I have mixed feelings about Mr. Mamdani's triumph. He is surely preferable to Mr. Cuomo, and was in fact the best of the candidates. But... it's rather like New Yorkers got a rainbow unicorn when the barbarians are running rampant. I'm always skeptical when candidates promise more than can realistically be delivered. New York City is not enjoying the kind of fiscal surplus necessary to fund Mr. Mamdani's promises. Over the long run, of course, eliminating bus fares will improve traffic conditions as well as reducing the local Gini Index. A rent freeze will discourage new apartment construction, worsening the housing shortage. I fear that Mr. Mamdani will crash head-on into the brick wall of New York City's infamous political divisiveness. In the end, I doubt that he will deliver on any of his promises, bestowing on the far right a case of left-wing folly.
Mr. Trump won the presidency by promising an economic bonanza for all -- a blatant and obvious lie. Yet the citizens fell for it and now we all will suffer the consequences of citizen ignorance. Aping Mr. Trump's strategy does seem to work with an increasingly befuddled citizenry, but it won't improve an increasingly desperate situation.
I have mixed feelings about Mr. Mamdani's triumph. He is surely preferable to Mr. Cuomo, and was in fact the best of the candidates. But... it's rather like New Yorkers got a rainbow unicorn when the barbarians are running rampant. I'm always skeptical when candidates promise more than can realistically be delivered. New York City is not enjoying the kind of fiscal surplus necessary to fund Mr. Mamdani's promises. Over the long run, of course, eliminating bus fares will improve traffic conditions as well as reducing the local Gini Index. A rent freeze will discourage new apartment construction, worsening the housing shortage. I fear that Mr. Mamdani will crash head-on into the brick wall of New York City's infamous political divisiveness. In the end, I doubt that he will deliver on any of his promises, bestowing on the far right a case of left-wing folly.
Mr. Trump won the presidency by promising an economic bonanza for all -- a blatant and obvious lie. Yet the citizens fell for it and now we all will suffer the consequences of citizen ignorance. Aping Mr. Trump's strategy does seem to work with an increasingly befuddled citizenry, but it won't improve an increasingly desperate situation.
Great essay! Mamdani has my total support.