Normally I reserve “Your Views” for Thursdays; it seems like a nice way to wrap up the week.
Making an exception today, though, because I thought this conversation was valuable and worth spotlighting.
The subject is one that has generated a lot of email here on MNB – New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s controversial plan to open five taxpayer-funded supermarkets, one in each of the city’s boroughs. It has been the subject of a lot of derision from folks who actually operate stores (and know how hard it is), and even litigation from a business group saying that the $70 million project will create unfair competition for nearby stores.
MNB reader Kevin Davis weighed in with this email (and I should note here that I’ve known Kevin a long time, and think he is not only one of the smartest people I’ve met in the industry, but also one of the nicest):
Sounds like a great plan. Let’s raise property taxes of homeowners in the city who buy groceries with “money” (while driving the wealthy out of town) and then spend that newly found taxpayer money to subsidize city owned grocery stores with free rent and no property tax, for the people who already use government money via SNAP to buy their groceries. Then we’ll drive out and close down the mom & pop corner grocers who pay their property tax and rent (in spite of having to compete with a myriad of street vendors who do not pay either rent or property tax)so they will go out of business and be also go on SNAP themselves and shop at the City subsidized store as well. Then let’s justify it all with a wave of the hand, when asked if this is unfair competition, by saying… “Sure, but life isn’t fair..”
Really? The same little independent markets you argue for all the time against the big guys, the same little independent markets you write about as the backbone of American entrepreneurism, work ethic, ethnic tradition, pride and authentic local neighborhood creativity and marketing ingenuity.
Some may be “underestimating Mamdani’s political chops,” as you point out, but I would not bet on the long-term success of Marxism. History has proven time and again, that it is doomed by economic realities and human nature.
If i were you, I’d put away your copy of “Das Kapital” and break out Adam Smith’s “The Wealth of Nations”; I think you could use a refresher course.
I responded to Kevin’s email:
I appreciate the constructive criticism, but if I may:
1. I’ve consistently said that this is not the way for the city to go – that Mamdani ought to be looking for ways to make it easier/cheaper for existing food retailers to do business in the city. I have to wonder if Mamdani will be able to find a professional operator who thinks he/she can deliver on all the mayor’s promises. I am dubious.
2. Maybe I was overly glib with my “life isn’t fair” crack. (I was suggesting that aggrieved retailers faced with competition from city-owned and subsidized stores would have to find new ways to differentiate themselves. It isn’t fair, I said, but “life isn’t fair.”) But if these stores become a reality, existing stores are going to have to find a way to differentiate themselves – fair or not.
3. I’ve written on MNB numerous times about other cities that have been unable to make this model work. There’s no reason to think NYC will be an exception.
4. I do not agree with Mamdani on many issues, and wouldn’t have voted for him if I lived in NYC. (Though his opponents in the general election were Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa, which makes me glad I live in Connecticut and didn’t have to choose. Oh, for the days of Michael Bloomberg.) But recognizing that Mamdani has political skills is not the same as agreeing with him or supporting him. All I’m doing is suggesting that people should not underestimate him.
5. Haven’t read “Das Kapital” or “Wealth of Nations.” That said, I am a capitalist. But it is important, I think, for capitalists to recognize that the broad arguments being made by democratic socialists – or just plain socialists – are resonating with some citizens in specific locations. (More so in NYC than Iowa.) I think we’re better off beating back socialist ideas by developing and then implementing competing ideas that make sense and are effective in dealing with the issues that are at the fore. Just saying, “They’re socialists, so they’re bad,” may not be enough for this moment.
Does any of that make sense?
Which prompted Kevin to write:
It does make sense, but your tenor in this article really was dismissive of the struggles of the independent small mom and pops and smacked of a “I hope he succeeds by showing how to sell groceries at cost” undertone.
There are no secrets in the grocery business. Our P&L’s and profit margins are there for everyone to see. You can’t raise wages just because we want “everyone to make a living wage” if the productivity of their labor is economically less valuable than the pay they receive. I’m sure like Cindy and I, you had to live with roommates when you were first employed or in school, have both spouses work to afford your first home, and out food in the table or take public transportation until you moved up the ladder and were able to learn enough to earn enough to feel like you succeeded in life. The idea that everyone, even those without education or skills, making hotel beds in LA or flipping burgers should make $20-$30 an hour, to earn a living wage is idealistic. The value of their contribution is not, by itself worthy of free education through college, free health care, or now groceries at cost. It may take two or more jobs to make ends meet and they still may need some SNAP or medical services support from the state.
A welfare state won’t drive us forward, it will deter fair competition to improve society so we can afford to support those most in need. Suffocating those who are already working through government subsidy of unfair competition will not achieve a long term solution.
Love you brother, but sometimes you piss me off.
My response to that was short and sweet:
I love you, too. 
P.S. If my tenor was dismissive, that was not my intention.
Let me be clear about this, again. I think the Mamdani administration – and the people of New York – would be better served if the city could find a way to foster a more agreeable competitive environment for food retailers big and small. (But especially small.) Opening city-owned food stores treats the symptom, not the problem.
And I believe that this move will end of being an unforced error for Mamdani. It remains to be seen whether it will be seen as a big error with significant repercussions for the city’s consumers/residents, business community, and Mamdani’s political career.
I don’t want to get too deep into politics here, but I probably should point that a lot of the declared democratic socialist agenda scares the hell out of me (and city-owned grocery stores aren’t even close to being the biggest problem, to be honest) — I wouldn’t vote for any of these people. Then again, there’s a lot about American politics circa 2026 that I find to be alarming, and a lot more people out there that I wouldn’t vote for than those that I would.
I do love this passage from Michael Connelly’s “Two Kinds Of Truth:”
“He knew there were two kinds of truth in this world: The truth that was the unalterable bedrock of one’s life and mission. And the other, malleable truth of politicians, charlatans, corrupt lawyers, and their clients, bent and molded to serve whatever purpose was at hand.”
The post Your Views: “Love You Brother, But Sometimes You Piss Me Off” appeared first on MNB.
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