The Socialist Politicians Are Coming

~Opinion/Editorial~ EDITORIAL

The Socialist politicians are coming!

In Minneapolis, Democratic Socialist Omar Fateh is favored to be Minneapolis’ next mayor.

In New York City, bettors say there’s an 80% chance that socialist Zohran

Mamdani will be the next mayor. “

We have to continue to elect more socialists, and we have to ensure we are unapologetic about our socialism,” says

Mamdani.

But he should be apologetic! Socialism wrecks lives.

My last column/video covered some of

Mamdani’s bad ideas, but he has so many, I needed part II: M a m d a n i promises buses “fast and free for every New Yorker.”

Free would be nice, if the city could afford it. It can’t.

And it’s a peculiar proposal from a man who complains about what government does now: “These are the slowest buses in the country!”

Will they move faster when they’re free?

Public transport is a good example of socialist confusion about what makes things work.

I ask people, “Who do you think built New York’s subways?” Most say: “the government.” Who else could afford to dig tunnels and buy trains so everyone, rich and poor, can ride? Private businesses wouldn’t do it. They wouldn’t be able to charge enough to cover their costs. That’s why government must do it! But actually, private companies built most of New York’s subways. The trains only became government-run after 1939, when the capitalists proposed raising the fare from 5 to 7 cents. NYC’s mayor called that “a grab for the public’s pocket” and took control. He promised they wouldn’t raise the fare. But within a few years, the fare was 10 cents. Now it’s $2.90. And when NYC tries to build new subways, they struggle to get it done. One train line was supposed to be finished in 1938. Then they said 1980. Today, it’s still not done, but it’s already the world’s most expensive subway. They work so slowly that subway cars built for it (they cost a million dollars each) can no longer be used; they don’t fit the tracks. That’s government work.

Mamdani also promises to make workers’ lives better by raising the minimum wage to $30 an hour. That’s popular. But just dumb. Last year, California demanded fast-food workers be paid at least $20 an hour. Unions and politicians cheered. But when companies have to pay even beginners $20 an hour, they employ fewer people. Pizza Hut laid off 1,200. Over the next year, while other states added jobs, 18,000 California fast food workers lost jobs. Customers also get hit. Even “Good Morning America” noticed, “Restaurants in the state have increased prices by 10% faster than all other states.” Finally, “Freeze the rent!” shouts

Mamdani. Socialists like rent control. Most voters do, too. But that’s because most don’t realize that, aside from bombing a city, little destroys apartment buildings more than rent control. Saint Paul, Minnesota, imposed rent control in 2021. Multifamily building permits fell by 80%.

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