Learning about Mamdani's proposals using Google searches

In the Wall Street Journal, Catsimatidis wrote that Mamdani’s proposal would “collapse our food supply, kill private industry, and drag us down a path toward the bread lines of the old Soviet Union.”

New York already has a version of city-owned grocery stores. Namely, the six markets overseen by the city’s Economic Development Corporation, a nonprofit that manages city-owned property to boost economic development. These grocers include Essex Street Market on the Lower East Side, Moore Street Market in East Williamsburg, and others in Brooklyn, the Bronx and Queens.

Their purpose is not to turn a profit but to provide access to healthy and affordable groceries for underserved communities, according to an Economic Development Corporation spokesperson. These stores are given deep discounts on rent to pass savings on to customers.

“The fundamental food problem in New York City is that the market has been unable to provide healthy, affordable food to the million or more New Yorkers who struggle to find and afford the food they need,” Freudenberg said. “I want to emphasize how positive I feel about trying something new.”

In addition to bumping up the corporate tax, Mamdani has proposed a 2% tax on what his campaign calls “the wealthiest 1% of New Yorkers—those earning above $1 million annually.” His platform estimates this “millionaire tax” will raise $4 billion annually to help fund projects like universal free early childcare, free bus rides and more affordable housing.

In November 2022, Massachusetts voters approved the Fair Share Amendment, a 4% surtax on personal income exceeding $1 million. The tax raised $1.8 billion in its first three quarters of collections, with revenues funding school lunches, transportation, and education.

The success of that tax has encouraged other states to consider similar moves. In Illinois, a bill proposing a 3% surcharge on incomes over $1 million is currently under consideration after voters approved the measure in November 2024. In Maryland, Governor Wes Moore, a Democrat, has proposed increasing the top tax bracket to 6.5% for taxpayers earning over $1 million in order to lower taxes for low- and middle-income taxpayers. And in Hawaii, some lawmakers are also targeting the ultra-wealthy—a proposed 1% wealth tax on assets above $20 million is slated for review by the legislature.