For Democrats, Mamdani Is a Wake-Up Callâand a Bad Example
He shows how the party is falling short, but he has the wrong solutions.
By Tom Suozzi
Zohran Mamdani, the socialist who just won New Yorkâs Democratic mayoral primary, is a charismatic, smart and effective campaigner with whom I disagree. His campaign tapped into the same economic discontent that powered Donald Trumpâs rise, and his victory should serve as a loud wake-up call for the Democratic Party.
Mr. Mamdani correctly diagnosed the core issue confronting most Americans: The economy isnât working for them. They canât afford housing, health insurance or education for their kids. Theyâre worried they wonât have enough money to retire. Unfortunately, most Americans perceive that Democrats are too often focused on other issues, such as reproductive rights and LGBT protections. While these are vital, theyâre not the first thing on most Americansâ minds as they lie awake at night worrying about bills, rent and job security.
Mr. Mamdani tapped into the same economic discontentâthe same zeitgeistâthat powered Mr. Trumpâs rise. Democrats must recognize that the future starts with a message of economic security for American families.
Mr. Mamdaniâs campaign made lofty, utopian promises: free public transit, free college tuition, more public housing, sweeping debt cancellation and massive overhauls of systems far beyond his authority, all paid for by huge tax increases. The last thing New York and other blue jurisdictions need is higher taxes. People are already fleeing cities and states with sky-high taxes. The 2030 census will reveal the extent of this shift, leading to these blue states losing even more congressional representation and political power.
Thereâs another way. Democrats can embrace the need to address the peopleâs angst about the economy and affordability, without embracing the socialism of Mr. Mamdani or the extremism of Mr. Trump. Democrats must continue to fight for stronger unions, revitalized manufacturing, and a labor market that rewards hard work over wealth accumulation. If we want to raise taxes on the wealthiestâor, at the very least, return to pre-Trump rates for those earning more than $400,000, which we shouldâletâs let Congress do it. Cities and states need to stop raising taxes and putting themselves at an unsustainable competitive disadvantage. Raise the minimum wage, but do it nationally, since 20 states still cling to the outdated $7.25 federal floor.â¯
So I think of this as a giant 'it depends'. The basics of his policies are pretty reasonable - We value education and supporting people, so Education and public transit should not have a transactional cost (it's not free, it's paid for with taxes, and probably paid more -higher teacher salaries, because we actually value it). Housing is trickier because it's such a value store/investment/business, but people do need affordable housing, or wages have to rise to make it affordable - again, we value people being housed.
So yes, more taxes. We tax all kinds of things and people get it, but we seem to get more upset when it impacts people we will never be. Billionaires pay a lot of dollars, but they have billions. If they pay millions (more), they still have billions. It's that scale thing that people don't understand - How much more is a billion than a million? about a billion. How much more value does a peaceful prosperous society have to a billionaire vs a millionaire? Hard to tell, but they have a billion more dollars and that's how we measure a lot of other things.
Massachusetts (same national neighborhood, and not really known as a low tax state to start with) raised taxes on millionaires, and they have had a 38% increase in the population of millionaires. - https://www.axios.com/local/boston/2025/04/29/millionaires-massachusetts-income-surtax-increase . So I'm not convinced on the whole "you can't tax the rich or they will leave" thing. They get the most benefit from our society, they should pay the most.
Edit: also for the record. He's a wake up call for everyone - a populist message can get traction on either side of the dial.
For Democrats, Mamdani Is a Wake-Up Callâand a Bad Example
He shows how the party is falling short, but he has the wrong solutions.
By Tom Suozzi
Zohran Mamdani, the socialist who just won New Yorkâs Democratic mayoral primary, is a charismatic, smart and effective campaigner with whom I disagree. His campaign tapped into the same economic discontent that powered Donald Trumpâs rise, and his victory should serve as a loud wake-up call for the Democratic Party.
Mr. Mamdani correctly diagnosed the core issue confronting most Americans: The economy isnât working for them. They canât afford housing, health insurance or education for their kids. Theyâre worried they wonât have enough money to retire. Unfortunately, most Americans perceive that Democrats are too often focused on other issues, such as reproductive rights and LGBT protections. While these are vital, theyâre not the first thing on most Americansâ minds as they lie awake at night worrying about bills, rent and job security.
Mr. Mamdani tapped into the same economic discontentâthe same zeitgeistâthat powered Mr. Trumpâs rise. Democrats must recognize that the future starts with a message of economic security for American families.
Mr. Mamdaniâs campaign made lofty, utopian promises: free public transit, free college tuition, more public housing, sweeping debt cancellation and massive overhauls of systems far beyond his authority, all paid for by huge tax increases. The last thing New York and other blue jurisdictions need is higher taxes. People are already fleeing cities and states with sky-high taxes. The 2030 census will reveal the extent of this shift, leading to these blue states losing even more congressional representation and political power.
Thereâs another way. Democrats can embrace the need to address the peopleâs angst about the economy and affordability, without embracing the socialism of Mr. Mamdani or the extremism of Mr. Trump. Democrats must continue to fight for stronger unions, revitalized manufacturing, and a labor market that rewards hard work over wealth accumulation. If we want to raise taxes on the wealthiestâor, at the very least, return to pre-Trump rates for those earning more than $400,000, which we shouldâletâs let Congress do it. Cities and states need to stop raising taxes and putting themselves at an unsustainable competitive disadvantage. Raise the minimum wage, but do it nationally, since 20 states still cling to the outdated $7.25 federal floor.â¯
Mamdani is the new face of the party. He is an outright communist.
Kind of rich, coming from a National Socialist wannabe.
And no, this is not a cheap shot. Srsly. think about it. What is it about communism that raises the hair on your neck? I'm guessing it is control passing to a coterie of apparatchiks who have no accountability to anyone but themselves and get to call all the shots, disenfranchising everyone on the margins as they go.
And that is different to what Trump is currently doing, how exactly?
Mamdani is the new face of the party. He is an outright communist.
Also an unrepentant antisemitic.
Without dealing with these directly, why werenât you up in arms about a man with a history of welshing on deals, repeated infidelity to his immigrant wives, multiple bankruptcies, and multiple other business failures, who put his daughter and son-in-law in the White House (where they profited multimillions from deals), and said - outright - that he planned on engaging policies that would ruin the American economy?
I mean, by touting the greatness of that loser, you think you complaining about Mamdani is gonna budge anyoneâs needle?
Seems like this youngster Dem candidate, and the "college-educated" voters who support him, is ill advised on the housing market. Making it easier to build, with perhaps some incentives to builders, is the action that works...not more regulation for an already overly regulated market.New Yorkers Vote to Make Their Housing Shortage Worse
Austin, Texas, and other red-state cities have set an example for how to make housing markets work
Seems like this youngster Dem candidate, and the "college-educated" voters who support him, is ill advised on the housing market.
Making it easier to build, with perhaps some incentives to builders, is the action that works...not more regulation for an already overly regulated market.
New Yorkers Vote to Make Their Housing Shortage Worse
Austin, Texas, and other red-state cities have set an example for how to make housing markets work
I was referring to the party machine, not the rank and file. The major donors have seemed to abandoned the party. I guess that they are mad after giving Kamala $1.5 billion dollars and losing. That and with all of that money, she still over spent and is $20 million in debt. And still lost.
just goes to show, money doesnt always win elections.
what does in this country...i have no fing idea!?
Last I heard, they are too broke to pay attention.
It's not so good to be one of the "king's" serfs.
I was referring to the party machine, not the rank and file. The major donors have seemed to abandoned the party. I guess that they are mad after giving Kamala $1.5 billion dollars and losing. That and with all of that money, she still over spent and is $20 million in debt. And still lost.
