Socialist NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani is standing firm on his controversial plan to raise property taxes on what he calls “richer and whiter neighborhoods” — and went even further Sunday, saying billionaires shouldn’t exist at all.
Appearing on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Mamdani claimed his tax plan was “not driven by race” — despite his campaign platform explicitly targeting white homeowners.
“That is just a description of what we see right now. It’s not driven by race. It’s more of an assessment of what neighborhoods are being under-taxed versus over-taxed,” Mamdani said.
“We’ve seen time and again that this is a property tax system that is inequitable. It’s one that actually Eric Adams ran on, saying that he would change in the first 100 days,” he added.
Brushing aside concerns that his rhetoric could turn off voters, Mamdani insisted he’s “just naming things as they are.”
While warning that New York City’s tax base is shrinking due to residents fleeing to neighboring states, Mamdani argued that hiking taxes on the wealthy is the only way to save the city.
“We are talking about our tax base growing smaller and smaller each day, with New Yorkers leaving to New Jersey, to Pennsylvania, to Connecticut,” Mamdani bemoaned. “If we do not meet this moment, we will lose the city.”
Although he acknowledged that he lacks the authority to unilaterally raise taxes without Albany’s approval, Mamdani said his goal is to normalize radical ideas.
He explained that his role is to take what “is considered a nonstarter and make it seem inevitable.”
Mamdani also took direct aim at New York’s wealthiest residents, saying: “I don’t think that we should have billionaires, frankly.”
New York City currently has more billionaires than any other city in the world — 123 in total.
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No individual needs a billion dollars.
A solid blow for uniting the MAGA and RINO factions of the Republicans, and pointing their way to victory, and not just in New York State. Trump would have to try extra hard to score an “own goal” to give the Democrats a chance over the next four years. — Mamdani will probably win (unless Adams, Cuomo and Sliwa get their act together), but his abilities to do much damage are greatly limited since he won’t have complete support by the New York Democrats, and will have gleeful opposition by the Federal government. — He may be bad for New York economic prospects and land values, but should be great for moving companies connecting New York and the “red” states.