Good morning. It\u2019s Wednesday. Today we\u2019ll look at a plumber who makes a lot of money and young people whose financial struggles have motivated a turn to democratic socialism.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s hard to escape the topic of money.<\/p>\n
It surfaces when people across the country talk about gas prices<\/a>, and when a family in Cuba living on less than $60<\/a> for the month needs lunch.<\/p>\n A man who works at one of the most famous museums in the world isn\u2019t sure how he\u2019s going to pay off his $100,000<\/a> in student loans.<\/p>\n At the same time, the joy of the World Cup is stirring debates<\/a> about corporate greed.<\/p>\n In New York City, the focus on money stretches from those who are surprisingly well paid to those uncertain whether they will ever make enough.<\/p>\n The City Plumber Who Makes Almost $500,000<\/p>\n Jakub Markowski is a plumber supervisor for the city\u2019s public housing agency. He also runs two private plumbing businesses.<\/p>\n Last year, my colleague Mihir Zaveri reported, Markowski was paid for almost 2,560 hours of overtime \u2014 bringing his annual city earnings to more than $465,000<\/a>.<\/p>\n That was more than what the mayor, the police commissioner, the fire commissioner and the schools chancellor made.<\/p>\n Now there are questions about whether Markowski made too much money. The sheer volume of hours and pay that he accrued last year would indicate that he averaged seven hours of overtime every day for 365 days.<\/p>\n The Plumbing Foundation City of New York, a nonprofit trade group, filed a complaint with the Buildings Department last year, raising concerns about Markowski\u2019s \u201cquestionable work arrangements,\u201d according to a June 2025 email sent to the department.<\/p>\n \u201cEnabling one individual to run a private plumbing business while serving as a city plumbing supervisor and accruing more overtime than any other city employee is beyond wasteful, and it raises serious concerns about the integrity, safety and oversight of NYCHA\u2019s building operations,\u201d April McIver, the group\u2019s executive director, said in a statement.<\/p>\n Reached by phone on Monday evening, Markowski said he was busy working and hung up.<\/p>\n The Young People Who Think the Economy Is Rigged<\/p>\n Richard Custodio really wants to get his girlfriend a ring. But rent is so expensive. He\u2019s not sure where he\u2019s going to find the money.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople are feeling this economic precarity,\u201d Custodio, 28, told my colleague Emma Goldberg. \u201cWhen everything sucks, everything feels really on edge, you\u2019re more open to things changing.\u201d<\/p>\n Custodio is one of a growing number of young people turning away from the dominant political parties to embrace democratic socialism, Emma reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThey believe the capitalist system is rigged for those at the top,\u201d Jay Jacobs, chairman of New York\u2019s Democratic Party, said.<\/p>\n The shift helped power two democratic socialists \u2014 Darializa Avila Chevalier and Claire Valdez \u2014 to victories in House primaries last month. They had the backing of another democratic socialist who has captured the support of frustrated young people: Mayor Zohran Mamdani.<\/p>\n Young supporters of the two candidates cite layoffs in white-collar industries, the threat of job displacement from artificial intelligence, rising costs of living and a sense that money spent on wars could be spent on services.<\/p>\n