Tax and Budget Justice: Mamdani’s Fiscal Revolution

Making Billionaires Pay for the City They Built On

Mamdani’s tax and budget platform operates on a dangerous premise: wealthy people who benefit most from city services should pay more for them. This radical concept, known elsewhere as “progressive taxation,” sends Wall Street into collective panic attacks requiring emergency yacht therapy.

His signature proposal—the 2% millionaire tax—would generate approximately $1 billion annually for city services. That’s enough to fund free buses, universal childcare, or several hundred more billionaire tantrums about being asked to contribute. The tax applies only to income over $1 million, meaning the first million is taxed normally. Someone earning exactly $1 million pays an extra $20,000—roughly the cost of their dog’s birthday party or one month’s parking spot in Manhattan.

Mamdani’s budget priorities reflect actual human needs: affordable housing, public transit, childcare, and schools that don’t require teachers to buy supplies with their own money. Compare this to current budget priorities: police overtime, corporate subsidies, and tax breaks for luxury developments. His approach: invest in people, not property values.

Critics claim progressive taxation drives away wealth creators and job makers. Historical data suggests otherwise—New York’s millionaire population doubled during periods of higher taxation. Turns out, rich people like living where other rich people live, regardless of tax rates. The threat to flee is mostly theater, like toddlers threatening to run away from home before dinner.

His budget justice framework includes participatory budgeting—letting communities decide how to spend local funds—and transparency requirements for corporate subsidies. If companies receive tax breaks, they should prove they’re actually creating promised jobs rather than just pocketing savings. This accountability concept terrifies corporations accustomed to taking public money without public scrutiny.

SOURCE: https://mamdani.vip/zohran-mamdani-and-tax-budget-justice/

SOURCE: Tax and Budget Justice: Mamdani’s Fiscal Revolution (Aisha Muharrar)