(The Center Square) \u2013 In the wake of Zohran Mamdani\u2019s rise to become the mayor of New York City, researchers and policy analysts are slamming his policies and calling for free market economics to remain dominant.<\/p>\n
Researchers at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, discussed Mamadani\u2019s policies during a panel on Friday and highlighted how they could make the cost of living more expensive in the nation\u2019s largest city.<\/p>\n
One of Mamdani\u2019s proposals includes raising corporate taxes from 9.5% to 11.5%, to match New Jersey\u2019s tax rate.<\/p>\n
John Peluso, a research associate at the Heritage Foundation, said Mamdani\u2019s proposal would decrease the competitiveness of businesses in New York City. He said this will cause wealthy individuals and businesses to leave the city in response to these policies.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs those people leave, the people that are stuck and left behind are going to be dealing with more and more of the burden, the taxes, and there\u2019s going to be less people,\u201d Peluso said.<\/p>\n
Panelists also criticized Mamdani\u2019s proposal to implement five government-run grocery stores in each borough in New York City. The grocery stores would not pay property taxes or for rent on a building in which it operates.<\/p>\n
Nicole Huyer, a senior research associate at the Heritage Foundation, said the grocery stores would burden taxpayers and drive out private competition.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe see that government use of funds, especially when its not their own, is oftentimes inefficient and it\u2019s not used well,\u201d Huyer said.<\/p>\n
Huyer said that government-run stores would sell at artificially low prices. These prices, she argued, would drive private competition away or out of business.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ll look to cut costs in other ways, and that will be through terminating employees, relocating to lower tax, lower cost jurisdictions, or just going out of business altogether,\u201d Huyer said.<\/p>\n
Huyer pointed to examples in Florida<\/a> and Kansas<\/a> where government-run grocery stores briefly operated but were eventually shut down or returned to private ownership.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have to look to these real-world, practical failures when coming up with policy solutions, because big government socialism is not the answer,\u201d Huyer said.<\/p>\n She acknowledged government-run grocery stores exist across the United States today. However, she advocated for more attention to wait times, profit-to-cost ratios and food shortages in the store.<\/p>\n \u201cUsing taxpayer dollars, just pumping money into a store or program may artificially stimulate it in the short term, but that is obviously not a sustainable long-term solution,” Huyer said.<\/p>\n Mamdani also proposed creating universal child care in New York City. Rachel Grezsler, a research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, said regulations on child care at government-run centers will cost too much for taxpayers.<\/p>\n Grezsler said increased regulations on childcare providers has led to an overall decrease in childcare options across the country over the past several decades.<\/p>\n \u201cWe can only imagine all those regulations that are simply going to make childcare even more costly in New York City,\u201d Grezsler said. \u201cIt is not making childcare more affordable if you say it’s free, simply by increasing the costs and making somebody else pay for it.\u201d<\/p>\n Grezsler also said Mamdani\u2019s proposed $30 per hour minimum wage by 2030 would exacerbate the cost of childcare. Grezsler estimates that childcare costs for two children could go up to $75,000 per year.<\/p>\n \u201cIt might seem like it’s going to be free to me, but it’s not free if the cost is just more,\u201d Grezsler said. \u201cYou cannot tax the millionaires and the billionaires enough, even if they stay in the city.\u201d<\/p>\n