Mamdani and the Moguls of Madness

 

Paul Krugman:

 

 “I was in mid-air when NYC’s election results came in, and I’m still not quite home. So again, not a proper post. But a few late-morning reactions from the road.

First, mea culpa for not paying more attention to the mayoral race.

Second, I was enormously cheered by Mamdani’s victory, not because I think he’ll be a great mayor — honestly I have no idea — but because a Cuomo victory would have been deeply depressing. Why? Because it would have been an affirmation of elite impunity and lack of accountability. Cuomo is by all accounts a terrible person, and his bungled response to Covid killed people. For him to make a comeback simply because he’s part of the old boys’ club and had the big money behind him would have said that the rules only apply to the little people.

There’s a huge argument among Democrats about whether they need to run more centrist candidates. I am not ready to weigh in on that debate. But if you’re going to take that side, find better centrists. I mean, are Cuomo and Eric Adams the best you can do?

Third, the response of the big money — the hysterical assertions that Mamdani is a Communist who will ruin New York, the promises to throw vast sums behind some independent candidate — is especially revealing. Yes, Mamdani calls himself a socialist and is proposing some expansion of government’s role, like opening a presumably limited number of city-run groceries and making buses free. But he’s not going to seize the commanding heights of the city’s economy or seize plutocrats’ fortunes.

In truth, plutocrats will hardly suffer any consequences from their failure to buy this election — other than feeling frustrated over the fact that they did in fact fail to buy it. If attack ads can’t bury a Muslim socialist, maybe the 0.01% doesn’t run things as much as it imagines. The horror!

Finally, an amazing amount of the commentary I’ve been seeing is to the effect that Mamdani will accelerate the downward spiral of a city that has become a dystopian hellhole. As some of us keep pointing out, apparently to no avail, New York is one of the safest places in America, and probably as safe as it has ever been. Here’s the number of murders over time, with 2025 an extrapolation based on the year-to-date comparison with last year:

[Chart showed a decline from 2,245 in 1990 to 377 in 2024.]

And these aren’t just abstract numbers. I grew up in the New York suburbs. I remember when Times Square was full of sex shops, not people in Elmo costumes, when there were little security pillboxes protecting the blocks where Columbia faculty lived.

New York’s problem now isn’t rampant crime or scary immigrants. It’s affordability. And while we can and should debate the likely success of Mamdani’s proposals, affordability has been his main focus.

Oh, and centrist Democrats often urge leftier types to rally behind their nominees in general elections. I agree. Anyone claiming that there’s no difference between the parties is a fool. But this deal has to be reciprocal. Mamdani will be the Democratic nominee, and anyone calling themselves a Democrat should support him.”

 

Mamdani and the Moguls of Madness - Paul Krugman