Mamdani and Top Aides Stumped by Obvious ‘Cost of Living’ Question

Democratic Socialist New York mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani and his top aides know full-well the “cost-of-living” platitudes he pushes are radical — and have failed everywhere they’ve been tried.

A writer for New York magazine recently sat down to interview Mamdani and some of those in his circle in a feature piece about the making of the next New York mayor.

New York magazine writer stumps Zohran Mamdani, top aides with ‘cost of living’ question https://t.co/IuWBc6b9Qe pic.twitter.com/X7CJH68oVE
— New York Post (@nypost) December 29, 2025

The Incredibly Ironic Request Mamdani Has of His 'Working People' Supporters

And as the New York Post pointed out, it didn’t all go as planned. The article noted that neither the mayor-elect nor his aides could answer when the magazine writer asked “for a comparable city as the democratic socialist waxed poetic about his lofty ‘principle’ of bringing down the cost of living in the five boroughs.”

It read:

“I asked him and some of his advisers if there were cities that had pulled this off that New York could emulate, places that had managed to meaningfully lower the cost of living. None sprang to mind,” the article stated.
“Talk to policy experts, and they find the prospect laughable; the only cities where this has happened are ones where the quality of life dropped so dramatically that no one wanted to live there anymore.”

RedState readers know the reason Mamdani and his crew couldn’t name a single place where ideas like rent-freeze policies work is that they don’t, and they only make things worse for everyone.

My RedState colleague Nick Arama reported on the disaster that would occur if Mamdani got his way with freezing rent.

Arama wrote:

And freezing rents does the exact opposite of providing affordable housing. Then landlords wouldn't be able to afford to maintain the buildings, and they would sink into disrepair, defeating the purpose of providing affordable and livable housing.

SEE: Mamdani's Reaction When Asked About Schumer's Political Future Won't Make the Senator Happy

Good Luck With That - New Poll Shows New Yorkers Think Mamdani Might Not Be So Bad After All

Redstate’s Ward Clark recently reported on the disaster that would occur if Mamdani’s plans came to fruition, too.

Clark wrote:

There is an economic reality here that Zohran Mamdani can't just wish away. These buildings are privately owned. If the city wants to put a ceiling on rents, and if that ceiling is below the amount it costs to maintain the building - let alone turn a profit - then these buildings will be neglected, or worse, abandoned. Seizure by the city? That's just piling stupid on stupid. Look at the state of repair of any public-housing project, anywhere in the country, and you'll get a very good preview of what will happen in the Mamdani scenario.

On top of promising things like freezing rent and free busing, Mamdani sold New Yorkers that he would be able to do all this by taxing those big, bad, awful, rich people.

But as The Post noted, Mamdani’s plan to raise the corporate tax would be “absolute suicide,” according to the incoming head of the city’s premier business group.

“This proposal is absolute suicide for NYC and an absolute dream for NJ,” said Steven Fulop, the former Jersey City Mayor and incoming CEO of the Partnership for New York City.

Socialism is what this is, and it always fails. History is more than proof of that.

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