Mamdani Makes Cuts

Gwendolyn Hart

Back in May, NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani widely touted closing the $12 billion city budget deficit supposedly “without making any cuts”. But in July Mamdani told all departments across the city to make 2.5 percent cuts. So what gives?

To “balance” the budget, Mamdani took the money out of the pensions for city workers. All city workers’ pensions (except the NYPD) will get around $2 billion less per year until 2032, when all that missing money will have to be made up for. And workers will likely be the ones to pay for it.

The only solution to the budget crisis is taxing the rich in an actual serious way. But arch-corporate New York Governor Kathy Hochul is vociferously against taxing the wealthy and big business. So next year’s crisis is already looming, and Mamdani is getting an early start by making cuts.

Has Mamdani begun using his national platform and massive popularity to fight to force the governor to tax the rich? No, he’s already endorsed her for reelection.

Hochul helped Mamdani with the city budget by passing his tax on second homes and giving him a one-time multi-billion dollar handout. What has Mamdani given her in exchange? He helped Hochul break the nurses’ strike by enabling her to use the NYPD to ferry scabs into hospitals. He dropped his support of “No More 24”, a movement of home healthcare workers demanding an end to inhumane, unpaid 24-hour shifts. He ripped $662 million worth of public housing to give away to private developers.

Mamdani has been able to freeze the rent on rent-regulated apartments. That’s probably his biggest win since the election. But is that worth helping put an end to the nurses’ strike? Does it outweigh abandoning a movement against forced unpaid labor and privatizing public NYCHA public housing projects?

Genuine socialists reject the calculus of phonies. It is never permissible to sell out one section of the working class for another. The whole history of the labor movement is full of misleaders selling out workers in other workplaces or industries, unskilled workers, black workers, etc. to win a shabby deal. This tactic has always ultimately led to division and defeat.

The reason the rest of the Democrats are willing to make small concessions to Mamdani is because they’re nervous about the mass anger against the rich and need to keep a lid on it. He’s helping them do it.

100,000 people volunteered for Mamdani. He could be mobilizing them to fight Hochul and fund public services like free childcare. But instead, he’s telling them to vote for her.