January 1, Mayor Questions Wealthy Exodus as Millionaires Rise in New York

Wyatt’s Take

• The mayor dismissed claims that wealthy residents are fleeing his tax policies.
• He said New York still has more millionaires than before earlier tax hikes.
• Working-class residents continue to leave because of the high cost of living.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said reports of a wealthy exodus are overblown. He pointed to data showing the city has more millionaires now than before previous tax increases.

He made the remarks in front of a Tax The Rich banner on Wednesday. Mamdani also said working families are the ones most pressured by New York’s rising costs.

“So for all of the discussion of the imagined exodus that would take place were we to tax the wealthiest New Yorkers by the appropriate amount — I say imagined because before I was a mayor I was a state legislator and I was part of an effort to increase taxes on millionaires at that time — we were told the same thing then — and what we find now is that we have more millionaires today than we did at that time even after having passed that tax,” Mamdani said.

Mamdani said the city lost 200,000 Black residents between 2000 and 2020. He argued that many people are leaving because they cannot afford to stay.

Governor Kathy Hochul has also said New York needs wealthy taxpayers to help fund social programs. Florida remains a popular destination because it has no state income tax.

“If this socialist mayor candidate wins – you’re gonna see real estate value skyrocket even more in Palm Beach, because people are gonna get out of that city,” DeSantis said.

Working families keep looking for places where their paychecks stretch further. Many are choosing states with lower taxes and lower costs.

Wyatt Matters

Middle America knows what happens when leaders chase away job creators and reward dependence. Families should not be stuck paying more so politicians can spend more.

Source: Daily Caller