Only 1.5 percent of New Yorkers shoulder a staggering one-third of the state’s entire budget—and socialist mayoral hopeful Zohran Mamdani wants to hammer them with yet another tax hike. His “tax the rich” crusade would trigger a mass exodus of job creators, handcuff the economy and saddle the middle class with crushing new burdens.
Governor Kathy Hochul nailed the truth: Mamdani’s scheme is a recipe for disaster. She refused calls to raid middle-income wallets and vowed flatly that there will be no new taxes on working families. Hochul knows that once the high-earners who fund our schools, hospitals and infrastructure pack up and flee, no amount of clumsy middle-class levies can fill the void.
The math is unforgiving. If 1.5 percent of earners vanish, the Empire State falls off a fiscal cliff. Business investment collapses. Jobs evaporate. Home values plunge. Hochul refuses to gamble New York’s future on a naive socialist fantasy that ignores the flight risks and economic carnage.
When Mamdani’s rally crowd broke into “tax the rich” chants, Hochul didn’t flinch. One loud rally won’t rewrite reality. She cut through the noise: “I cannot make up for that with middle-class tax increases.” It’s a statement of plain common sense—one too often drowned out by ideological posturing.
Worse still, Mamdani’s grandstanding masks the real price tag: fewer teachers, slashed social services and steeper borrowing that all taxpayers must shoulder. The so-called “generous budget” he lauds won’t survive the wealth flight it invites. Every dollar he promises for progressive programs comes from the pockets of the very people he’s driving away.
Hochul’s endorsement of Mamdani was a short-lived gamble. Once she recognized his campaign’s hard-left drift, she doubled down on fiscal responsibility. She’s signaling Albany: no gimmicks, no political theater—only balanced budgets and a refusal to mortgage our children’s future.
Conservatives must seize this moment. We need to rally every commonsense voter who values economic freedom over empty slogans. We know that strong growth, not punitive taxes, rebuilds prosperity and keeps families here. New York cannot afford Mamdani’s socialist blueprint.
Albany’s next moves will define whether we stabilize our finances or watch the middle class pay the price for yet another round of reckless tax hikes. Governor Hochul has drawn a clear line in the sand. It’s time for lawmakers—Republican and Democrat alike—to stand with her and defend the taxpayers who keep New York alive.
