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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.zip/post/41814981
NYC billionaires threaten to leave if progressive candidate Zohran Mamdani wins mayoral primary. But is their fear of losing wealth justified, or just a desperate attempt to maintain power and privilege?
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The ‘Millionaire Exodus’ the UK Media Told You About Never Actually Happened
So are millionaires really fleeing Mass.? A new report says they’re staying — and paying
You have to do a lot more to get the bourgeoisie to flee than just elect a modern social democrat.
Talk about laaaaaazy.
Sounds like a great reason to vote for Mamdani.
What’s next? Rent overcharging slumlords are going to threaten to sell all their properties in New York and leave?
Wow. Now I wanna vote for Zohran
Edit: also like… am I confused or is this just a race for Mayor? How much power does mayor’s hold? Eric adams just walks around, takes pictures and joins podcast
Got curious and did some research on what kinds of unilateral powers the mayor of NY has. I actually think this guy could do a shit load of good things if he really wants to. The budget is massive, like 100 billion. They directly control the heads of police, fire, health, etc. There are dozens of positions like this where they can freely appoint/remove people.
The city council can override vetoes, but it doesn’t seem like they have an easy path to block the mayor from doing what they want if it’s already within the scope of their power. Even the other elected officials who can reject budget plans and stuff (I forget the name, they have a lot of weird positions, comptroller maybe?) can just be ignored by the mayor. This happened not that long ago when Adams went forward with a contract with DocGo even though it got rejected. https://comptroller.nyc.gov/newsroom/mismanagement-of-docgo-contract-by-adams-admin-wasted-millions-of-dollars-on-unused-hotels-unauthorized-subcontractors-moldy-rooms-for-asylum-seekers-new-audit-from-comptroller-lander-finds/
However, I’m sure a concerted effort by local officials could really bog things down for the mayor if they wanted. The real problem will be the state government, they can step in at any point and stop whatever they want via legislation. Idk how conservative the NY state government is, but my guess is they’ll be the main enemy of Zohran if he wins.
The current gov would certainly be a pain in his ass. For example, she has been an opponent of the NYC congestion pricing (an extra toll for cars entering lower Manhattan) and also an advocate for a mask ban.
The funny thing was she was trying to put hurdles on congestion pricing, then Trump said something against the congestion pricing and tweeted an AI picture of himself as king and she said “Trump isn’t our king” despite being more aligned on this issue than not (and I am guessing aligned on other issues)
However, if Zohran wins I don’t think it would be politically prudent to stand against some of his popular policies.
That last sentence is what I hope happens, but libs have short memories
Oh that’s actually a good amount of responsibility.
“If Mamdani becomes the mayor of New York,” Ackman told The Free Press, “you’re going to see the flight of businesses from New York… It only takes a handful of successful people to leave to decimate the city’s tax base.”
Capitalists love profits, they aren’t going to shut down their businesses. And capitalists themselves don’t consume too much (in aggregate compared to rest of the population) and don’t pay taxes, they can leave if they want.
“I would spend far less than 183 days a year here, that’s for sure… How can you compete against somebody giving it away for free?” he said, incorrectly suggesting that Mamdani plans to give New Yorkers free groceries.
The stores are limited, people will still go to closest store if they can afford it. Secondly, it’s likely that the government-run grocery stores will run on low margins (but no deficits).
The main fear that many countries have of billionaires is that they’ll run out of local currency and cause inflation (especially important for third world countries). But this is a city, not a country.
Capitalists absolutely consume a lot. Idk how accurate the numbers are, but everything I’ve read about this suggests the top ~10% are responsible for nearly half of all consumer spending in the US. That number is probably higher in major cities where everything is more expensive and there are typically better public services.
True but I was referring to the top 1%
The New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants noted in an article last year that the wealthiest New Yorkers “go to great lengths not to get taxed as residents in the city”—often by ensuring they spend fewer than 184 days per year there, the threshold for being considered a permanent resident.
The organization detailed location tracking apps that help users track how many days they’ve spent in New York in a taxable year to ensure they can avoid paying income taxes.
The billionaire owner of New York’s Gristedes grocery chain, referenced the 184-day rule as he told The Free Press he plans to go to “the promised land”—Florida—if Mamdani wins and moves to open low-cost, government-run grocery stores.
K byeeeee. Don’t get ass prints on my door.
If they’re dodging taxes then why would he care about them leaving? They’re threatening him with nothing.
Even by braindead capitalist principles this an objectively amazing outcome
Yes. Good. Okay.
Promise?
“I’m holding my breath until you give me what I want!”
Real mature, porky. Real mature.
@BillAckman are you positive?
