Latest news with #MrCardamom
Times
4 hours ago
- Politics
- Times
Who is Zohran Mamdani, the dark horse in line to be NYC mayor?
Until he was five years old, Zohran Mamdani lived in a cottage on a hill above Kampala, Uganda, with a view of Lake Victoria. He now lives in a one-bedroom flat in Queens, but by the beginning of next year he is on course to move into the famed Gracie Mansion as the mayor of America's largest metropolis. Mamdani, 33, a democratic socialist, a New York state assemblyman since 2021 and before that a rapper who performed under the moniker Mr Cardamom, is now all but certain to secure the Democratic nomination for mayor after a primary that generally selects the city's next leader. 'In the words of Nelson Mandela: It always seems impossible until it is done,' he told his cheering supporters who had gathered in Long Island City, Queens. 'My friends, we have done it.'
Forbes
11 hours ago
- Business
- Forbes
3 Key Issues Surrounding Zohran Mamdani's New York City Tax Increase
New York City mayoral candidate and Democratic State Representative Zohran Mamdani campaigns in New ... More York City on April 16, 2025. Voters will head to the polls on June 24, 2025, to vote in the Democratic primary in the New York City mayoral election. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS / AFP) (Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images) As reported by Forbes, Zohran Mamdani won the New York City Mayoral Democratic Primary and is poised to become one of the most powerful mayors in the US. What makes his campaign unique is that Mandani ran on a more socialist-type platform, which raises taxes on some to pay for enhanced services. This article discusses who Mamdani is, what Mamdani proposes to alter the tax landscape of New York City, and three key issues with his plans to increase taxes on New York City taxpayers. Who Is Zohran Mamdani? Mamdani is a 33 year old politician. He was born in Uganda, and his family moved to South Africa before moving to New York City at the age of seven. Mamdani spent much of his life in New York City before attending Bowdoin College in Maine. Following college, Mandani started a hip-hop music career. According to Rolling Stone, he first appeared under the stage name of Young Cardamom and later changed it to Mr. Cardamom. The article also discusses that he did not become a rap sensation, but that Mamdani had many funny moments that showed that he was not taking himself too seriously. After his time as a hip-hop artist ended, Mamdani campaigned to become a representative in New York's 36th State Assembly district. He won in 2020, defeating a four-term incumbent, and was re-elected without opposition in 2022 and 2024. According to the New York State Assembly records, Mamdani was the primary sponsor on 20 bills, three of which have become laws. In 2024, Mamdani announced his candidacy for mayor of New York City in the 2025 election. He has defeated former Governor Andrew Cuomo for the Democratic nomination. As of the morning of June 25th, Polymarket estimates his lead over incumbent Mayor Eric Adams to be 52%. Mamdani's Tax Plan According to Mamdani's campaign website, he has big ambitions to alter New York City's socio-economic landscape. These plans include freezing rent, making bus transportation free, building dedicated priority lanes for busses, creating a new department focusing on community safety, providing free childcare at no cost for every New Yorker between six weeks and five years old, creating city-owned grocery stores designed to keep prices low, building new affordable housing, and many more. Mamdani estimates these spending increases will cost $10 billion annually. This marks a staggering increase relative to the city's $115 billion annual budget. The New York Times reports that his socialist-leaning platform has drawn promotion from the likes of Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders, both of whom have openly endorsed his candidacy. Mamdani is also very transparent about how he plans to pay for these large spending increases. In his platform, he clearly lays out where $10 billion can come from. His two main funding sources are: 3 Key Issues Surrounding Mamdani's Tax Increase 1) The Numbers May Not Add Up In his platform, Mamdani transparently suggests that at the current corporate tax rate of 9%, New York City collects $6.5 billion annually in corporate income taxes. However, his platform then claims that raising the rate by 2.5% will then increase collections to $11.5 billion. While Mamdani's platform can be applauded for transparency, it does not connect the dots on where the numbers come from. Nationwide, collections from individuals tend to dwarf those from corporations. This notion is because of the simple fact that there are far more individuals and non-corporate owned businesses than corporate entities. Thus, even though major corporations earn significant amounts of money, it is unclear how a small increase in the corporate tax rate of 2.5% can have such a drastic effect on the tax collections for New York City. 2) Most Large-Scale Tax Changes Happen At The State Level Very few cities enforce their own individual and corporate income tax, making comparisons to how this increase will affect taxpayers opaque. In Mamdani's platform, he calls the tax increases 'A Tried and True Approach' and references how Massachusetts, Washington DC, and New York have all raised taxes on the wealthy and done so successfully. Mamdani also cites how state taxation differentially taxes corporations in New York, and how New York has had a history of increasing taxes on its taxpayers throughout the years. However, nowhere in the platform does Mamdani demonstrate a time when cities have done this effectively. As reported by The New York Post, the scale of Mamdani's plans rely on buyoff from the state legislature. In fact, The New York Times Podcast: The Daily discusses that providing free transportation and free childcare requires raising money from the state, and the state is very reluctant to do so at this time. Different from the Federal government, cities and states cannot go into debt. Thus, there is significant pressure on these spending increases to ensure that they are paid for, and the tax increases appear to require substantial state-level support. This notion has led outlets like Forbes to question whether Mamdani understands the realities of governance. 3) Wealthy Individuals And Corporations May Just Leave New York City In an interview with PIX 11, New York Governor Hochul provided a stunning critique over Mamdani's tax plans. Hochul discusses the concerns with raising taxes at a time when affordability is low, as well as the notion that the heightened costs are 'pushing New Yorkers to Palm Beach.' A natural question arises of whether New Yorkers would really leave because of taxes. While providing causal links to the question may be tricky, The Tax Foundation, points to the notion that most studies examining this topic suggest that state and local taxes affect migration. Academic work by Agrawal and Tester published in the American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, provides evidence that this does, in fact, happen and the risk of capital flight has grown over recent years due to increased technology. A particularly problematic concern for New York City is that many of the academic studies in this realm focus on state taxation and how individuals and corporations might face a difficult decision of a physical move to an entirely different state. However, if New York City taxes become too high, the taxpayers might have a less tumultuous choice of simply relocating just outside of the city, a much easier move than moving to an entirely different state. If wealthy individuals and corporations choose to depart New York City due to the tax hikes, then it is unclear where the funds to pay for the increased spending will come from. Despite the substantial transparency provided in his platform, Mamdani does not appear to consider this important notion.
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Panic in NYC as failed rapper socialist Zohran Mamdani emerges as front-runner in mayor's race
A failed rapper and Democratic socialist has emerged as the frontrunner in New York City 's mayoral race. Zohran Mamdani, 33, is going head to head with former New York City Governor Andrew Cuomo in trying to secure the Democratic primary nomination. According to Polymarket, Mamdani pulled ahead to become the favorite on Monday, just one day ahead of the primary vote. The poll gives him a 61 percent chance of winning. It is a marked shift from late May, when Cuomo still had a 91 percent chance of winning, according to the cryptocurrency betting market. Mamdani is currently a three-term state assemblyman representing diverse corners of Queens, and has sparked outrage among Jewish communities for his pro-Palestinian stance. But prior to his career in politics, he attempted to forge a rap career under the name Mr. Cardamom. Extraordinary video of Mamdani rapping have since reemerged, showing bopping along in a music video without his shirt on. In 2019, he revealed he was stepping back from performing in order to try his hand at politics, announcing: 'I'll be forever spicy but I'm taking a break from being a spice to answer the question of what happens when a B-list rapper runs for office. 'I spend each day at work coming up against the legacy of Albany's bankrupt policies. Our reps have turned family homes into investment properties while letting public housing fall into decay and disrepair,' he said. 'I'm running because, like 24% of my neighbors, I'm spending 50% of my income on rent. And yet, there is nothing preventing our landlords from refusing to renew our leases, evicting us w/o good cause, or even from increasing our rents beyond a conscionable amount.' At the time, Mamdani wanted to guarantee housing for all New Yorkers 'regardless of ability to pay', 'fully eliminate cash bail [and] ban solitary confinement.' His current proposals include rent freezes, a free city bus service, universal childcare and city-subsidized grocery stores. Mamdani vowed to pay for his extravagant wishlist by raising taxes on wealthy New Yorkers. To do so, he would need the stamp of approval from Governor Kathy Hocul and state lawmakers - who have already rubbished the proposal. Despite the setback, Mamdani has secured the endorsement of both Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders - both seen as leaders among the progressive movement in the United States. Mamdani, who was born in Uganda and raised in Cape Town, South Africa before moving to New York with his family, would be the city's first Muslim and first Indian-American mayor if elected. He told WNYC he is 'one day from toppling a political dynasty.' 'New Yorkers are done with the cynical politics of the past. They want a future they can afford,' Mamdani said. According to the NY Post, Mamdani has little professional experience, having only been employed a total of three years between graduating college in 2014 and his election to the New York State Assembly in 2020. Since graduating with a degree in Africana studies, Mamdani worked as an organizer for advocacy group MoveOn for four months, followed by a two-month stint at Texas advocacy group TexPIRG. From there, he worked as a music supervisor on Hollywood film 'Queen of Katwe,' which was directed by his mother. Despite his lack of experience, Mamdani has garnered support from other candidates who are now seen as long shots to win the nominations. While falling short of endorsing Mamdani, several have spent the last day of campaigning urging voters to leave Cuomo off their ballots in the city's ranked choice election in a last-ditch effort to block the former governor's comeback from a sexual harassment scandal. 'Let's make sure Andrew Cuomo gets nowhere near City Hall,' candidate and city Comptroller Brad Lander said Monday on WNYC radio, which interviewed the major candidates ahead of the election. State Sen. Zellnor Myrie, another candidate, similarly asked voters to not vote for Cuomo, telling the station, 'We need fresh leadership, we need to turn the page and we need bold solutions at this moment.' 'You do not have to go back to the name of Andrew Cuomo,' said Michael Blake, a former state lawmaker running in the primary. He told voters on WNYC that it was time to move on from the former governor. Cuomo, who won three terms as governor, resigned in 2021 after a report from the state attorney general concluded that he sexually harassed 11 women. He has denied wrongdoing. Critics say Mamdani is so far to the left that his candidacy will hurt the Democratic party. Others have criticized his pro-Palestinian rhetoric, including defending the phrase 'Globalize the Intifada.' 'When someone spends years relentlessly targeting the world's only Jewish state through legislation, boycotts and protests — while remaining silent on the abuses of regimes like Iran, China or Russia —it's not principled criticism, it's antisemitism, plain and simple,' Sam Berger, a Jewish Democrat, said in a statement. 'His rhetoric, accusing Israel of 'genocide' and 'apartheid,' is not only inflammatory and false, it's part of a broader campaign to delegitimize Jewish self-determination.' Eleven candidates are on the ballot in the Democratic mayoral primary. Incumbent Mayor Eric Adams isn't one of them. He's a Democrat but is running as an independent. The Republican Party has already picked its nominee, Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa.
