Economic Corner 26

Economic Corner 26

Mamdani's affordability plans

 

After the Two thousand and twenty five New York City mayoral election, I suggested one idea for Mamdani

 

My Preface I made a suggestion when Obama became president, that he should had spent his time improving the efficiency of the federal bureaucracy, as president he could do that with no input from anyone else. PResidents can't control the economy of the world, they can't protect peoples in states, they can't make laws that are everlasting. Presidents legal parameters allow them to manipulate the executive branch bureaucracy, and mold the war machine with no input from any other. That didn't happen. Obama meddled in finance and healthcare and made the bureaucracy worse and made the war machine worse. My Idea for Mamdani The mayor of NYC can't control or manipulate the price of food[private industry]. the cost of utilities[private industry]. the global real estate industries interwoven system[private industry]. the employers reaction to modern computing power[that is private industry], get money to finance the city[that is the governor]. The reality is the modern global fiscal capitalistic structure NYC was placed firmly in through decades of actions that can not be undone in four years or eight years or twelve years. The mayor of NYC can improve the bureaucracy of NYC, for example manipulating the NYPD into another organization. But the mayor can also pass laws, unlike the president who has been given legal powers by the congress. the mayor has the greater power in NYC, and so to the affordability push, I say make an affordability scale law. What do I mean? Butter cost eight dollars for four sticks. Which means two sticks cost four dollars. One stick costs two dollars. A half of a stick cost one dollar. But most stores only sell packs of four or two. So, the affordability law is needed to get customers the ability to scale down what is sold to them. For example, for butter, why can't customers have a half a stick of butter available for one dollar? Literally have the stores, the delis + supermarkets , be within a legal right to sell goods when applicable in a more affordable way. The mayor can't lower the cost of butter, but in NYC with so many relying on EBT/Snap/Food pantries including federal workers who haven't been paid, forcing businesses to sell products more affordably i think is something he could had said he was going to do during the campaign. Maybe I am too serious or to honest, but I have never comprehended why anyone in government in a post or applying for a post provides pie in the sky or hopes or possibilities. All government post in human history have rules, even kings or queens. The rules dictate what you can do. So, just tell people with what you will be able to do in a position what you will do. Well that is it, my one idea to push. BAsed on Obama+AOC + Ohlan+.. Adams plus many others, the odds are mamdani's agenda will be nothing as I suggest. But, I gave a functional idea.

referral

https://aalbc.com/tc/events/event/578-nyc-election-day-2025/

 

Mamdani seems determined to implement city owned stores, after my thoughts are a series of articles with information or other opinions concerning the topic.

 

MY THOUGHTS

 

The problem Mamdani's plan has is the one the Soviet Union had. The Soviet Union tried to convince a humanity that had spent four hundred and fifty years watching white europeans exit europe and dominate all other human beings with a system of fiscal capitalism making haves and have nots everywhere, including in europe that sharing wealth is good, fiscal equality is safe. But human history has taught quite the opposite. Greed is good, fiscal inequality is safe. Most in humanity speak french or english or spanish or arabic or portuguese not because the empires of france/england/spain/portugal/caliph were sharing peoples going throughout humanity making they neighbor better. It is because said empires, murdered/killed/eliminated/enslaved all others to leech off of them, so that the few at the top of each empire in their european country could live a life of luxury and guarantee said luxury to their children. The American Continent is the culmination of the fiscal capitalism of said empires , including the caliphates, with the USA as the crown jewel. A country started on fiscal capitalistic crimes and generating fiscal capitalistic crimes and welcoming fiscal capitalistic criminals every year of its existence. Based on 2025, mission accomplished. 

Government owned stores Mamdani likes because it disallows private industries greed or market manipulations if they are not greedy but merely adhere to market flows from influencing the cost of items in a store into being unaffordable, which is what is happening right now. 

But, when the government competes with the private sector it always has insurmountable advantages and fiscal capitalistic owners react by deleting private owned stores. But for the record the alternative some suggest will not work either. A walmart in a region in NYC will definitely kill the small grocers too. While fiscal capitalists are correct that government owned entities tax advantages or market exemptions are beyond most privately owned enterprises to handle, said fiscal capitalist are incorrect to suggest a large publicly traded firm that owns a global chain of stores will not blow away small businesses. 

This is why I suggested a law. Get the deli/grocers/supermarkets to sell their goods in a leaner way. And you can use the sixty million as a tax balance for each store, allowing the market time to adjust to the leaner way goods are sold in nyc to match the affordability needs. 

And part of Mamdani's support for his government owned stores comes from the culture, what is grown, of socialism in New York City in modernity. Quietly in New York City you have a multiphenotypical , multiracial mulatto, group of people who all look at socialism neutral to positive. And I comprehend the logic. Socialism says two things that the individualism in the places like NYC in the USA needs. One, socialism says each individual is of equal value across all measures. Fiscal capitalism treats each individual based on their wealth. Two, socialism allows for identity to be fluid, the identity is human, the religion of the state. The white european imperial heritage the usa and its european colonial predecessors was founded on for all the legal changes from 1492 through 1776 to 2025 hasn't died and doesn't have space for the multiracial populace places like NYC in the USA has in it today. 

But Mamdani has to comprehend a simple truth. 

While he had a huge multiracial voting melting pot of people under forty who embrace socialism, he has to be very careful how he implements it. Cause the USA is fully embedded into fiscal capitalism, not merely heritagewise, what is carries, but also in the larger global financial context and NYC as the biggest city in the USA with any financial failure will be judged harshly by its peers in New York State or elsewhere in NYC. 

I don't know whom he considers the best and the brightest, cause anyone can fail anything , even with a computers help, but if he wants to do his stores, and not a law which I suggested, he has to figure out how to make a store compete while also boosting the larger economy of stores? 

He has suggested his stores will not do lotto or liquor or other items and I think that is interesting. Basically he take the market that the stores are failing in and give them what they succeed in. Stores will have to get smaller and some will be eliminated but not destroyed. It is rough but , you only have four years and in truth, only one year to do what you want so... 

 

Zohran Mamdani wants to build government supermarkets. America already has them
By Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN
Published 6:00 AM EDT, Mon June 30, 2025

New York CNN — Zohran Mamdani, the favorite to become New York City’s next mayor after winning the Democratic primary, has a contentious plan to create a network of city-owned grocery stores. But it’s less radical than critics portray, some food policy and grocery industry experts say. Mamdani has proposed five municipally owned stores, one in each New York City borough, to offer groceries at lower prices to customers with limited access to supermarkets. In some New York City neighborhoods, more than 30% of people are food insecure. The proposal has been blasted as a “‘Soviet’ style disaster-in-waiting,” “farcical” and “economically delusional.” John Catsimatidis, the owner of New York City-based supermarket chain Gristedes, threatened to close stores if Mamdani is elected. (Catsimatidis is a two-time Republican candidate for mayor.) But Mamdani is drawing on government-owned and subsidized models that already exist in the United States, such as the Defense Department’s commissaries for military personnel, public retail markets that lease space to farmers and chefs, and city-owned stores in rural areas such as St. Paul, Kansas. Atlanta is opening two municipal grocery stores later this year after struggling to draw a private grocery chain. Madison, Wisconsin, and rural Venice, Illinois, also plan to open municipally owned stores. “This is more common than people are aware of,” said Nevin Cohen, director of the City University of New York’s Urban Food Policy Institute. “There’s a wide spectrum of food retail establishments that could be created by or with the support of city government.” Mamdani has not released all the details of his plan yet, and it’s not clear what role New York City would play in the opening or operation of grocery stores. Would it build stores? Lease them out to a private company or a non-profit? Would the employees be on the city’s payroll? Mamdani’s campaign did not respond to CNN’s requests for more details of the proposal. But a government-owned supermarket “concept is sound” and can take a “variety of formats,” Cohen said. “Rather than giving incentives to private supermarkets without the assurance of low prices, a city-focused program that puts affordability front and center is a better approach.” Yet municipal-owned stores have recently closed in several towns, such as in Baldwin, Florida. Chicago also shifted its effort from building city-owned stores to a city-run public food market, despite a study showing stores were “necessary, feasible and implementable.” These cities’ struggles underscore the challenges of government stepping into the grocery business amid fierce resistance from the private sector. Industry representatives say government-owned stores will compete with private businesses and unfairly disadvantage grocers, local bodegas and other stores in New York. If government stores drive out other food retailers, it would also hurt the problem it’s trying to solve. “This proposal seemingly could use taxes paid by business, and use that money to compete against said business, which is an alarming precedent to set,” said Michael Durant, the CEO of Food Industry Alliance, a trade association. ‘Policy experimentation’ Privately owned grocery stores already run on slim 1% to 3% margins, according to industry estimates. Government stores would be able to offer low-cost groceries because they would not have to pay rent or property taxes, according to Mamdani. “They will buy and sell at wholesale prices, centralize warehousing and distribution, and partner with local neighborhoods on products and sourcing,” the campaign said on its website. Many companies already buy from wholesalers, have centralized warehouses and partner with local communities, however. His proposal would cost $60 million, Mamdani said in an interview on the podcast “Plain English” released last week. Mamdani argued his proposal would be cheaper than an existing city program that provides tax breaks and subsidies for supermarkets to open in underserved areas, but does not include any requirements for food to be below certain prices. In many cities, grocers and other retailers governments recruited have closed in low-income areas after their tax incentives expired or they struggled to make a profit. “This is a proposal of reasonable policy experimentation,” Mamdani said. “If it is not effective at a pilot level, it does not deserve to be scaled up. But I believe it can be effective. I think that there’s far more efficiency to be had in our public sector.” Advocates for independent grocers and small chains say that stronger antitrust enforcement would be a better solution to help lower food prices and spur competition. But Errol Schweizer, a veteran of the grocery industry who publishes the newsletter “The Checkout Grocery Update” and has written in support of a public grocery sector, said Mamdani’s proposal would address a failing in the market. Government-owned grocery stores would not compete directly with bodegas and convenience stores, which typically do not sell fresh produce and meat. “New York has a great grocery sector,” he said. “It could be a backstop for cash-strapped New Yorkers.” Other experts, however, say that for government stores in New York City to be successful, they must draw from customers with a wider range of incomes. This would help them maintain broader political support and offset bigger losses from lower-performing stores. “A network of stores can be really effective if you’re placing them in different areas. You’re creating a chain of stores to support one another,” said Erion Malasi, the Illinois director of policy and advocacy at the non-profit Economic Security Project. He is working with Venice, Illinois, a historically Black community that received a $2.4 million grant from the state to open a municipally owned store. Public option for groceries Rural areas have often been the site of government-owned grocery stores in the past. It’s harder for sparsely populated towns to draw a private chain, find a distributor to service the store and labor to operate it, and have a large enough customer base to sustain it. But more cities are trying to open stores in neighborhoods with limited access. Cities can leverage their scale to buy from suppliers and city-owned land. Atlanta recently approved $8.2 million in incentives to a small grocer to operate two stores on city land in low-income, predominantly Black neighborhoods. Azalea Market is set to open this year and also offer cooking demonstrations, nutrition workshops and other resources for families. Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens told CNN that the city created tax incentives and low-cost land to draw national chains, but it couldn’t find a taker. “We said that if they’re not going to help us build it, we’ll build it ourselves,” he said. Dickens believes government taking a role in offering affordable groceries is similar to investing in other public goods, such as housing, education and health care. “We should be investing in the public good, from the urban farmer all the way to the independent grocer. People need to eat.”

 

referral
https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2025/06/30/business/zohran-mamdani-grocery-stores?utm_source=chatgpt.com

 

Food Retail Expansion to Support Health (FRESH)

The Department of City Planning is proposing to update and expand the FRESH food stores program, which supports convenient, accessible grocery stores in underserved neighborhoods. The update would bring the FRESH program to more communities across the city, among other changes to ensure FRESH stores are evenly distributed and financially viable. Update: June 2025 As part of City of Yes for Families, NYC is launching FRESH III, an initiative to improve and expand the FRESH program to bring fresh food to even more New Yorkers. If you are interested in learning more, please contact FRESH_info@planning.nyc.gov Overview The FRESH food stores program supports convenient, accessible grocery stores in underserved neighborhoods. FRESH has brought healthy food options within walking distance of 1.2 million New Yorkers and counting since the program launched in 2009. What is FRESH? The Food Retail Expansion to Support Health Program (FRESH) was created in 2009 in response to a citywide study, Going to Market. This study highlighted the lack of neighborhood grocery stores providing fresh food options in several New York City communities. Its goal is to encourage stores in these communities that provide a full range of grocery products including fresh meat, fruit and vegetables. Get FRESH facts and figures in our February 2023 report here The FRESH zoning incentives program gives property owners the right to construct slightly larger buildings in mixed residential and commercial districts if they include a FRESH supermarket. A separate FRESH tax benefits program is administered by the NYC Economic Development Corporation. Read more about FRESH tax benefits here. Get Involved FRESH encourages partnerships with organizations that want to provide fresh food to their communities, including traditional grocery stores, food co-ops, food hubs, pantries, and others. Community advocates, property owners, supermarket operators, and anyone interested in food equity can get in touch with FRESH_Info@planning.nyc.gov to learn more about the FRESH zoning incentive program. For more information on the FRESH tax benefits program please complete this form. 2021 FRESH Expansion FRESH eligibility expanded in December 2021 to encourage supermarkets in even more areas of New York City that are still underserved. Encouraging the development of full-sized supermarkets empowers consumers, increases access, and may provide additional food options through increased competition. Since 2009, the FRESH zoning program has applied to: Bronx Community Districts 1 through 7 Brooklyn Community Districts 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 16 and 17 Manhattan Community Districts 9 through 12 Queens Community Districts 12 In 2021 FRESH expanded to: Bronx Community Districts 8 and 9 Brooklyn Community Districts 1, 2, 12 and 13 Queens Community Districts 1, 3, 4 and 14 Staten Island Community District 1 IMAGE LINKED BELOW The expansion areas are based on City Planning’s Supermarket Needs Index, which shows neighborhoods that are still underserved by high-quality grocery stores. Note: These expansion areas applied only to the FRESH zoning incentives program. The tax benefits program did not expand to the areas indicated above. Prevent Clustering of FRESH Supermarkets Some communities have seen clustering of FRESH supermarket applications, which may exceed the intent of FRESH to fill gaps in the local grocery environment. This may make it difficult for stores to prosper. The FRESH update adds specific criteria an applicant must follow to create a new FRESH store near an existing location. These new criteria would limit the potential for oversaturation. Changes to Window Installation Requirements Currently, FRESH food stores are required to have windows on half of any wall that faces the street. This requirement, however, has proven to be impractical and difficult for existing buildings that are trying to renovate to be a FRESH supermarket. Therefore, for renovations to an existing building to construct a FRESH supermarket, building owners will no longer have to replace existing walls with windows – removing a potentially expensive step in the process. Changes to Parking Rules Since the FRESH update proposes to expand the program into more lower density residential zoning districts, it is important to propose new rules that are appropriate for the characteristics of these neighborhoods. The FRESH update provides a waiver from required parking for up to 10,000 square feet of FRESH retail area in lower density residential districts.

 

referral
https://www.nyc.gov/content/planning/pages/our-work/plans/citywide/food-retail-expansion-support-health-fresh

 

 

 

Food Retail Expansion to Support Health (FRESH)

 

Access to affordable, quality food is critical to building strong neighborhoods. The Food Retail Expansion to Support Health (FRESH) program brings healthy and affordable food options to communities by lowering the costs of owning, leasing, developing, and renovating supermarket retail space. Since launching in 2009, 32 projects have received FRESH tax incentives across five boroughs. 30 projects have completed construction and are open to the public. These supermarkets represent over 1.1 million square feet of new or renovated space, an investment of $177 million private capital into New York City's economy, and have created over 1,400 new jobs, and retained more than 600 jobs. Tax Benefits 32 Projects received benefits to date FRESH provides tax breaks for supermarket operators and developers seeking to build or renovate new retail space to be owned or leased by a full-line supermarket operator. Building Taxes: May be stabilized at pre-improvement real estate tax amounts for up to 25 years (with benefits phasing out at not more than 20 percent per year, starting in year 21). Land Taxes: May be fully abated for up to 25 years (with benefits phasing out at not more than 20 percent per year, starting in year 21). Sales Taxes: City and state sales taxes may be waived on materials used to construct, renovate, or equip facilities. Mortgage Recording Taxes: May be reduced from 2.8 percent to 0.3 percent for project mortgages. Application Considerations 1.1M Square feet of new or renovated space expected to be provided by these supermarkets All benefits, including FRESH, are discretionary. NYCIDA will assess the need for financial assistance and the economic impact of the proposed project. From application deadline until benefit closing, expected timeline is 6 months. Stores that benefit from the program must be located in an eligible area (see below map) and provide: A minimum of 5,000 square feet of retail space for a general line of food and nonfood grocery products intended for home preparation, consumption, and utilization. A minimum of 30 percent of retail space dedicated to perishable goods that may include dairy, fresh produce, fresh meats, poultry, fish, and frozen foods. At least 500 square feet of retail space for fresh produce. 2,049 Jobs retained or created through FRESH Additional factors considered by NYCIDA include (without limitation): Size of capital investment. Jobs retained and/or created, average wages and benefits. Neighborhood. Overall financial picture of applicant(s). For developer projects, tenanting strategy and timeline. Environmental review. $177M The amount of private capital invested into NYC's economy through FRESH The FRESH program tax incentive program is administered by the New York City Industrial Development Agency (NYCIDA) and the FRESH zoning benefit program is administered by the New York City Department of City Planning (DCP). All NYCIDA benefits are discretionary and companies must request NYCIDA assistance prior to entering into any property lease, acquisition, or renovation contract unless such contracts are contingent upon NYCIDA assistance. FRESH Focus AreasEmpty heading Certain neighborhoods around the city can benefit even more from investment in supermarket construction and renovation. The areas listed below are most in need of food retail investment, based on how much currently exists and the surrounding population. The BronxEmpty heading Co-Op City/Wakefield Grand Concourse Hunts Point Van Cortlandt Village BrooklynEmpty heading Borough Park/Bensonhurst Brownsville Coney Island Flatbush ManhattanEmpty heading Inwood Washington Heights QueensEmpty heading Astoria/LIC Far Rockaway Jamaica Staten IslandEmpty heading Stapleton

https://edc.nyc/program/food-retail-expansion-support-health-fresh

 

 

Zohran Mamdani is pushing for New York City-run grocery stores. Here's what he envisions.
Story by Jeff Capellini 

Zohran Mamdani championed the idea of New York City-run grocery stores throughout his successful campaign for mayor. He has said he views it as an opportunity to address affordability and to give the public a choice. But in a city where capitalism reigns supreme, Mamdani's proposal has faced significant opposition. The democratic socialist's road to having it adopted will hinge on a variety of factors, including City Council and state support. Mamdani has said his plan "is part of a vision of a public option for produce, an understanding that for far too many New Yorkers, groceries are out of reach, and the importance in city government of reasonable policy experimentation." Mamdani's city-run grocery store plan The initiative, which Mamdani says will cost $60 million, would put at least one city-run store in each borough, focusing on food deserts, or areas with limited access to full-service supermarkets, and is not about making a profit. It counts on the city covering rent and property taxes to pass savings to consumers. "The job of city government is not to tinker around the edges while 1 in 4 children across our city go hungry," Mamdani said. As outlined on his campaign website, Mamdani says the city would buy and sell goods at wholesale prices, centralize warehousing and distribution, and collaborate with local neighborhoods on product selection and sourcing. As for how he would pay for the program, New York City already subsidizes private grocery store owners to the tune of millions of dollars per year. Mamdani has said he would redirect that money to stores the city controls. Mamdani has also stated that further funding of the plan, along with his other democratic socialist policies, would be generated by increasing the corporate tax rate to 11.5% and instituting a flat 2% tax rate for individuals earning $1 million or more. Potential roadblocks Mamdani will almost certainly need to use the power and influence of his office to help the city-run grocery stores plan gain traction, but that likely won't be enough to get it across the finish line. Political expert J.C. Polanco, a professor at the University of Mount Saint Vincent in the Bronx, says convincing members of the City Council to go along with it could prove to be difficult. "The problem will be here is that you have supermarkets, delis and bodegas that are part of the fabric of the community. In order for a city councilmember to vote for this to happen, they would have to look at their deli, bodega and supermarket in their districts and say I know this store will compete with you and it doesn't need to worry about profits, but I'm going to vote for it anyway," Polanco said. Polanco said the odds of having City Council support for city-run grocery stores is "very little, considering that these city councilmembers have dozens of bodegas in their districts." Some owners of private grocery stores have spoken out against Mamdani's proposal. Billionaire supermarket magnate John Catsimatidis, for example, has said it is incompatible with New York City's market economy. "New York City is a capitalist city -- look what happened in Kansas City?" Catsimatidis said, referring to the recent closure of that city's government-owned grocery store. "These types of grocery stores just don't work." Mamdani has turned some opponents into allies Mamdani was asked back in August if he's concerned about the hefty criticism his plan has generated. He said he is in no way trying to trample on private supermarket, delicatessen and bodega owners. "I am interested in working with each and every New Yorker, and I've actually spoken with a number of grocery store owners and made clear to them that I both recognize and I appreciate the work that they have done. The fact is that they are a critical part of our communities," Mamdani replied. It's important to note that some members of the opposition have changed their tune about Mamdani, if not his grocery stores proposal. Just a few months before the election, the United Bodegas of America blasted his plan, calling the idea foolish and saying it will be harmful to private businesses. However, less than a week before Mamdani won the election, the president of the group stood behind the then-Democratic nominee, saying he wants to make the city affordable for everyone. "We are proud to stand by Zohran Mamdani, a candidate who understands the struggle of everyday New Yorkers," UBA President Radahmes Rodriguez said. In addition, Gov. Kathy Hochul, who has often spoken out about free enterprise, did end up endorsing Mamdani for mayor, which opens the door to her perhaps being amenable to the idea of city-run grocery stores down the road.

 

referral
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/zohran-mamdani-is-pushing-for-new-york-city-run-grocery-stores-here-s-what-he-envisions/ar-AA1PXbbi

 

Economist torches Mamdani's city-run grocery plan as doomed experiment that will cost taxpayers
Story by Kristine Parks 

As New Yorkers head to the polls, one economist is raising the alrarm about Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani's plan for city-run groceries, calling it a feel-good fix that flouts basic economics. "It sounds very good on paper – ‘free’ always does," Dr. Anne Rathbone Bradley, an economics professor and vice president of academic affairs at The Fund for American Studies, said in an interview with Fox News Digital. Mamdani, a self-described Democratic socialist who is the frontrunner in Tuesday's mayoral race, argues these stores are needed to address food deserts and give working-class New Yorkers more access to affordable groceries. The pilot program, which would launch five stores in the city – one in each borough – is a key part of his progressive platform to lower costs for New Yorkers, that also includes freezing the rent and higher corporate taxes. Bradley predicts that Mamdani’s plan, while well-intentioned, won't work because it replaces market signals, like prices, property rights and profit motive, with "bureaucratic decision-making." MAMDANI APPEALS TO NON-DEMOCRATS WITH GENERAL ELECTION PUSH, VOWS GOVERNMENT CAN MEET VOTERS' 'MATERIAL NEEDS' "The problem is believing that the economy is an engineering project," she explained. "That when we put smart, well-intentioned people in charge of that project, we can kind of redirect things in certain ways and get the outcomes that we want." The results of this plan, she says, have already been seen in other U.S. cities who've tried it. Similar programs in Kansas City, Missouri, and Florida collapsed, despite millions in taxpayer funding. "These stores have failed to remain open," she said, referring to a Kansas City store that closed its doors in August after struggling with empty shelves and crime. According to Bradley, the issue is built into the system itself: if stores sell their products at below market prices, customers rush to buy everything and stores can't keep shelves stocked. "So you might be able to stock it and open it on day one, but these stores have failed to remain open," she argued. "Not only that, but they're plagued by theft because the grocery stores don't have the same incentives that a Walmart has for loss prevention." Bradley said history offers even starker warnings. Central planners who tried to control prices and supply in the collapsed Soviet Union and Venezuela resulted in people waiting in long lines and empty shelves. "All these types of problems are a feature of this type of system. It's not a bug, right? It's baked in," she said. The economist praised the candidate for trying to address the huge problem of high costs of living for New Yorkers. She said there are better ways to lower food costs, suggesting one way would be allowing a big box store like Walmart to open in New York City, which would provide more access to cheaper groceries. Mamdani's campaign says the stores will not pay rent or property tax, and he will redirect some of the $140 million in private grocery store tax breaks to finance the pilot program. "Food prices are out of control. Nearly 9 in 10 New Yorkers say the cost of groceries is rising faster than their income. Only the very wealthiest aren’t feeling squeezed at the register," his campaign website states. "With New York City already spending millions of dollars to subsidize private grocery store operators (which are not even required to take SNAP/WIC!), we should redirect public money to a real 'public option.'" Mamdani defended the plan when confronted about the failed Kansas City experiment in a September interview. "[W]e have to prove not only the efficacy but the excellence of this idea," he told CNN. "Because for every one example that you can point to, there’s another of another municipality today considering opening a city-run grocery store. But to me, the most important thing is the outcome. This is something I believe will work. We will bring the best and the brightest to deliver it, and it will be five stores at the cost of $60 million, which is less than half the city’s already spending on subsidizing corporate supermarkets." Bradley countered that the proposal is still a costly experiment that could burden taxpayers and divert funds from more effective projects. The economist noted the candidate's rise in popularity comes at a time when younger Americans have more favorable attitudes towards socialism than previous generations. She believes that economic realities need to be taught to Americans early on. "We're not doing a great job of teaching economics," she said. "We need to do a better job of that, of at early ages, showing people that economics in some ways presents laws that are just as real as the laws of physics. So I could say I don't like gravity, I don't believe in gravity, but gravity is my reality. And economics presents us with realities that are just as important to obey." "There's no such thing as a free lunch," she said. "We need to advocate for policies that make things more accessible and more affordable. I think what economics shows is that markets do a really good job [at that]," she said, pointing to the array and volume of goods offered in the average grocery store in the U.S. Ultimately, Bradley said, affordability comes not from government control but from more competition in the marketplace. "What we want people to be able to do is just stretch their budgets further, she added. "And I think the way we do that is more competition in the market for groceries rather than less." Mamdani's campaign did not respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment. Fox Business' Amanda Macias contributed to this report.

 

referral
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/economist-torches-mamdanis-city-run-grocery-plan-as-doomed-experiment-that-will-cost-taxpayers/ar-AA1PNLDj

 

Forum post

https://aalbc.com/tc/topic/12031-economiccorner26/

 

Prior Corner

https://aalbc.com/tc/events/event/569-economic-corner-25/

 

COMMENTS

 

 @Pioneer1

I notice one thing in your comment, one great absence, a positive suggestion. Your comment is full of complaint and judgement, but lacks any ideas to solve anything, now the reason is one of two things. 

You don't have one, for whatever reason. 

You can't share one, for whatever reason. 

The only thing I dislike in your comment is the lack of positive suggestion. Not unexpected but still I dislike it.

 

Now, to your comment...

 

I thought my writing was clear, unfortunate that it engendered such a poor reading from you or that you misread it so poorly.

17 hours ago, Pioneer1 said:

First of all Richard, is that Mamdani's plan....or YOUR plan?
The thread in the link seems to suggest it is YOUR plan that you PROPOSED to him.

To aid in clarity,

My suggestion is a law that allows stores to sell food in more affordable quantities . 

Mamdani's plan is government owned stores to sell food affordably. 

17 hours ago, Pioneer1 said:

You remove the cheap ghetto food and replace it with healthy fresh food that is more expensive and a lot of people will have problems with THAT.

Your right, people without money don't care for expensive food. If all you have is fifty cents, i imagine two dollar foods will be problematic to acquire, unless of course one is able to steal but then of course, some people in this forum COUGH Pioneer1 talk so much about the existence of those who break the law, i guess the people who can't afford food can't break the law to get it, so I guess, they should starve, I mean who would have a problem with starving.

17 hours ago, Pioneer1 said:

So will those grocery stores actually be OWNED by the City of New York, or will they be private stores SUBSIDIZED by the City of New York?
Because like Section 8....why should the government pick and choose who THEY decide to subsidize and make rich?
They are picking CERTAIN stores and giving them millions of dollars to feed the people mean while OTHER stores don't get that same benefit, which means it's actually TARGETED VAMPIRE CAPITALISM. 

Please learn to read better, the articles in the post clearly state in Mamdani's plan they will be government owned stores, not subsidized. 

17 hours ago, Pioneer1 said:

And even if NYC actually OWNS these grocery stores, will the managers and employees be city workers?

Your first question that wasn't answered in the economic corner post. Well done,  I don't know, if I was in mamdani's inner circle I would know. But Mamdani is still fleshing out this idea. As the Economic Corner stated, his plan has many detractors of various types for various reasons. 

 

17 hours ago, Pioneer1 said:

Will NYC ensure that there is no discrimination in who gets to manage and run these stores?

I will assume no merely because ensuring no discrimination exists has never happened anywhere in the entire usa, your asking NYC to do what has never happened in the USA before in its circa 250 year history or before in the european colonial era. 

17 hours ago, Pioneer1 said:

The Mayor Elect is of Indian descent.
We know that Indians own a disproportionate number of 7-11s, corner stores, and even bodegas around the nation.....so this is bound to benefit them.

Well in NYC is a different demographic makeup in terms of business ownership. NYC is more complex. remember, NYC is the only city in the usa with a populace from every government. I have seen so many mixed couples: jew/muslim ; south american/african; chinese/mexican and their various mixed babies, NYC is going through a mulattozation.  I have never seen a 7-11 in this part of the city. And around here, corner stores are owned by a variance: africans/arabs/latinos for the most part. What may surprise you is around here, most of the non corporate eating entities are owned by black folk: DOS/cAribbean/Continental combined. And around here, black folk have been interbreeding longer than elsewhere in the USA, meaning you see alot of Black couples that are mixes from within a black perspective. Corporate eatery is defined as Mcdonlads and the like.  Indians aren't the biggest populace in this part of NYC , when you see them they tend to work in stores. I don't think I have been to a store an indian owns around here, in this section of harlem for a long while. I recall one 99 cent store but the location became closed and has been closed ever since. The property owner probably wants to much and so it isn't worth it. NYC is really a hard place for a corner store.  People like you assume alot of habits that at least in nyc aren't the truth. Most people go to the supermarket or have their food shipped. Fresh direct is making a killing. The people who have money just get the grocery to them and the rest of us shop at the supermarket. The local store... got it rough. I argue if it wasn't for the larger real estate market, not wanting nyc to have a huge mound of vacant areas, the local stores in NYC would be mostly gone. PEople shop at the supermarket. The only real money local stores get is kids, who want their candies, and the late shift people, when the supermarket is closed and they may want something and after a long day of work too tired for home cooking. But even then the local store is not the option most get, the place that gets the most late night money is a franchise , owned by a black woman , from the islands, she does make some lovely beef stew. but she is open all day. i have seen lines of the late shift outside her stores. 

And , i repeat, Mamdani didn't get the asian vote as a block, many indians didn't vote for him. He did only get 50% of the cities vote. It wasn't by accident. When he was in the ny state assembly he never had one law that truly aided indians https://aalbc.com/tc/events/event/363-zohran-mamdani-legislation/   as you suggest this will. and to be blunt, repeating what is in the economic corner post,  the business owning community in nyc is in majority against this plan of Mamdani's. And as I said in the post I comprehend why Mamdani is going this way. After Obama+ AOC , Mamdani knows to be successful he cant' court his community, which Obama showed is vital in seats like Mayor. But,Mamdani also knows that Obama + OAC have many detractors in their own community who feel they didn't do or haven't done enough for "their people" even though the Obama type candidates don't view themselves as part of a hyphenated group in the usa, they view themselves as Frederick Douglass stated in the 1800s, as part of a composite nation of individuals, overcoming heritage based rigidities, while culturally fluid. Emphasizing individualism bound in the idea of individual rights+freedoms alongside others under the law. Mamdani , taking Obama's stylism, doesn't want to be the mayor of the indians or asians in NYC but the mayor of the city. But Mamdani needs results so he is being more forceful than obama or fellow obamite elected officials in trying to get something done. 

 

comment referral

https://aalbc.com/tc/topic/12031-economiccorner26/#findComment-77503

 

Posted just now

@Pioneer1

  9 hours ago, Pioneer1 said:

However what law is STOPPING them from doing this already?

If a supermarket wants to only sell ONE stick of butter or even HALF a stick of butter at a time, as long as it's properly handled and packaged...are they not allowed to?

Pioneer, where are you from? You do realize that supermarket chain owners sign contracts with stipulations? Legal agreements are sometimes signed for certain food items with stipulations on how to care. Let alone that city/state/federal laws may state what can or can not happen? The FDA doesn't allow the interstate sale of butter so... what other laws are there. Where are you from? Do you own a business? 

 

  9 hours ago, Pioneer1 said:

It's not a matter of better READING because I didn't bother reading the entire thing in the first place....lol.

so that is why you ask questions answered in the post, well thank you, i now fully comprehend the quality of your statements in the forum. 

 

  9 hours ago, Pioneer1 said:

-Will suppliers get their contracts through bidding with the city, like construction contractors do?

-We know there are Black farmers.
Who will ensure THEY get their fair share of the contracts as suppliers?

-Again, who ensures that AfroAmericans get our fair share of jobs....including management positions....in these stores?

Expand  

Mamdani hasn't even got his plan accepted.  and like before all you offer is judgement, no ideas, no positive quality. You are like one of those rush limbaugh style podcasters just through text. 

 

comment referral

https://aalbc.com/tc/topic/12031-economiccorner26/#findComment-77523