Communists going to commie.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced plans for the first of five planned city-owned grocery stores in East Harlem, “in La Marqueta – a marketplace under the train tracks running over Park Avenue.”
It’s all about fairness:
La Marqueta is already owned by the city, and the store is expected to operate without rent.The store will also be built on part of La Marqueta that is sitting empty, Mamdani explained.Hizzoner said he’d build “stores where prices are fair, where workers are treated with dignity, and where New Yorkers can actually afford to shop at our stores.”“Eggs will be cheaper, bread will be cheaper, grocery shopping will no longer be an unsolvable equation,” he added.
“Now, some will insist that city-owned businesses do not work, the government cannot keep up with corporations,” Mamdani added. “My answer to them is simple. I look forward to the competition.”
Did you catch that last word? As a libertarian, I laughed. Competition!
And, yes, Mamdani wants five stores to open by the end of his term in 2029.
The East Harlem store will cost $30 million to open.
The five-store plan has a $70 million budget, yet one store costs $30 million.
That leaves New York City with $40 million for the other four planned stores. How will the city use only $10 million for them?
How do I math?! Sheesh.
I imagine the budget for each store includes salaries for the workers. Mamdani said the stores would treat workers with dignity. How much do they expect to receive?
New York City’s minimum wage is $17.00 per hour.
Then again, if everything is free, I doubt you need many people manning the store.
What about the quality of food? If the store costs $30 million to open, assuming it includes salaries for the workers, how much is left over for food and other items? I highly doubt the store would include high-quality products or even an abundance of them.
Also, do you think only poor people will shop at these free grocery stores? I highly doubt it.
“These stores are going to get jam packed, they’re only four or five in the entire city of 8 million people,” said Fernando Mateo with United Bodegas of America, according to ABC 7 NY. “What do you expect is going to happen? You’re going to have people rushing to these stores early in the morning to late at night, waiting on long lines. You know, it’s going to be more turmoil than anything else. It’s a great punch line for him and for the socialist movement. But New York is not a socialist city.”
Oh, honey. New York City is a socialist city.
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