To cheers, he added, “We are going to lower prices and make it easier for New Yorkers to put food on the table.”

If there are New Yorkers who work hard all day yet still can’t feed their families, whose fault is that? The implication, of course, is that the government is failing poor people by not spending enough of other people’s money.

Let’s consider a relevant case study. New York, a blue state dominated by Democrats for many years, taxes its residents at much higher rates than red Florida — I’ve selected this particular comparison because national Democrats have repeatedly invited an examination of Florida’s governance with their incessant attacks, especially dating back to the pandemic. Statistics shared by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) demonstrate that while the bustling and growing Sunshine State boasts close to 4 million more residents than the Empire State, Florida’s entire annual state budget is approximately $117 billion, compared to New York’s $237 billion. Mamdani’s state has many fewer residents but double the state budget.

What has that blowout budget bought New Yorkers? A much higher cost of living (higher taxes very much included), worse schools, worse services, and generally worse outcomes, virtually across the board.

Mamdani professes to be very concerned about families going hungry, despite the best efforts of hardworking breadwinners, and thinks the “solution” is additional government intervention with more taxpayer dollars. In a head-to-head contrast on child poverty rates, guess which state’s kids are worse off?

If you guessed New York, collect your prize. Public radio reported earlier this year that the state has “consistently been one of the worst in the nation for years now. Currently, the state ranks 41st in the US, with 18 percent of children living in poverty,” which is higher than Florida’s number.

Furthermore, “In 2021, the state legislature passed the Child Poverty Reduction Act. Its goal was to cut New York’s child poverty rate in half by 2031, and it established a statewide council to oversee that work.” The government already arrived to “help,” using other people’s money.

Surely that action, considering its grand title, ameliorated the problem, right? The article follows up: “Unfortunately, little progress has been made towards that goal since 2021.” Ah.

Florida’s government taxes less, intervenes less, and “helps” less than New York’s. Its people are better off as a result. Score one for the Gipper, who was not opposed to any government programs or public assistance, mind you. He was, however, against excessive government entanglements, even if marketed as acts of compassion.

Intentions and results are not the same thing, just as spending levels and outcomes should not be conflated.

It’s also worth noting that Mamdani has proposed a $125 billion budget for New York, up substantially from fiscal 2025’s $112 billion. Not the state, just the city. That’s billions more than Florida’s latest budget for the entire state. The Big Apple has 8.5 million residents. Florida has more than 23 million. Is Mamdani really pretending that deep-blue New York City, inside deep-blue New York state, with just over one-third of Florida’s population, is in dire need of even more government spending and intervention via taxpayer dollars?

If New York’s existing services and programs aren’t sufficient, yet places such as Florida are experiencing superior governing outcomes at a fraction of the cost, I ask again: Whose fault is that? Perhaps the notion of a smiling government supremacist showing up on taxpayers’ doorsteps demanding even more of what they earn is, indeed, a frightening prospect. Reagan was right.

Not satisfied with merely picking a fight with Reagan, Mamdani also trolled legendary British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in recent remarks. “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money,” he recently recited to an audience, quoting the Iron Lady. Then came his added punch line: “If anything, my friends, it seems you eventually need a socialist to clean up the mess.”

The crowd loved it, but his triumphalism is utterly baffling. New York City’s leaders, under his party’s leadership for the last dozen years, have, in fact, run out of other people’s money. This spring, Mamdani described the city as “worse than broke” and facing a budget crisis of “historic magnitude.” The city’s comptroller, also a Democrat, has warned of “a staggering $12.6 billion budget shortfall over two years,” according to Yahoo Finance. To be clear, Mamdani inherited this mess from his own party — and wants to spend billions more this year.

That’s why the mayor has suggested or floated a slew of tax increases — he’s from the government, and he’s here to “help” — not just on the rich, but on everyone. He’s pressing forward with his class warfare demagoguery, picking fights with successful residents and pushing a property confiscation scheme, all while pretending his socialism has otherwise cured the budget woes.

How has Mamdani managed to “balance” his budget? With other people’s money, naturally, having run out of the city’s existing resources. He’s secured a bailout from statewide taxpayers, courtesy of Albany Democrats, while recklessly punting massive obligations into the future, after his term in office. Presto!

“New York City is now in its fourth year of spending more than it collects, and spending has far outpaced inflation for a decade,” the New York Post reported, so Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) and state lawmakers will “dollop a few extra billion dollars on Gotham over the next few years to patch up the city’s suddenly balanced budget.”

Speaking of running out of other people’s money, Hochul has belatedly realized how foolish it was to chase away wealth and capital, begging the fleeing wealthy to return to her state to foot the bill for lavish spending. Meanwhile, Mamdani has also rescheduled and “restructured” the city’s pension payment timeline, kicking that ticking time bomb down the road in a totally unsustainable manner that has wrecked balance sheets in other cities such as Chicago.

THE IMPENDING REPUBLICAN COLLAPSE

An expert from a New York-based think tank explained that under the maneuver, “the city will save $16.7 [billion] in pension contributions over the next seven years, at a cost of $24.3 [billion] over the following five. Net increase: $7.6 billion.” Billions have been added to the public’s tab, but that gargantuan addition won’t come due until years later.

This astonishing irresponsibility, coupled with the state bailout, is what Mamdani apparently hails as a socialist “cleaning up the mess.” The way he’s done the “cleaning” actually vindicates Thatcher’s axiom.