January 1, Socialist NYC Mayor Makes BIZARRE Claim About Wall Street

Wyatt’s Take

• New York City’s socialist mayor claims he’s pro-business while simultaneously pushing for massive tax hikes on the wealthy — and wonders why millionaires are fleeing the state in record numbers.
• Mamdani celebrates FDR’s New Deal while ignoring that New York has lost nearly $11 billion in tax revenue as its share of America’s millionaires plummeted from 12.7% to just 8.7%.
• This is the same tired playbook: Tax the rich, drive them out, then act shocked when the money disappears and working families are left holding the bag.

New York City’s Democratic Mayor Zohran Mamdani is doubling down on his Democratic Socialist credentials while simultaneously insisting that Wall Street and business leaders have nothing to worry about under his administration. The contradiction would be laughable if it weren’t so damaging to ordinary New Yorkers.

In a recent interview, Mamdani tried to rebrand his far-left politics as a return to the Democratic Party’s New Deal roots, invoking Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms as justification for his socialist agenda.

“So much of what makes me proud to be a Democrat is looking at what our party used to stand for. You think about the Four Freedoms, you think FDR, you think the New Deal,” Mamdani said.

“Those are at the core of what our party’s identity is, and yet it feels like to experience it, you have to read about it. You can’t see it around you anymore. And that isn’t something that I’m willing to accept, and I know that many feel similarly.”

But Mamdani’s rhetoric doesn’t match the reality his policies are creating. The mayor continues pushing for higher taxes on New York’s wealthiest residents while claiming to welcome private investment and collaboration with the business community.

“I think it’s important,” Mamdani said of the city’s relationship with private business leaders.

“And what I have in common with leaders of those sectors — even amid disagreements, because I believe that we can raise taxes a little bit more on the wealthiest New Yorkers — what brings us together is both a belief in the city and a commitment to its continued vitality.”

Mamdani pointed to American Express’ decision to locate its new headquarters at Two World Trade Center as proof that corporations still want to invest in New York, despite his tax-and-spend agenda.

“These business leaders, they’re not just making decisions on the basis of dollars and cents; they’re also making decisions on the basis of investing in the city and in what the city represents,” he said.

When challenged about whether his Democratic Socialism is compatible with economic growth, Mamdani insisted he’s not anti-capitalist.

“I will always celebrate continued investment in this city,” Mamdani said.

“And I’ll also look to ensure that more and more New Yorkers can be a part of those benefits.”

But the numbers tell a very different story. An analysis by the Citizens Budget Commission found that New York’s share of the nation’s millionaires crashed from 12.7% in 2010 to just 8.7% in 2022 — the steepest decline of any state.

That exodus cost New York an estimated $10.7 billion in personal income tax revenue in 2022 alone. The report points directly to New York’s punishing tax rates and declining competitiveness compared to states like Florida and Texas as the driving factors behind the wealth flight.

Despite this devastating evidence, Mamdani has made raising taxes on wealthy New Yorkers and profitable corporations the centerpiece of his economic agenda. He argues the city’s highest earners should pay even more to fund expanded public services.

The mayor’s comments come as he’s emerged as one of the Democratic Party’s most prominent progressive voices, backing a wave of Democratic Socialist candidates who’ve won House primary races by ousting establishment Democrats.

Mamdani argued these victories show voters are embracing his vision for the party’s future heading into the 2028 presidential election.

“For too long, it has felt like our party, the Democratic Party, the only answer we have is to say that we are not the Republican Party,” Mamdani said.

“But we also have to have a vision of what comes after this administration.”

Wyatt Matters

This is economic suicide dressed up as progressive policy. You can’t tax your way to prosperity, and you can’t drive out the people who create jobs while expecting those jobs to stick around. Working-class New Yorkers will be the ones who suffer when the tax base continues shrinking and city services get slashed. Meanwhile, the millionaires Mamdani wants to soak have already moved to Florida, where they’re keeping more of what they earn and enjoying better weather to boot. This isn’t compassion — it’s ideology run amok, and ordinary families always pay the price.