Kerby Anderson

“The problem with socialism,” Margaret Thatcher once said, “is that you eventually run out of other people’s money.” New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is already facing that as he released his first budget

The editors of National Review observe that “Mamdani’s Utopian Vision Faces Reality.” The Wall Street Journal editors warn “Mamdani Takes New York Hostage.” The mayor is threatening to raise property taxes unless Democrats in Albany raise taxes on top earners and business.

Here are some sobering facts. The mayor’s budget is $10 billion larger than the budget for the entire state of Florida. New York City’s population is 40 percent of the Sunshine State. We should also add that tax revenue for the city and the state are significant because of hefty capital gains realizations and Wall Street bonuses.

Nevertheless, the mayor wants the governor and legislature to pass a wealth tax. If not, he will be forced to raise property taxes and raid the city’s rainy-day fund and health benefits fund for retired city workers. The tax would hit millions of residential properties and raise the housing costs of working-class New Yorkers.

The mayor won the election on a platform of affordability, and even refers to his budget as austere. But it takes money to provide universal childcare and free bus service. The voters are starting to see what his socialist vision for New York City will look like in the next few years.

My warning to New Yorkers is simple. If you think it’s expensive to live in the city now, just imagine how much more expensive it will be with a mayor that wants to provide lots of free city services. This illustrates what happens with grand socialist visions crash into reality and basic budgetary math.