Episode 7: Ignoring History - Zohran Mamdani and NYC

In Episode 7 of "The Reagan Faulkner Show," titled "Ignoring History – Zohran Mamdani and NYC," host Reagan Faulkner delves into the recent election of New York City’s first self-identified Socialist mayor, Zohran Mamdani. Faulkner opens by outlining this episode as the first of a two-part series focused on Mamdani’s policies, their likely effects, and what his election might signal for the United States as a whole. The host details Mamdani’s most ambitious proposals: city-owned grocery stores, a multi-year citywide rent freeze, free public transportation, universal childcare, and a controversial plan to seize control of properties from landlords deemed unsuitable by city authorities. Faulkner frames these policies as ideologically extreme and potentially unconstitutional, asserting that they pose major risks for economic stability and property rights.

The episode scrutinizes how Mamdani intends to fund these initiatives, highlighting sharp proposed increases to corporate tax rates—making New York the most expensive state for businesses—as well as wealth-targeted taxes on high-income individuals and affluent neighborhoods. Faulkner contrasts New York’s proposed 11.5% corporate tax rate with North Carolina’s much lower 2.25%, suggesting that such policies would prompt an exodus of high earners and businesses, amplifying economic woes. She points out that while these tax hikes require state legislature approval, the presence of Democratic Socialists and supportive state leadership heightens the risk of their passage. Faulkner repeatedly emphasizes the broader national implications if these policies become reality in a major U.S. city, warning of increased costs, shrinking innovation, and risk to the middle and upper classes.

Throughout, Faulkner critiques the practicality and long-term effects of Mamdani’s agenda. She argues that city-run grocery stores and rent freezes risk undermining local small businesses, discouraging landlords from maintaining or offering rental units, and creating artificial scarcity. Universal childcare is painted as undermining the traditional family, while the property seizure plan is deemed both radical and dangerous for investment. Faulkner concludes with a call to action aimed at young conservatives, urging engagement, advocacy, and candidacy in order to counter what she presents as an existential threat posed by Mamdani’s vision for New York—a model, she cautions, that could become a template for left-leaning governance elsewhere if not actively opposed.