Tag: democratic socialists

Mounds of Snow and Trash Are Just the Opening Act of Mamdani’s Collectivist New York

Images out of New York City this week have gone viral, and they are doing more to project the city’s future than any campaign speech ever could.

They show piles of trash sitting curbside and piles of snow still frozen nearly two weeks after a storm. They show a city struggling with completing tasks that should be routine.

This is what New Yorkers are seeing as Mayor Zohran Mamdani begins to warm his seat in City Hall.

According to WABC-TV in New York, sanitation crews fell behind after heavy snow and deep cold slowed cleanup efforts across the city. Trash piled up in multiple neighborhoods.

The mayor defended the city’s botched response as New Yorkers complained about living in a landfill.

I am not from New York, I do not want to visit New York, and I am well aware that New York City has dealt with snowstorms and sanitation problems long before Mamdani arrived.

I also cannot say with certainty that this entire situation is his fault. It might be, it might not be.

What I can say with certainty is that this will not be the last time New Yorkers complain about a problem that could have been avoided.

It will not be the last time residents are told to lower their expectations and accept dysfunction.

The problem is not the snow, but the city’s Marxist leadership.

Communist and socialist systems tend to fail pretty quickly for many reasons, but one stands above the rest.

These systems do not value or reward competence. They value and reward loyalty and ideology.

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Mayor Mamdani Blasted as Tens of Thousands of New Yorkers Still Have No Heat While Garbage Piles Up Around City

New Yorkers have been blasting Mayor Zohran Mamdani for days now as trash piles up and snow removal moves at a snail’s pace.

Even worse, there are still tens of thousands of people in the city with no heat as deadly cold temperatures continue this winter.

It turns out there is more to running a massive city than slogans about taxing the wealthy.

The New York Post reports:

Tens of thousands of New Yorkers left without heat as temperatures drop to 4° — and tenants blast Mamdani for failing to act

New Yorkers placed a staggering 80,000 calls to 311 reporting a lack of residential heat and hot water in January 2026 — the highest monthly total on record — as private and public housing tenants told The Post they were trapped in unlivable conditions and accused Mayor Zohran Mamdani of failing to act.

The complaints poured in amid a brutal deep freeze, with tenants across the city reporting days without heat, ice-cold showers and overnight shut-offs as temperatures plunged into the teens.

Alex Hughes, a Williamsburg tenant, said the situation in his building has deteriorated so much that he recently packed his bags and moved into a hotel.

“We’ve had over 40 days of no hot water over the last 11 months. And we’re now on day eight or nine straight of no hot water,” Hughes told The Post. “I had to walk 15 minutes in the snow and ice to a friend’s house so I could shower.”

In Astoria, Nicole Pavez, 31, a city planner for NYC, said the current cold snap has pushed her building’s already unreliable heating system into crisis mode, forcing her to bundle up indoors and dress her dog in sweaters to keep him warm.

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Mamdani’s NYC Socialist Experiment Ended Before It Began

Margaret Thatcher once characterized socialism by saying, “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money.” The experience of Zohran Mamdani’s quixotic attempt to transform New York City into a socialist paradise, an oxymoron, demonstrates that Thatcher’s observation requires an addition: you also need the permission of the people paying for it.

In layman’s terms, like a child asking his mother for ice cream money, Mamdani asked Governor Hochul for permission, and she said “no.”

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s campaign promises face structural barriers that make implementation impossible. Under New York State Constitution Article XVI, NYC mayors cannot raise taxes independently. Only the state legislature can authorize local tax increases, requiring approval from both chambers and Governor Kathy Hochul.

During a PIX11 interview in early January 2026, Hochul stated that increasing taxes on wealthy New Yorkers is “completely off the table.” She pointed out that 1.5% of New Yorkers pay one-third of the state’s entire budget. She refuses to risk driving them out with higher taxes.

Mamdani proposed a 2-percentage-point increase on NYC income tax for those earning over $1 million, raising the rate from 3.9% to 5.9%, plus increasing corporate tax rates from 7.25% to 11.5%. His campaign estimated this would generate $4 billion annually. Without this revenue, his agenda collapses.

Hochul’s January 2026 $260 billion state budget includes no income tax increases and extends the 7.25% corporate tax rate for three more years, rejecting Mamdani’s proposed increase. While State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins have expressed openness to tax increases, Hochul faces her own 2026 re-election campaign and a primary challenge from Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado.

Even if both legislative chambers pass tax increases, Hochul can veto the legislation. With her own election approaching, it is unlikely that she would take a radical decision that would alienate her wealthy donor base. Overriding a gubernatorial veto requires a two-thirds supermajority in both chambers, which Mamdani’s allies cannot achieve.

NYC Comptroller Mark Levine announced in mid-January 2026 that the city faces a $2.2 billion deficit for fiscal year 2026 and a $10.4 billion deficit for fiscal year 2027, totaling a cumulative gap of $12.6 billion. Levine blamed chronic underbudgeting by the Adams administration for rental assistance, overtime, shelter costs, public assistance, DOE due process cases, and MTA contributions, totaling $3.8 billion in unbudgeted expenses for FY2026 alone. He stated that the deficit was not caused by a bad economy but by budgeting decisions from the previous administration.

This is the first time since the Great Recession that the city faces a budget shortfall of this magnitude this late in the fiscal year. Mamdani’s first deputy mayor Dean Fuleihan stated the administration would only include new tax revenue if it were included in Hochul’s budget, which it was not.

With a severe revenue shortfall, Mamdani’s plans for free programs are unlikely to materialize. He has promised fare-free buses by eliminating the $2.90 fare on all MTA buses citywide, universal childcare, and state-funded “baby baskets” for every newborn containing formula, diapers, and postpartum supplies.

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Inside The Alliance Between American Marxists And Communist China

Arecent investigative report by Newsweek has exposed troubling connections between the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) — America’s largest socialist organization — and officials linked to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). These revelations demand serious scrutiny because the DSA has achieved growing political influence in recent years. This influence reached a new peak with the 2025 election of longtime DSA member Zohran Mamdani as mayor of New York City.

The Newsweek report drew on dozens of internal DSA documents, including meeting minutes and presentation materials dating back to 2021. These records show the DSA’s international committee actively pursuing closer relations with CCP-affiliated entities, often framed as solidarity in the fight against “U.S. imperialism.” In one striking example from a 2025 meeting of the DSA China Working Group, a New York-based member stated: “China wants to interface with the DSA … If we develop a killer two-week itinerary, hire locals, and develop further connections with the CPC [Communist Party of China], then we’re golden.”

Other documents included detailed presentations about at least two trips to China taken by some DSA members in 2023 and 2025. It remains unclear whether these visits were directly sponsored by the Chinese government or by entities tied to the CCP’s United Front Work Department, the party’s propaganda arm, which Chinese leader Xi Jinping describes as a “magic weapon” for global influence operations. The United Front is notorious for recruiting foreign “useful idiots” to aid in its influence operations, often through fully funded, carefully scripted trips to China.

Code Pink Ties

Furthermore, the DSA’s documents demonstrate that the organization actively sought guidance from other radical leftist groups, such as Code Pink, in strengthening ties with China. Jodie Evans, co-founder of Code Pink and a CCP apologist, presented her group’s “China Is Not Our Enemy” (CINOE) campaign at one of the DSA meetings. She encouraged the DSA to promote a positive view of Communist China in the U.S., while deliberately avoiding contentious topics such as China’s potential invasion to Taiwan and the documented genocide against Uyghur Muslims.

Evans is married to Neville Roy Singham, a U.S.-born tech billionaire and open Marxist currently living in Shanghai, China. Together, they play a pivotal role in influencing both the messaging and financial support of Marxist groups in the U.S., such as the New York City-based People’s Forum. These groups aim to promote CCP propaganda and instigate chaos in the U.S., including backing the anti-ICE protests in Minnesota and anti-Israel protests in New York City following the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

In light of these activities, Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., has called on the U.S. Justice Department to launch a federal investigation into Code Pink, accusing it of providing “material support to foreign terrorist organizations” and serving as an unregistered agent of the Chinese government.

Still, internal documents from the DSA reveal that the organization was acting on Evans’ advice and planning events to promote the Chinese government’s poverty alleviation program. Alarmingly, even the United Nations has raised serious concerns about this program, citing allegations of human rights abuses, including forced labor involving Uyghurs, Tibetans, and other vulnerable minorities. The national DSA organization, along with its local Minnesota chapter, also supported the anti-ICE protests, which have created significant divisions among Americans.

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NYC Socialist Mamdani Calls to Abolish ICE After Armed Agitator Shot by Border Patrol 

Minneapolis Mayor Mamdani issued a public statement on Saturday sharply criticizing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement following a fatal shooting earlier in the day involving federal agents and an armed man in Minneapolis.

Mamdani’s comments come amid heightened tensions in the city after a series of federal law enforcement actions this month that have drawn intense scrutiny and public reaction.

In a post on X, the mayor said the latest incident reflects broader concerns about federal law enforcement conduct across the nation.

“As tens of thousands across America protest the violence that ICE sows with impunity, federal agents shot and killed another person in Minneapolis today,” Mamdani said in his statement posted Saturday.

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Mamdani Appoints Woman Named ‘Afua Atta-Mensah’ As Chief Equity Officer

Democratic New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani named Afua Atta-Mensah as the city’s new Chief Equity Officer and commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Equity & Racial Justice on Thursday.

Mamdani, a 34-year-old Ugandan-born, Indian-descent avowed socialist, was sworn into office on Jan. 1 and has been appointing allies to key posts since taking power. In a social media post, Mamdani announced appointing Atta-Mensah and said she built her career serving communities that rarely gain access to decision-makers. He tasked her with carrying that focus across city government.

“Afua has dedicated her career to serving the New Yorkers who are so often forgotten in the halls of power. In this new role, she will advance that mission across our government and deliver a more equitable city for all,” Mamdani wrote. “That work starts with finally fulfilling the city’s promise of a Preliminary Citywide Racial Equity Plan and embracing the diverse fabric that makes our city special.”

By the time Mamdani announced Atta-Mensah’s appointment Thursday, her X account had been deactivated, the New York Post reported. City Hall said the administration does not require newly appointed officials to delete their social media accounts.

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Zohran Mamdani Appoints Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice, Pledges to Govern New York City as a Socialist

Mayor Zohran Mamdani became New York City’s first Muslim and South Asian mayor and the youngest in over a century when he was sworn in using a Quran. He used his inauguration to affirm he will govern as a democratic socialist, speaking before thousands outside City Hall alongside Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Mamdani pledged to focus his administration on working-class New Yorkers and said he would not abandon his principles despite criticism, framing New York as a proving ground for democratic socialist governance with an agenda centered on safety, affordability, and expanded public services funded by higher taxes on wealthy individuals and corporations.

It is ironic that he claims to help the working class by raising taxes. He also says he is focused on public safety, even as he has opposed policing and the incarceration of convicted criminals.

Mamdani began his first day by signing five executive orders. The first repealed all executive actions issued by former Mayor Eric Adams after Adams was federally indicted. The second appointed his five deputy mayors, establishing his democratic socialist administration.

For first deputy mayor, he chose Dean Fuleihan, 74, a Lebanese American who previously served as first deputy mayor under Bill de Blasio. Fuleihan oversaw the allocation of hundreds of millions of dollars in city funds to Universal Pre-K and early childhood education, significantly expanding pre-kindergarten access across New York City. To fund these social programs, the city budget grew from $72 billion to $85 billion, supporting affordable housing initiatives and other social equity programs.

The new deputy mayor for housing and planning is Leila Bozorg, who previously served as Eric Adams’s executive director of housing and played a key role in negotiating the City of Yes housing rezoning policy.

The initiative includes $5 billion in total investment, with $1 billion from state funding and $1 billion from the city allocated for housing capital. Key components include the Universal Affordability Preference, which provides a 20 percent density bonus for projects that dedicate additional space to permanently affordable housing for households earning 60 percent of the Area Median Income.

The program permits three- to five-story apartment buildings in low-density residential districts near public transit, while requiring that at least 20 percent of units in developments with 50 or more apartments be permanently affordable.

Julie Su, who served as acting U.S. Labor Secretary under Biden and California’s labor secretary from 2019-2021 but was not confirmed by the Senate despite two attempts, became Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice in a newly created role. Helen Arteaga Landaverde, CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst and the first Latina to serve as CEO of Elmhurst Hospital, became Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services.

Julia Kerson, previously deputy director of infrastructure under Governor Hochul and a former MTA vice president, became Deputy Mayor for Operations.

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IDIOTS: Zohran Mamdani Supporters Chant ‘Tax the Rich’ as Bernie ‘Three Houses’ Sanders Speaks

As Bernie Sanders was speaking at Zohran Mamdani’s inauguration on Thursday, a number of people in the crowd broke into a chant of ‘tax the rich.’

The stupidity on display here is appalling. Do these people really believe that their lives will improve if the government forcefully takes more money away from other people? Do they think the New York City government is going to take money from others and give it to them? Do they honestly believe that if ‘the rich’ are forced to pay more in taxes, it is going to fund programs that will benefit them?

This is the politics of envy, plain and simple.

The New York Post reports:

‘Tax the rich’ chant breaks out as Bernie Sanders swears in NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani

A raucous chant of “tax the rich” broke out as Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders blasted the wealthy and called out “hatred and divisiveness” before swearing in fellow democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani as New York City mayor.

“At a time in our country’s history when we are seeing too much hatred, too much divisiveness and too much injustice, thank you for electing Zohran Mamdani as your mayor,” Sanders said outside City Hall.

He then argued that Mamdani’s socialist agenda, including free buses and taxing the rich was not “radical,” sparking the chant.

After Sanders administered the ceremonial oath of office to Mamdani, the new mayor addressed the crowd, saying he planned to govern “expansively and audaciously.”

For too long, he argued, New York belonged to the “wealthy and well connected,” but no longer, Mamdani vowed.

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Zohran’s Plan to Quickly Destroy Housing in New York City

Mamdani’s flagship housing policy has been to completely freeze rents on all rent-stabilized housing, which already limits how much landlords can raise rents.

It looks like he will regulate landlords into expropriation.

Far-left community organizer Cea Weaver worked for Housing Justice for All, a far-left organization also known as the Upstate-Downstate Housing Alliance. She also heads the New York State Tenant Bloc.

She is planning the housing policies.

“Tenants are half the state and a majority in every major city. United, we have the power to reclaim our homes from the stranglehold of the real estate industry,” she said when she founded the bloc earlier this year.

They define theft as “reclaiming,” but it won’t be for the benefit of the middle class.

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Bernie Sanders Wants To Pause New Data Centers To Stop the Economy From Growing Too Much

The United States is leading a global data center boom. Investors are plowing some $7 trillion into the infrastructure necessary to support AI development, with 40 percent of that investment happening here in the United States.

This boom in data center investment is so pronounced that many analysts argue it’s propping up an economy that’d otherwise be wobbling under the strain of tariffs and high borrowing costs.

Some skeptics credibly argue that the money flowing into AI research and the physical infrastructure needed to support it is a bubble that will eventually pop.

Unconvinced by the skeptics is Sen. Bernie Sanders (I–Vt.), who seems to believe that data center investment will generate large profits, produce technological innovations, and drive economy-wide productivity growth.

Therefore, he wants to shut it down.

In a video posted to Instagram, the socialist senator called for a federal moratorium on data center construction until our politicians can figure out just what the hell is going on.

According to Sanders, the development of artificial intelligence and robotics technologies powered by data centers “is moving very, very quickly, and we need to slow it down.”

He warns that the current boom, if left unchecked, could well end up enriching already wealthy billionaires investing in the technology, leading to job automation and powering a distracting and alienating technology.

A “moratorium will give democracy a chance to catch up with the transformative changes that we are witnessing and make sure the benefits of these technologies work for all of us,” Sanders concludes.

Given general bipartisan support for “winning the AI race” and the amount of growth being generated by data center investment, it’s unlikely that any such moratorium will come to pass.

The fact Sanders is proposing it anyway is reflects just how much anxiety he and other members of the socialist left feel whenever capitalism is working.

Whether it’s driverless cars or choices in deodorant brands, Sanders cannot stop worrying and learn to love it when capitalists make productive investments and give consumers what they want.

Any economic growth that is not planned by the bureaucrats and approved by the electorate is inherently suspicious and perhaps downright malicious.

Sanders’ call for a data center moratorium is to prevent investment in this infrastructure from yielding productive fruit.

He’s worried that investors will reap profits from data center construction. Those same profits would be a signal that their investments were a prudent use of capital that’s driving real growth in the economy.

Likewise, the job automation Sanders worries about would be another sign that data center investments were well-placed. A primary purpose of capital investment and technological innovation is to shift more labor off the backs of human beings and onto machines.

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