OPINION:
“Be not afraid.”
That verse from the Bible has been on my mind since Zohran Mamdani was elected mayor of New York City.
Don’t get me wrong: I’m no Pollyanna. As a lifelong entrepreneur and part-time resident of New York City, my initial reaction to his victory was borderline terror. The socialist will undoubtedly bring America’s greatest city to its lowest point in decades, if not ever. His election night promise to “prove that there is no problem too large for government to solve” is really a promise to make all of New York’s biggest problems even worse, including the lack of affordable housing and disorder on the streets.
In the days since, my fear has diminished, not because I now think that Mr. Mamdani’s unprecedented socialist agenda will work. It won’t, and those of us who live in and visit our beloved New York should prepare for the worst. I have come to believe that his victory can finally shake the sensible and silent majority awake, not just in the Big Apple but also across America.
I’m not the first to say that Mr. Mamdani’s election could lead to some good. President Trump declared in September that the socialist will be “one of the best things” to happen to the Republican Party, by which he meant that the coming disaster in New York City will cause voters to avoid Democrats like the plague.
My optimism is based on something more fundamental than partisan politicking. I think Mr. Mamdani’s inevitable socialist failure could renew appreciation for the basic American principle of freedom. This principle is foundational for the policies that can turn around this city and country.
Housing is a case in point. Few things motivated Mr. Mamdani supporters like his promise to make housing more affordable. His central policy, rent control on steroids, is doomed to achieve the opposite by taking countless apartments off the market, eliminating the need for landlords to maintain their properties and driving up prices for many that remain. After four years of Mr. Mamdani, a small number of people may be paying less in rent. The vast majority of people will be paying more, and when it comes to actual homeownership, that’s not going to improve at all.
This crisis will surely cause people to wonder: Is there a better way to make housing affordable? The answer is a resounding yes. Slash the red tape that makes new construction absurdly expensive or downright impossible. Reform the zoning that blocks the big projects with the most new homes and apartments. Mr. Mamdani’s socialist missteps will highlight what real progress could look like.
Ditto his attack on job creators and entrepreneurs. He wants New York to run its own grocery stores, an attack on the small bodegas that define the city. He also wants to tax the wealthy like never before, a popular yet misguided idea that will drive people away and stifle the next generation of risk-takers. Four years from now, New York City will have fewer jobs, fewer businesses and fewer successful people who can actually fund the city’s massive budget. If we thought the migration to Florida was bad during the COVID emergency, wait until Mr. Mamdani takes office in January.
From the seeds of this failure, something good may sprout. Perhaps people will realize that government-run stores are doomed to shortages and shoddy service and that New York needs entrepreneurs and innovators. As for crime, Mr. Mamdani is surely the best thing to happen to would-be criminals. Four years of lawlessness could restore real respect and funding to the police.
Is the pendulum destined to swing back toward freedom and common sense? Of course not. There needs to be a groundswell of public discontent and leaders courageous enough to defend what’s right. Here, too, I’m optimistic. New Yorkers aren’t known for suffering in silence. Americans have historically refused to abide injustice. Four years from now, everyone will know that New York is suffering, and it will serve as a warning of what could happen to all of us.
So, no, I am not afraid, at least not in the long run. Of course, I’m still worried about the damage Mr. Mamdani will do as he implements his socialist vision of government control over daily life. He could still be the cause of a new birth of freedom. It would be better if the Big Apple didn’t have to struggle. Now that we do, we can take heart about the coming backlash and take action to move New York City, and America itself, forward.
• Tim Busch is the founder of Pacific Hospitality Group and the Napa Institute, a Catholic lifestyle organization.
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