I, for one, applaud the NYC results. If it scares the Dem uber-wealthy corpses as much as it scares the MAGAt crowd maybe we are on the way to opening eyes and changing ideas. Governing NYC is not managed by a single pol, but commissioners and lieutenants. Nobody has done an acceptable job of it for decades, so why not let a man with good ideas try? He is head and shoulders above the competition - and doubly so in honesty and authenticity.
"Predictably, we are already hearing from some center-Left Democrats, and Republicans that Mamdani's progressive policies that would make life more affordable for the majority of Americans are too radical, but minority billionaires like the grotesque Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Trump controlling upwards of 50 percent of our nation's wealth aren’t.
THIS is the most critical issue among voters. You nailed it.
My puzzlement has always been, billionaires want for NOTHING. Period. Why are they SO against the rest of the people having a decent standard of living? Why is Healthcare for ALL so bad? Why is food assistance, rent control and affordable housing so bad? Why is free public transportation so bad, how the bloody hell does THAT hurt the damned chauffeured billionaires ? What is wrong with free city college?? What's wrong with educating everyone in their chosen fields?
None of these things take away their billions....by them paying their fair share of taxes, the country would be far better, it still wouldn't take away their vast wealth. I will never understand why they want a caste system. 😞
Loved the article, thank you 🙏💙
(P.S. I'm also a proponent of Universal Basic Income, THAT would definitely help people get ahead and possibly eliminate homelessness....it would greatly help senior citizens and widowed people who lose that extra income. That makes them go directly into poverty in many cases)
I've heard before that rich people don't support what they believe is socialism because they "worked to earn their riches" and just giving things to people makes them lazy. Aside from the absurdity of those beliefs, I just reached the understanding that they don't want things like college to be free because they had to pay for -- but not just in the form of tuition. We all know the felon got his degree because it was bought and paid for and I'm sure he's not the only one. If they have to pay for things because they aren't capable of earning them, they think other people should have to pay because they ARE capable of earning degrees. It's another form of jealousy, the snowflakes have to consider themselves superior in some way and making other people spend money they don't have keeps them at the top of the wealth ladder. Apparently corruption and exploitation are the only things they ARE good at.
Re: Our too-much-is-never-enough billionaires. They truly believe that he who dies with the most wins. Their money, and therefore their name, will live on.
Sorry to disagree with the concept of UBI. If we think inflation is bad now just wait until everyone has a guaranteed income without working for it. Economics has a perverse way of balancing the amount of money and credit available (supply) to the consumption (demand). There is no such thing as FREE. Whomever gets something without paying for it, someone else has to cough up the money to subsidize that. US national debt is on an exponential rise and NOT sustainable. Adding to that would kill us fast and take away incentive for many to join the workforce.
UBI would just readjust the poverty level and make the cost of living worse. A $1500 rent would immediately rise to $2000. No help there.
I agree with you that we lost crucial younger and minority voters.
I have another point, which you may or may not agree with.
I think every politician should be primaried, every single election. That includes Democrats and Republicans. I believe incumbents would perk up and listen to the people, if their cush job were on the line.
We need a choice every single time we vote, primaries included.
I live in New York CIty. I am also in my mid seventies. I welcome Mr. Mamdani. And AOC and Jasmine Crockett and other young visionaries in the Democratic Party. I am sick of the status quo and hope that my party wakes up before it is too late. The future is in the younger generation. We need them now - desperately.
A positive sign is legacy media is becoming irrelevant. The NYT said don't vote for Mamdani. Voters ignored it just like they ignored Clinton, Jim Clyburn and Michael Bloomberg who endorsed Cuomo. We all want change - younger leaders who speak truth to power. And it's not always a given that money guarantees a win. I doubt old establishment Democrats will take heed. I hope they'll be primaried.
This was just another example the rich should pay attention to. The fact the Cuomo was backed by billionaires was NOT in his favor. People are tired of their officials getting bought. We have the problem in the White House. Those who have money expect something in return for their investment. We are showing them we can not be bought.
My left leaning friend group all have kids in their 30's and early 40's. All of the youngins despise FOTUS and his party and are also disgusted by the Democrats. If they are ever to vote in the future it will only be for people like Mamdani. In fact 2
I know got up early on Tuesday to be at the polls at 7 in NYC. I sure hope this is the beginning of something big and hopeful.
Yes when I read that Bloomberg was giving millions to Cuomo and many in the Democratic party were saying to NOT rank Mamdani.. I thought to myself, they’re losing.
It also means they simply do not understand what the average income voter really wants.
This man is saying everything the voters want to hear. Whether he can accomplish it is another story but good luck to him, I hope he does.
The Democratic party desperately needs a makeover and new leadership.
Not a millionaire (not even close) , but let's examine the facts: The top 50% of all taxpayers collectively paid a substantial 97% of federal income taxes. So by eliminating all the billionaires and for good measure all the greedy millionaires, exactly who is going to pay taxes? Leveling the playing field by making everyone poor makes us closer to Cuba and Venezuela. America did not become America by keeping everyone equally poor. The Pilgrims tried that and it did not work.
Yes, I wholeheartedly agree there is a huge and in many cases unfair distribution of wealth. But taking away money from one group to give to another group does not result in equal outcomes. Take the money away from the rich and in a short time they will figure out a way to gain it back. If not they will leave the state like in NY and go where they can keep more of their money.
Years ago I saw a cartoon that compared the way British and Americans looked at wealth. The Brit sees someone driving a Rolls Royce. He says to himself, who does that guy think he is driving such an expensive car, thinks he is better than me? The American sees some driving a luxury car (sorry Cadillac, your days are over). He says to himself, gosh I would like to drive a car like that someday.
Here is a fact for you Russ. From 1981-2021, $50 Trillion has been transferred from the bottom 90% to the top 1%, starting with the Reagan Presidency. It’s time to transfer that $50 Trillion back to the 90% through the tax system just like it was moved up to the top 1% through the tax system. This is what has caused the massive inequality and massive debt. Are you saying that wealth transfers can only go up and not down?
Of course not, however "wealth" is based on making good decisions in life. A lot of that $50T was wasted on poor decisions ... drinking, smoking, drugs, cars and goodies they could not afford, student loans they cannot pay back, kids and partners they do not love or support, not taking working or education seriously. Fixing that by taxing the rich to death so we can have more welfare programs will do nothing to improve "wealth".
I live in a small city. One of the main businesses is marijuana sales. You can see constant stream of customers. I grew up on the east coast in another small city. You know what it is famous for? It has the most tattoo parlors in the US. Should we subsidize that?
Not oblivious to the plight of the working poor. I support universal healthcare to take the burden of healthcare costs off the individual. Health care should not be tied to ones workplace. It is also misused to enslave people to jobs they hate, but cannot leave due to health insurance. USA spends trillions on healthcare and it is never enough. Much of that cost is adminstrative and insurance. Eliminate that and it will go a long way to pay for the true cost of healthcare. Not just to enrich the CEOs of healthcare and drug companies.
Good call, Earl, on all points. I might be more pessimistic, however, I spoke with 3 trump supporters this week, all family members, and they called me. Very interesting conversations to say the least, enlightening. All are fit to be tied. Considering the anger amongst those trump supporters, and the utter disgust with non-elite, life long democrats, I am optimistic that change is coming for the first time since the election. And for the man Repub, his vote was against a woman. For the 2 women, they were manipulated by their church leadership. Surprise!, right?! I sure the hell hope the voters don’t suffer amnesia between now and 2026. To borrow your line - ENOUGH ALREADY. ✊🤘
They are fit to be tied about a mayoral race in a city they most likely know nothing about, but not at the convicted felon who is taking their benefits away?!
Am I an angry voter? You're goddamned right I am. Am I afraid? I worry that my Social Security will be sold off to investment firms. Remember what they did to the economy in 2008? They'll do the same to Social Security. "Opps. we made a booboo. Sorry, your money is all gone." That's what I see coming.
I say Fight Like Hell! becuase Democrats have been sitting on their hands while that MAGAts have been hammering at Democracy. They've been doing it since Reagan.
YES. I am pissed at the complacency of Democrats in D.C. Get up off your sorry asses and do what you know is the right thing. Stop cozying up to MAGAts. They don't care if you do. They want to destroy you and the U.S. Democracy. They are the real enemy of the people.
My Answer... GREED. Granted TRUMP is the King of the Grifters, but there are plenty of Democrats who are also doing very well in this "corporate" economy.
I, for one, applaud the NYC results. If it scares the Dem uber-wealthy corpses as much as it scares the MAGAt crowd maybe we are on the way to opening eyes and changing ideas. Governing NYC is not managed by a single pol, but commissioners and lieutenants. Nobody has done an acceptable job of it for decades, so why not let a man with good ideas try? He is head and shoulders above the competition - and doubly so in honesty and authenticity.
Amen.
I urge everybody to read his policies, and listen to him speak.
Well, some people already did.
Indeed they DID.
"Predictably, we are already hearing from some center-Left Democrats, and Republicans that Mamdani's progressive policies that would make life more affordable for the majority of Americans are too radical, but minority billionaires like the grotesque Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Trump controlling upwards of 50 percent of our nation's wealth aren’t.
"This is absurd.
"Why is this so damn hard to understand?"
AGREE.
Also my favorite paragraph.
👉Intellectual laziness 👈 💯🎯
THIS is the most critical issue among voters. You nailed it.
My puzzlement has always been, billionaires want for NOTHING. Period. Why are they SO against the rest of the people having a decent standard of living? Why is Healthcare for ALL so bad? Why is food assistance, rent control and affordable housing so bad? Why is free public transportation so bad, how the bloody hell does THAT hurt the damned chauffeured billionaires ? What is wrong with free city college?? What's wrong with educating everyone in their chosen fields?
None of these things take away their billions....by them paying their fair share of taxes, the country would be far better, it still wouldn't take away their vast wealth. I will never understand why they want a caste system. 😞
Loved the article, thank you 🙏💙
(P.S. I'm also a proponent of Universal Basic Income, THAT would definitely help people get ahead and possibly eliminate homelessness....it would greatly help senior citizens and widowed people who lose that extra income. That makes them go directly into poverty in many cases)
Thank you.
I've heard before that rich people don't support what they believe is socialism because they "worked to earn their riches" and just giving things to people makes them lazy. Aside from the absurdity of those beliefs, I just reached the understanding that they don't want things like college to be free because they had to pay for -- but not just in the form of tuition. We all know the felon got his degree because it was bought and paid for and I'm sure he's not the only one. If they have to pay for things because they aren't capable of earning them, they think other people should have to pay because they ARE capable of earning degrees. It's another form of jealousy, the snowflakes have to consider themselves superior in some way and making other people spend money they don't have keeps them at the top of the wealth ladder. Apparently corruption and exploitation are the only things they ARE good at.
Re: Our too-much-is-never-enough billionaires. They truly believe that he who dies with the most wins. Their money, and therefore their name, will live on.
Sorry to disagree with the concept of UBI. If we think inflation is bad now just wait until everyone has a guaranteed income without working for it. Economics has a perverse way of balancing the amount of money and credit available (supply) to the consumption (demand). There is no such thing as FREE. Whomever gets something without paying for it, someone else has to cough up the money to subsidize that. US national debt is on an exponential rise and NOT sustainable. Adding to that would kill us fast and take away incentive for many to join the workforce.
UBI would just readjust the poverty level and make the cost of living worse. A $1500 rent would immediately rise to $2000. No help there.
This is the kind of forward thinking we need in the US!
He sounds like he’s given all of this more than just lip service! I’m excited for
New York City!
This was a very good essay.
I agree with you that we lost crucial younger and minority voters.
I have another point, which you may or may not agree with.
I think every politician should be primaried, every single election. That includes Democrats and Republicans. I believe incumbents would perk up and listen to the people, if their cush job were on the line.
We need a choice every single time we vote, primaries included.
Couldn't agree more, but the odious Citizens United has made this almost impossible.
In too many “safe” red districts - especially at the state legislative level - we don’t even field candidates TO primary.
I totally agree with you, but if the FOTUS and his cronies have their way, we may not get to vote again.
Donald Trump took over the Republican Party from the TOP down.
We the People are going to take over the Democratic Party from the BOTTOM Up.
Primary everyone, everywhere...in the words of Bush 43...you are either with us, or against us.
THIS
I live in New York CIty. I am also in my mid seventies. I welcome Mr. Mamdani. And AOC and Jasmine Crockett and other young visionaries in the Democratic Party. I am sick of the status quo and hope that my party wakes up before it is too late. The future is in the younger generation. We need them now - desperately.
Hell, I'd just settle for young ideas, Sharon.
A positive sign is legacy media is becoming irrelevant. The NYT said don't vote for Mamdani. Voters ignored it just like they ignored Clinton, Jim Clyburn and Michael Bloomberg who endorsed Cuomo. We all want change - younger leaders who speak truth to power. And it's not always a given that money guarantees a win. I doubt old establishment Democrats will take heed. I hope they'll be primaried.
Pay attention to the people, not the party, Rita. They are fed up.
This was just another example the rich should pay attention to. The fact the Cuomo was backed by billionaires was NOT in his favor. People are tired of their officials getting bought. We have the problem in the White House. Those who have money expect something in return for their investment. We are showing them we can not be bought.
Mamdani gives me hope. He is exactly what this country needs.
What do democrats have to lose at this point in time? same o same o, or try a young fresh new look at the problem…
other wise you can sign up for more of the felon trump.
My left leaning friend group all have kids in their 30's and early 40's. All of the youngins despise FOTUS and his party and are also disgusted by the Democrats. If they are ever to vote in the future it will only be for people like Mamdani. In fact 2
I know got up early on Tuesday to be at the polls at 7 in NYC. I sure hope this is the beginning of something big and hopeful.
Yes when I read that Bloomberg was giving millions to Cuomo and many in the Democratic party were saying to NOT rank Mamdani.. I thought to myself, they’re losing.
It also means they simply do not understand what the average income voter really wants.
This man is saying everything the voters want to hear. Whether he can accomplish it is another story but good luck to him, I hope he does.
The Democratic party desperately needs a makeover and new leadership.
Tax billionaire level wealth out of existence!
Not a millionaire (not even close) , but let's examine the facts: The top 50% of all taxpayers collectively paid a substantial 97% of federal income taxes. So by eliminating all the billionaires and for good measure all the greedy millionaires, exactly who is going to pay taxes? Leveling the playing field by making everyone poor makes us closer to Cuba and Venezuela. America did not become America by keeping everyone equally poor. The Pilgrims tried that and it did not work.
Yes, I wholeheartedly agree there is a huge and in many cases unfair distribution of wealth. But taking away money from one group to give to another group does not result in equal outcomes. Take the money away from the rich and in a short time they will figure out a way to gain it back. If not they will leave the state like in NY and go where they can keep more of their money.
Years ago I saw a cartoon that compared the way British and Americans looked at wealth. The Brit sees someone driving a Rolls Royce. He says to himself, who does that guy think he is driving such an expensive car, thinks he is better than me? The American sees some driving a luxury car (sorry Cadillac, your days are over). He says to himself, gosh I would like to drive a car like that someday.
Where's the block option for your Bullshit?!
Here is a fact for you Russ. From 1981-2021, $50 Trillion has been transferred from the bottom 90% to the top 1%, starting with the Reagan Presidency. It’s time to transfer that $50 Trillion back to the 90% through the tax system just like it was moved up to the top 1% through the tax system. This is what has caused the massive inequality and massive debt. Are you saying that wealth transfers can only go up and not down?
Ridiculous!
Of course not, however "wealth" is based on making good decisions in life. A lot of that $50T was wasted on poor decisions ... drinking, smoking, drugs, cars and goodies they could not afford, student loans they cannot pay back, kids and partners they do not love or support, not taking working or education seriously. Fixing that by taxing the rich to death so we can have more welfare programs will do nothing to improve "wealth".
I live in a small city. One of the main businesses is marijuana sales. You can see constant stream of customers. I grew up on the east coast in another small city. You know what it is famous for? It has the most tattoo parlors in the US. Should we subsidize that?
Not oblivious to the plight of the working poor. I support universal healthcare to take the burden of healthcare costs off the individual. Health care should not be tied to ones workplace. It is also misused to enslave people to jobs they hate, but cannot leave due to health insurance. USA spends trillions on healthcare and it is never enough. Much of that cost is adminstrative and insurance. Eliminate that and it will go a long way to pay for the true cost of healthcare. Not just to enrich the CEOs of healthcare and drug companies.
I should move to Great Britain!
Good call, Earl, on all points. I might be more pessimistic, however, I spoke with 3 trump supporters this week, all family members, and they called me. Very interesting conversations to say the least, enlightening. All are fit to be tied. Considering the anger amongst those trump supporters, and the utter disgust with non-elite, life long democrats, I am optimistic that change is coming for the first time since the election. And for the man Repub, his vote was against a woman. For the 2 women, they were manipulated by their church leadership. Surprise!, right?! I sure the hell hope the voters don’t suffer amnesia between now and 2026. To borrow your line - ENOUGH ALREADY. ✊🤘
They are fit to be tied about a mayoral race in a city they most likely know nothing about, but not at the convicted felon who is taking their benefits away?!
No, they are fit to be tied about trump’s policies. I should be more precise. My comments were more around the change brewing.
Ahhh ... That IS encouraging!
Am I an angry voter? You're goddamned right I am. Am I afraid? I worry that my Social Security will be sold off to investment firms. Remember what they did to the economy in 2008? They'll do the same to Social Security. "Opps. we made a booboo. Sorry, your money is all gone." That's what I see coming.
I say Fight Like Hell! becuase Democrats have been sitting on their hands while that MAGAts have been hammering at Democracy. They've been doing it since Reagan.
YES. I am pissed at the complacency of Democrats in D.C. Get up off your sorry asses and do what you know is the right thing. Stop cozying up to MAGAts. They don't care if you do. They want to destroy you and the U.S. Democracy. They are the real enemy of the people.
"Serious question: Why won’t they just go away? "
My Answer... GREED. Granted TRUMP is the King of the Grifters, but there are plenty of Democrats who are also doing very well in this "corporate" economy.
Yes, exactly!