in NYC.

What they don't understand is it will open the floodgates.

I see only of two ways they can rid of him:
A. Deport him under the guise of national security. Not likely because it would raise way too much controversy
B. Have someone try to harm him via false flag. Most likely a Zionist masquerading as a Pro-Palestinian supporter who's pretending to be upset that Mamdani said Israel has a right to exist

No, they can let him be elected, and then watch what happens when NYC becomes a magnet for illegals, the police are defunded out of existence, and the tax base moves to Florida. The city will become a third world cesspool and frame the 2028 election as a choice between conservative values and lawlessness.

Yep, if you feed children and have a progressive tax system all hell will break loose. Pretty sure it was in the Bible.

You know that people can read what you are writing, right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Israel is a socialist country.

Nope. It’s not. Parliamentary democracy
They shifted to a market based economy by the 1970’s
Try to keep up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mamdami learned from the Democratic party failures in the 2024 presidential election. You have to listen to the young people.

The young people told Biden and Harris that if they didn't speak out against Israel, they wouldn't vote for them...and they did not vote for them.

Also, if you get on BlueSky and TikTok where most Gen Z and Millennials are communicating, you'll realize the young people have learned a valuable lesson: there are more of us than old people. If we band together and vote, we can get the candidate we want who will enact the policies we want. Older generations roll their eyes at millennials, but we are the most educated generation and also the generation with the least (in terms of wealth, real estate holdings, and kids). We are also one of the most well-traveled generations. We've been to other places in the world and seen how the citizens of other countries live better than us because of proper taxation of the wealthy and corporations. We have learned that we could have all that in the US if our government simply taxed the rich and corporations at appropriate rates.

Also, just for reference, because for some reason reason people on DCUM have it perpetually stuck in their heads that Gen Z are teenagers and Millennials are 20-somethings, here are the official age breakdowns:

Baby Boomers: 1946-1964 (ages 79-61)
Gen X: 1965-1980 (ages 60-45)
Millennials: 1981-1996 (ages 44-29)
Gen Z: 1997-2012 (ages 28-13)

I'm 43. I make more right now than both of my parents did combined at this age. I don't own a house. I live with a partner, but we are not married. We do not want kids because of the cost of everything. My parents owned a house, 2 cars, and took 3 kids on 2-3 vacations each year when they were in their 40s and they did that on the salaries of a tow truck driver and an office admin.

43 is not “young”. You are middle aged (as am I, also 43).

Your observations are generally correct and applicable to millennials (but not universal; I enjoy a much better standard of living than my parents did, I am married and I have 3 kids). ZM is not going to deliver a standard of living you seek, and, if his policy proposals are actually implemented, it will make your problems worse.

NP here. Do you not think there is an affordability and housing crisis in our country? That fact seems undeniable to me and should not be surprising given the energy of the occupy wall street movement over a decade ago and the growing inequality since then. So if there are problems with affordability/housing, why not try to some ideas? What I find refreshing about Mamdani is that he does not seem wed to ideology - listen to him talk about his grocery stores. It's one in each borough (which can be funded through existing city food programs) and he outright says if it doesn't work, then he will close them. Food deserts are a huge issue that the private sector has not tried so why not experiment with a public sector solution?

PP.

Yes, there is a housing/affordability crisis. The problem with “trying ideas” is that it can make problems much worse and destroy capital, making the road to recovery that much harder. Look at California: they’ve tried many ideas for making housing affordable and it’s only gotten worse and they are in a deeper hole. Most of ZM’s proposals will make the problems worse. The answer is and will continue to be more supply, but ZM isn’t going near that. Instead he’s proposing ideas that have been proven to fail.

To be fair, as much as I disagree with him about most things, his idea to let property tax valuations float to be more aligned with market value is a correct position.

The grocery store issue does highlight how he can make problems worse as well as the incoherence of his positions.

There is no such thing as just trying changes to an economic ecosystem. Once you introduce the government stores it will be extremely difficult to get rid of them and they will destabilize the economic system. Whoever runs them will be incentivized to expand their footprint/mandate. While the bodegas are a real problem, grocery stores have notoriously thin margins and undercutting them on price will be destabilizing.

ZM simultaneously believes that greedy capitalists will exploit everyone but for some reason food deserts exist where capitalists don’t go do business. Perhaps his mental model is off….

How does 5 grocery stores (one in each burrough in food desserts where there are no private grocery stores operating) risk “destabilizing the economic system”?

And, why might there be food deserts in the city? Is it because crime drove businesses that used to be there out? If so, how do you think these government run grocery stores will fare?

And, as to your question.....

Economists and business leaders are sounding alarms over New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani’s plan to roll out city-owned grocery stores that he says will lower food costs.

"You don’t lower grocery bills by having government-run stores," Ryan Bourne, a top economist at the libertarian leaning Cato Institute think tank, told Fox Business. "Government-run entities have no market discipline — no need to earn profits, compete, or serve customers efficiently. That leads to bloated costs, empty shelves, and zero accountability."

Bourne called Mamdani's city-run grocery stores "the height of political hubris" by failing to acknowledge that grocers operate in competitive arenas and on razor-thin profit margins.

"If we just do the simple math here, there's no way you can sell these products at lower prices and still make money," said E.J. Antoni, chief economist at the conservative leaning Heritage Foundation think tank.

"The other problem is that if he (Mamdani) is selling things substantially less than the private market, who is going to want to go to the private market? Everyone is going to want to go to these grocery stores," Antoni told Fox Business, adding that the city-run grocery stores have the potential to exacerbate food shortages in New York City.

"If the government is going to make it impossible for the private market to compete, then the private market will stop competing. If you make it unprofitable for a grocer to do business in Manhattan, then people like John Catsimatidis are going to pull the plug," Antoni said, referencing the billionaire supermarket magnate.

In an interview with Fox Business, Catsimatidis said retail food was the toughest company in his Red Apple Group portfolio, which also includes real estate, energy and insurance assets.

"If the city of New York is going socialist, I will definitely close, or sell, or move or franchise the Gristedes locations," he said. Catsimatidis, a high-profile political donor in conservative circles, operates more than 15 Gristedes and nearly a dozen D'Agostino grocery stores in Manhattan.

"It’s going to hurt New York," Catsimatidis said of Mamdani's economic agenda should he win the November general election. He added that he is considering moving his corporate offices to New Jersey if that happens.

https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/mamdanis-public-grocery-stores-may-have-devastating-effects-citys-food-supply

I live in Manhattan and didn’t vote for Mamdani, but… have you ever been to a Gristedes or D’Agostino? It would not be a loss if they all shut down. They are all extortionately priced and somehow still gross. Even Whole Foods is at least 25-40% cheaper. I would love for the free market to deal with them.

This news actually makes me like Mamdani more.

DP. A government grocery store is not the free market.

PP. Any market, then, including one where there’s five government-subsidized grocery stores in NYC. The proposal is one per borough. I think it’s kind of a dumb idea personally, but the fact that it’s causing so much hysteria is also dumb. It’s at least a new idea and it’s not like it’s going to cost billions of dollars. And those grocery stores will still at least be better than Gristedes.

Because it's fake hysteria. The real hysteria is due to him not being Pro-Israel.

"The lobby" will either physically try to harm him or they will plant a false flag operation in NYC.

What they don't understand is it will open the floodgates.

I see only of two ways they can rid of him:
A. Deport him under the guise of national security. Not likely because it would raise way too much controversy
B. Have someone try to harm him via false flag. Most likely a Zionist masquerading as a Pro-Palestinian supporter who's pretending to be upset that Mamdani said Israel has a right to exist

No, they can let him be elected, and then watch what happens when NYC becomes a magnet for illegals, the police are defunded out of existence, and the tax base moves to Florida. The city will become a third world cesspool and frame the 2028 election as a choice between conservative values and lawlessness.

Yep, if you feed children and have a progressive tax system all hell will break loose. Pretty sure it was in the Bible.

You know that people can read what you are writing, right?

If you attack capitalism you kill the golden goose that's made poor people fat, sheltered, supplied with a smartphone and able to walk into the best hospitals in the world at will.

[Anonymous]

Man, the dems really are a turd party that has been flushed completely down the drain. They learned nothing from the 2024 elections, yet are going to quadruple down on stupid and think a socialist like Mamdani is a good idea and will work at the national level. NYC is going to be in so much trouble soon. Hopefully when crime and taxes skyrocket out of control, they get zero help from the government. Give the idiots in NYC exactly what they want. A socialist utopian s holio.

[Anonymous]

Nah, they're quadrupling down on Islamophobia and being sell outs to big money. Neither party represents people with actual principles.

[Anonymous]

It’s very clear there are limited immigrants or naturalized Americans on this thread. The naked tribalism and cynicism is galling.

What, you didn’t know there are Indian minorities in East Africa and South Africa? #Diaspora

People hate on Trump and then there is a politician who actually wants to counter Trump’s violently dispossessive policies and empower the everyday American and - wahhhhh! Islamism!!

They taught me tolerance and empathy at MCPS. Did they not do the same to you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Zohran Mamdani says ‘I don’t think we should have billionaires’

Sorry, Zohran, that's not up to you.

He isn't saying me, he says we. We can have wealthy but we can't have Uber wealthy corrupting the system and buying people who run it to change the rule in their favor.

So he will steal the money they earned?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mamdami learned from the Democratic party failures in the 2024 presidential election. You have to listen to the young people.

The young people told Biden and Harris that if they didn't speak out against Israel, they wouldn't vote for them...and they did not vote for them.

Also, if you get on BlueSky and TikTok where most Gen Z and Millennials are communicating, you'll realize the young people have learned a valuable lesson: there are more of us than old people. If we band together and vote, we can get the candidate we want who will enact the policies we want. Older generations roll their eyes at millennials, but we are the most educated generation and also the generation with the least (in terms of wealth, real estate holdings, and kids). We are also one of the most well-traveled generations. We've been to other places in the world and seen how the citizens of other countries live better than us because of proper taxation of the wealthy and corporations. We have learned that we could have all that in the US if our government simply taxed the rich and corporations at appropriate rates.

Also, just for reference, because for some reason reason people on DCUM have it perpetually stuck in their heads that Gen Z are teenagers and Millennials are 20-somethings, here are the official age breakdowns:

Baby Boomers: 1946-1964 (ages 79-61)
Gen X: 1965-1980 (ages 60-45)
Millennials: 1981-1996 (ages 44-29)
Gen Z: 1997-2012 (ages 28-13)

I'm 43. I make more right now than both of my parents did combined at this age. I don't own a house. I live with a partner, but we are not married. We do not want kids because of the cost of everything. My parents owned a house, 2 cars, and took 3 kids on 2-3 vacations each year when they were in their 40s and they did that on the salaries of a tow truck driver and an office admin.

43 is not “young”. You are middle aged (as am I, also 43).

Your observations are generally correct and applicable to millennials (but not universal; I enjoy a much better standard of living than my parents did, I am married and I have 3 kids). ZM is not going to deliver a standard of living you seek, and, if his policy proposals are actually implemented, it will make your problems worse.

NP here. Do you not think there is an affordability and housing crisis in our country? That fact seems undeniable to me and should not be surprising given the energy of the occupy wall street movement over a decade ago and the growing inequality since then. So if there are problems with affordability/housing, why not try to some ideas? What I find refreshing about Mamdani is that he does not seem wed to ideology - listen to him talk about his grocery stores. It's one in each borough (which can be funded through existing city food programs) and he outright says if it doesn't work, then he will close them. Food deserts are a huge issue that the private sector has not tried so why not experiment with a public sector solution?

PP.

Yes, there is a housing/affordability crisis. The problem with “trying ideas” is that it can make problems much worse and destroy capital, making the road to recovery that much harder. Look at California: they’ve tried many ideas for making housing affordable and it’s only gotten worse and they are in a deeper hole. Most of ZM’s proposals will make the problems worse. The answer is and will continue to be more supply, but ZM isn’t going near that. Instead he’s proposing ideas that have been proven to fail.

To be fair, as much as I disagree with him about most things, his idea to let property tax valuations float to be more aligned with market value is a correct position.

The grocery store issue does highlight how he can make problems worse as well as the incoherence of his positions.

There is no such thing as just trying changes to an economic ecosystem. Once you introduce the government stores it will be extremely difficult to get rid of them and they will destabilize the economic system. Whoever runs them will be incentivized to expand their footprint/mandate. While the bodegas are a real problem, grocery stores have notoriously thin margins and undercutting them on price will be destabilizing.

ZM simultaneously believes that greedy capitalists will exploit everyone but for some reason food deserts exist where capitalists don’t go do business. Perhaps his mental model is off….

How does 5 grocery stores (one in each burrough in food desserts where there are no private grocery stores operating) risk “destabilizing the economic system”?

And, why might there be food deserts in the city? Is it because crime drove businesses that used to be there out? If so, how do you think these government run grocery stores will fare?

And, as to your question.....

Economists and business leaders are sounding alarms over New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani’s plan to roll out city-owned grocery stores that he says will lower food costs.

"You don’t lower grocery bills by having government-run stores," Ryan Bourne, a top economist at the libertarian leaning Cato Institute think tank, told Fox Business. "Government-run entities have no market discipline — no need to earn profits, compete, or serve customers efficiently. That leads to bloated costs, empty shelves, and zero accountability."

Bourne called Mamdani's city-run grocery stores "the height of political hubris" by failing to acknowledge that grocers operate in competitive arenas and on razor-thin profit margins.

"If we just do the simple math here, there's no way you can sell these products at lower prices and still make money," said E.J. Antoni, chief economist at the conservative leaning Heritage Foundation think tank.

"The other problem is that if he (Mamdani) is selling things substantially less than the private market, who is going to want to go to the private market? Everyone is going to want to go to these grocery stores," Antoni told Fox Business, adding that the city-run grocery stores have the potential to exacerbate food shortages in New York City.

"If the government is going to make it impossible for the private market to compete, then the private market will stop competing. If you make it unprofitable for a grocer to do business in Manhattan, then people like John Catsimatidis are going to pull the plug," Antoni said, referencing the billionaire supermarket magnate.

In an interview with Fox Business, Catsimatidis said retail food was the toughest company in his Red Apple Group portfolio, which also includes real estate, energy and insurance assets.

"If the city of New York is going socialist, I will definitely close, or sell, or move or franchise the Gristedes locations," he said. Catsimatidis, a high-profile political donor in conservative circles, operates more than 15 Gristedes and nearly a dozen D'Agostino grocery stores in Manhattan.

"It’s going to hurt New York," Catsimatidis said of Mamdani's economic agenda should he win the November general election. He added that he is considering moving his corporate offices to New Jersey if that happens.

https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/mamdanis-public-grocery-stores-may-have-devastating-effects-citys-food-supply

I live in Manhattan and didn’t vote for Mamdani, but… have you ever been to a Gristedes or D’Agostino? It would not be a loss if they all shut down. They are all extortionately priced and somehow still gross. Even Whole Foods is at least 25-40% cheaper. I would love for the free market to deal with them.

This news actually makes me like Mamdani more.

DP. A government grocery store is not the free market.

PP. Any market, then, including one where there’s five government-subsidized grocery stores in NYC. The proposal is one per borough. I think it’s kind of a dumb idea personally, but the fact that it’s causing so much hysteria is also dumb. It’s at least a new idea and it’s not like it’s going to cost billions of dollars. And those grocery stores will still at least be better than Gristedes.

Because it's fake hysteria. The real hysteria is due to him not being Pro-Israel.

"The lobby" will either physically try to harm him or they will plant a false flag operation in NYC.

What they don't understand is it will open the floodgates.

I see only of two ways they can rid of him:
A. Deport him under the guise of national security. Not likely because it would raise way too much controversy
B. Have someone try to harm him via false flag. Most likely a Zionist masquerading as a Pro-Palestinian supporter who's pretending to be upset that Mamdani said Israel has a right to exist

No, they can let him be elected, and then watch what happens when NYC becomes a magnet for illegals, the police are defunded out of existence, and the tax base moves to Florida. The city will become a third world cesspool and frame the 2028 election as a choice between conservative values and lawlessness.

This is what will likely happen and even without any framing, just by virtue of his stupid policies. He needs to be put in a Time Machine and transported to USSR and then let’s revisit his policies when he comes back. It’s just all ridiculous.

I can’t until summer is over and these kids go back to school.

Why are some of these policies, which are comparable to mainstream political parties in other high-income OECD countries, stupid? Like honestly the Americans on this thread need to be deprogrammed. You do not realize how bad everyone but the ultra rich has it in this country. AND WE PAY JUST AS MUCH IN TAXES.