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Some of New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s socialist policy goals may now be within reach as political pressure mounts on Gov. Kathy Hochul and state lawmakers to help him deliver on his promises, an insider told FOX Business.
Though Mamdani’s sudden ascent to power was spurred on by grand promises of lowering the cost of living through city-owned grocery stores, universal childcare, free buses and the like, many have expressed doubts he could convince state leadership in Albany to raise taxes to meet his goals.
However, according to New York State Assemblyman Ed Ra, the ranking member of the Assembly Ways and Means Committee, which handles tax policy, the conditions might be just right for Mamdani to realize his socialist utopia. The consequences, Ra said, will be catastrophic not only for those living in the city but New Yorkers across the state.
“It’s no secret we’ve had an outmigration problem in New York State over the years,” said Ra. “The fact of the matter is the top 1 percent already pays 41 percent of the taxes in the state already. And the combined city and state top rate is already 14.776 percent. So, if we continue to lose those types of taxpayers, it’s going to have a tremendous impact. Not only on the tax base of the city itself, but the state as a whole.”
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Ra said the heckling Hochul faced from the crowd at the “New York is Not for Sale” rally in Queens shortly before the election was a good illustration of the pressure she faces from her left to approve Mamdani’s plan to create a 2 percent income tax on anyone making more than $1 million and raising the top state corporate tax rate to 11.5 percent.
After the crowd repeatedly drowned Hochul out with chants of “tax the rich,” Mamdani eventually had to come to her rescue, clasping her hand and escorting her off stage.
Ra said Hochul is facing similar pressure in Albany that she did in Queens.
“There’s support in the legislature and that segment of the Democratic Party is certainly going to be pushing the governor on this issue, which I think we saw pretty loudly at that rally about a week out from election day,” he said.
“There’s already people talking about primaries to the governor, obviously, most notably is her sitting lieutenant governor, [Antonio Delgado], who’s already out there, I think, supporting these types of policies,” explained Ra.
“As there’s been a rise of more progressive democratic socialist politics, it certainly pushes members of the legislature who don’t want to be the next one that gets taken out at a primary. So, they become more supportive of these types of policies, just like we expect maybe the governor might if she’s concerned about a primary challenger.”
He noted that despite previously voicing her opposition to raising taxes, Hochul may have already given herself a way out of that pledge by saying that she would not approve income tax increases, which, he said, “doesn’t mean that maybe she doesn’t go for some type of business tax increases or other types of consumption taxes.”
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Ra said that several state business tax rates are set to expire soon, which gives the Mamdani camp further opportunity to pressure for increases. Any one of these tax increases, he said, will only further fuel the business exodus out of New York.
“The state’s taxing structure is very reliant on Wall Street, certainly bonuses, and those types of things. So, if we continue to lose higher-earning individuals, it’s going to have an impact on the entire state,” he explained.
“We talk a lot about free buses, we talk about the supermarket, all these types of things, at the end of the day, the term should be taxpayer funded,” he said.
“Somebody’s paying for them, right? So, whether it’s income tax increases, whether it is other types of taxes that are pursued by this administration through Albany, I think one way or another that is going to have an impact on people’s costs.”
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This being said, Ra said he believes the conditions may be ripe for another unthinkable in New York, a Republican governor. After months of intense speculation, Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., officially launched a bid for New York governor as a Republican.
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Though New York is widely seen as a deep blue stronghold, Ra said the backlash from the Mamdani moment may make it so that “we have a real opportunity to elect a Republican governor.”
“People see that Albany has overspent, overtaxed, and been mismanaged for a very long time under complete Democratic control,” he said. “People are ready to change that and hopefully change the direction of New York State. So, I think the circumstances are really good for a Republican to take the governor’s mansion next year.”
