It has been about a decade since Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) introduced America to what he calls “democratic socialism,” when he almost captured the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination in 2016.
In 2016, the U.S. government budget was about $3.7 trillion, annual debt service interest payments were approximately $500 billion, and the national debt stood at $19 trillion.
What a difference a decade makes.
In 2026, the U.S. government budget has ballooned to more than $7 trillion, annual debt service interest payments are nearly $1 trillion, and the national debt stands close to $39 trillion.
Despite the dire financial situation of the national government, democratic socialism is more popular than ever.
Last year, democratic socialists were elected to run New York City and Seattle.
Ironically, the Big Apple and Emerald City are both bankrupt.
According to NYC Comptroller Mark Levine, “The City faces a $2.2 billion budget shortfall for FY2026 and a projected $10.4 billion gap for FY2027.”
Things are not much better in Seattle. In late 2024, the Seattle City Council announced that it “successfully” closed “a $250-plus million dollar budget shortfall while making all-time-high investments in affordable housing and other critical services.”
Alas, that $250 million shortfall did not remain closed for long. Next year, Seattle will juggle a budget deficit of at least $127 million.
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Even though Mayor Zohran Mamdani knows the spending status quo in NYC is untenable, he is calling for an additional $14 billion in new programs.
Unsurprisingly, Mamdani is prioritizing several socialist spending priorities, like $11.9 million for “new Street Health Outreach & Wellness (SHOW) mobile units,” $43.3 million “to advance affordability efforts,” “more than tripling baseline funding for HRA’s Community Food Connection program with an addition of $54 million,” and $662 million “to modernize and preserve more than 3,200 affordable housing.”
A similar set of circumstances exists in Seattle, where Mayor Katie Wilson recently delivered her State of the City Address, in which she implored the “city council to fund shelter expansion,” “expand childcare and early education as public goods,” “expand access to affordable food,” increase rent subsidies, etc.
“I am determined to add 1,000 new units this year, with services matched to people’s needs, and we are on our way to reach this goal,” Wilson proclaimed.
Make no mistake, Mamdani and Wilson are keenly aware of the fact that their cities are broke. However, that inconvenient truth is not discouraging these democratic socialists from digging the hole even deeper.
Fortunately, NYC and Seattle must adhere to some semblance of a balanced budget.
Thus, Mamdani and Wilson face a democratic socialist dilemma: in order to raise spending, they must raise taxes, most notably on middle-class and lower-class residents.
Mamdani has hinted at a highly regressive hike in property taxes, which will hit hardworking residents of the Big Apple the hardest.
Meanwhile, Mayor Wilson thinks The Emerald City is “filthy rich,” and that millionaires will foot the bill for Seattle socialism.
Earth to Wilson: California and other states have tried to tax millionaires to the hilt. Guess what? They can easily move to another state, like Florida or Texas, which has no state income taxes.
But what if democratic socialism took hold at the national level? What if a democratic socialist wins the White House in 2028 with a compliant Congress to boot?
Did you know that polls show that most young voters want a democratic socialist in the Oval Office in 2028?
If this nightmare scenario does indeed come to fruition, there will be no escape to a place like Texas or Florida. If democratic socialism takes root at the national level, it will be the end of America as we know it.
Although the national government could print money to cover the deficit, the consequences for middle-class Americans would be catastrophic. Taxes would be raised, and the fattest target is hard-working Americans.
Again, America simply cannot afford democratic socialism at the local, state, or national level without squeezing middle-class Americans.
Never forget: The rich can avoid the tax man. The poor don’t owe all that much to the tax man. It is and always will be the middle- and lower-classes that feed the insatiable beast of government spending and redistribution, which is the bedrock of democratic socialism.
Chris Talgo ([email protected]) is editorial director at The Heartland Institute.
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