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Zohran Mamdani

The Atheist

Psychopath
The Atheist
Joined
Jul 3, 2006
Messages
38,102
Without getting into ins and outs of his policies, he's what NYC people are clamoring for. I think this whole Red Scare trend is ridiculous but the farthest he could get would probably be a House seat. Let's get some DS presence in the suburbs and then we'll talk.
 
I'm not thinking of higher political aspirations for him, just let praise him doing a good job in NYC.

A lot of his policies seem to be:

A Working
B Helping people who need the most help
C Not costing anyone aside from top 0.01%
 
Oh okay I thought this thread was for anything related.

Yeah it seems he's still popular among those folks. I don't agree with everything he says but I find him quite likeable.
 
The Atheist said:
I'm quite surprised there's no thread on this guy.
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Why would there be a thread dedicated to him?

He's the mayor of NYC. Yes, its a big city, but it is not exactly a position that has significant international impact. He's also new at the job. No time for any big policy 'successes', nor any significant scandals.
Are people so desensitised by the orange toad that we forget to celebrate our champions?

Zohran Mamdani is one of the most admirable politicians alive...
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Why? His main opponent is a politician that had sexual misconduct allegations. And despite this, he barely managed to get over 50% of the vote share.

We don't even know if his particular brand of left-wing populism will 1) translate well to areas outside NY or other major urban centers, and 2) will actually be successful in making the lives of New York residents better.
...and he keeps hitting the target on a daily basis.
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Ummm... OK. He criticized Israel. And that is significant why? Whether he is right or wrong about Israel, his opinions are not particularly relevant because international relations are outside the scope of his Mayoral duties.

Why don't you wait to see just what happens in the next few years before you start hailing him as the savior of the US. Wait and see what happens with the NYC budget. See how many of his election promises he actually manages to fulfill. See what happens to the economy, crime rates, and infrastructure of the city by the end of his term. See if he manages to maintain a relatively clean administration without any major scandals. See if his brand of left-wing populism translates outside of major urban centers. I am not saying he is going to fail, I am just saying it is a little too early to be calling him some sort of hero either.

I have already seen him make one major blunder... he brought in a rent freeze. While rent controls might be a popular policy among many, it is generally seen among the majority of economists (including many left-leaning ones) as a mistake. (The artificial limit on prices leads to a shortage of supply and a decaying infrastructure over time.) That sort of short-sighted policy does not bode well for his ability to run things well.

"In many cases rent control appears to be the most efficient technique presently known to destroy a city—except for bombing"
- Assar Lindbeck (an economist, who by the way was a social democrat, not some right-wing conservative/libertarian)[/QUOTE]
 
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The Atheist said:
I'm not thinking of higher political aspirations for him, just let praise him doing a good job in NYC.

A lot of his policies seem to be:

A Working
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Umm, he has been at the job less than a year. Why don't you wait and see just how well his plans work long-term?
C Not costing anyone aside from top 0.01%
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The recent NYC budget, while supposedly balanced, also required:
- Significant aid from the state (and I am pretty sure that NY State taxes more than just the 'top 0.01%'
- Delaying pension plan contributions (which doesn't necessarily 'fix' financial problems, but just delays them

Also, from: https://time.com/article/2026/05/13/zohran-mamdani-new-york-city-deficit-budget-funding/
In February, the mayor floated the idea of raising property taxes by 9.5%, saying it would be the only way to balance the city budget... local lawmakers across the political spectrum...viewed raising property taxes as a nonstarter. The mayor then quietly walked back on this idea...

I am pretty sure that raising property taxes by over 9% would affect more than just the 'top 0.01%', and it was only due to pushback from others that the policy was scrapped.

Mamdami made some big promises. Some of his ideas may have merit. But you have to deal with reality, and that includes the question of 'how do you pay for things'.
 
Segnosaur said:
Umm, he has been at the job less than a year. Why don't you wait and see just how well his plans work long-term?
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You know this us a discussion forum?

You've made some good points, so you're playing the game.

At a time when big money donors buy both parties, anyone bucking the system is worth looking at.
 
The Atheist said:
Umm, he has been at the job less than a year. Why don't you wait and see just how well his plans work long-term?
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You know this us a discussion forum?
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Yes I do. But then, not everything is worth "discussing".

And if you had simply started the thread with a "What do you think of Mamdami" or "How do you think this will affect national politics" it might have been one thing. But gushing about how wonderful Mamdami is seems a little over the top.
At a time when big money donors buy both parties, anyone bucking the system is worth looking at.
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You mean like Graham Platner?

(Note: I doubt Mamdami will have the same sort of scandal as platner. Unlike Oyster-boy, he has actually run for political office before, so he has at least some vetting. But the Platner experience should make people wary of pushing someone just because they are "bucking the system".)
 
The only issue he's had that I know of, is promising a few things that aren't in his power to deliver. Like free bus rides funded by tax hikes. In reality, all of the busing and most of the subway services in New York city are funded and managed by a state agency. It's up to the state legislature to decide on bus fares, raise taxes, and set budgets for busing in Mamdani's city. This seems like the sort of thing a New Yorker would know about, before making promises or voting for promises, but what do I know? Anyway, it's not that big a deal.
 
As the Right to Far Right movement in the US has shown, local power has been dramatically underestimated in US politics.
And as the most cosmopolitan, most famous city in the US, the position of Mayor of New York is influential in ways beyond pure unitary executive power.

It's very much sour grapes to act like Mamdani isn't a Big Deal - and he would do well to stay Mayor until he can jump to Governor.
 
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I like his suits, too. They're a great counterpoint to the President in his ill-fitting garbage. Mamdani always looks sharp, and jumping in a pool with it on is good use of photo-ops.

His style alone is worth a few points.
 
The Great Zaganza said:
Well, New York has a bigger population than a lot of countries
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He was being tongue-in-cheek, our new PM was the mayor of the UK's second city, Manchester, he stepped down from that role to be elected to the HoC so he could challenge Starmer for leadership of the Labour party and therefore become PM.
 
According to AI: Only three U.S. presidents served as mayors prior to their presidency: Andrew Johnson, Grover Cleveland, and Calvin Coolidge. Grover Cleveland was mayor of Buffalo so there's precedent in NY.
 
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