FLASH
Shkruar nga Alberto Bellotto
Zohran Mamdani, the winner of the Democratic primary for mayor, is dividing the city's elite: some fear the wealth tax, while others, among the wealthy, are willing to finance it. This is why America's financial heartland is in turmoil...
There is a red alert in New York. Zohran Mamdani's victory in the Democratic primary could open the doors to socialism in the Big Apple. The 33-year-old rising star of the new American left has dropped a bombshell on the financial heart of the United States. As Democrats and moderate Republicans, led by Donald Trump, mobilize to stop the socialists, the financial world is joining the fray in a strange war between the rich. Yes, because not all billionaires are preparing barricades, but quite the opposite.
The socialist who shakes up Wall Street
In September 2024, Mamdani met Kathy Wylde at a Lower Manhattan coffee shop that once housed Goldman Sachs. Wylde is one of the most influential figures in the city’s business community, a go-to person for all mayoral candidates to kick off their mayoral run. Wylde said Mamdani has repeatedly said that he is not some anti-capitalist lunatic who wants to nationalize everything.
But the socialist is very clear when it comes to money. In an interview in late June on the subject, he was very clear when he said: "I don't think billionaires should exist. Right now, what we need most is equality in our city, state and country."
A war against the rich, symbolized by one of his proposals, namely an increase in taxes for those earning more than a million dollars a year.
But the hunt for the rich hasn't deterred a segment of New York's billionaires, who say they're willing to help him and vote for him. As the Wall Street Journal reported, just under a third of the city's wealthiest voted for him, and some say they're willing to give up some of their income for a fairer city. These billionaires argue that in recent years, significant inequality has grown between the city's different social classes, and that this has reduced the pool of talent that New York is able to attract.
The Mamdani gang is moving haphazardly because, beyond their moral agendas, each has different goals. Some believe his lack of experience would make him a more maneuverable mayor than Eric Adams, the current mayor, or Andrew Cuomo, the former governor of the state who lost in the primary. Some favor proposals on transportation, public spending and child care and are willing to overlook the tax hike. Others value his Muslim and Asian identity. Among the supporters, ready with wallets in hand, are also Cuomo haters who don’t want to see him returned to office.
The pro-Mamdani coalition is also supported by the city's small business owners. Among its proposals, the Journal noted with disdain, are some that might appeal to Maga people as well, such as cuts to the bureaucracy that affects small businesses and liberalization of street vendor licenses.
The reality, of course, is more complex. At least half of the 200,000 businesses are owned by immigrants, many of them Asian. Many of them, in recent years, have begun to leave the city because of the high cost of living and see the socialist government as their only hope of making it more business-friendly.
Finally, there is one last point, which is not insignificant. The issue of housing. Mamdani's most popular proposal is a rent freeze. Therefore, the issue of housing is central. The 33-year-old himself knows very well that he cannot replace the housing market with public housing. Wylde herself explained how this point came up in her conversation with Mamdani: "He knows that the crisis can be solved by an increase in private supply." And that means real estate developers are needed.
Who really finances it?
Who's backing him? According to available records, the backers include a trader from Jane Street Capital, a Deutsche Bank manager and several Goldman Sachs employees. Many of them are young, ambitious finance executives in their 20s and 30s who have only recently arrived in the Big Apple and are eager to make an impact in the circles that matter.
And then, of course, there's the Democratic Party's financier, George Soros, who in this case is not directly funding the candidate, but groups that support his campaign, such as the Working Families Party, a small left-wing party that has received millions of dollars over the years from the Hungarian-born billionaire.
Mamdani also receives support from billionaires, financiers and other managers, who, however, are doing their best to remain anonymous. Some, like a bank executive, have said they would be willing to vote for him, but cannot say so publicly for fear of arrest and deportation from the US.
Mamdani, nga ana e tij, po punon në procesin e tij të normalizimit. Më 15 korrik, ai u takua me mbi 100 përfaqësues të komunitetit financiar të Nju Jorkut në Qendrën Rockefeller në një përpjekje për të qetësuar komunitetin e biznesit. Në veçanti, socialisti mohoi sloganin "globalizoni intifadën" kundër Izraelit, duke pretenduar se donte të dekurajonte një imazh që justifikon dhunën kundër Izraelit. Zëra nga takimi folën për një kandidat të hapur për shumë çështje, disa thanë për një politikan me të cilin ia vlen të punohet, por shumë mbetën skeptikë ndaj shumë prej propozimeve të tij.
Ky qark i shkurtër i çuditshëm midis socialistëve antimiliarderë dhe njujorkezëve të pasur nuk duhet të jetë i habitshëm. Nuk është rastësi që qyteti dhe kontradiktat e tij frymëzuan Tom Wolfe të shpikte termin radikal chic në vitin 1970. Një term i suksesshëm, i shpikur gjatë një pritjeje VIP në shtëpinë e kompozitorit Leonard Bernstein, ku individë të pasur mblodhën fonde për grupin marksist Black Panthers.
Reagimi i të fuqishmëve dhe kundërsulmi
Megjithatë, në rrugët e Nju Jorkut, ka nga ata që refuzojnë t'i nënshtrohen erës radikale elegante. Jamie Dimon, Drejtor Ekzekutiv i JPMorgan Chase, ka thënë hapur se 33-vjeçari është më shumë marksist sesa socialist, i mbushur me një ideologji që nuk ka të bëjë fare me botën reale. Për javë të tëra, disa miliarderë kanë punuar për të krijuar një rrjet grupesh për të bllokuar avancimin e Mamdanit. Një operacion që mund t'i bëjë këto zgjedhje më të shtrenjtat ndonjëherë.
Ky është rasti i një grupi të ri politik të krijuar në fillim të korrikut të quajtur New Yorkers for a Better Future Mayor 25 (Njujorkezët për një të Ardhme më të Mirë Kryebashkiaku 25). Kjo organizatë e financuar me 20 milionë dollarë synon të ketë një ndikim të rëndësishëm në fushatën zgjedhore. Krahas këtij grupi, individë të tjerë të pasur tashmë po përgatiten të nënshkruajnë çeqe. Bill Ackman, një menaxher miliarder i fondeve spekulative, është një shembull, ashtu si edhe Rudy Giuliani. Ish-kryetari i bashkisë dhe këshilltari i Donald Trump planifikon të mbledhë 10 milionë dollarë me Bo Dietl.
Në këtë luftë midis miliarderëve, kampi anti-Mamdani përballet me një problem: rrezikun e shpërdorimit. Strategët republikanë kanë theksuar se fitorja paraprake e socialistëve ka sjellë një periudhë konfuzioni të madh. Atyre u mungon një mesazh efektiv për të kundërshtuar propozimet e Mamdanit, por mbi të gjitha, u mungon një kandidat i vetëm drejt të cilit të drejtojnë paratë dhe energjinë e tyre.
The field opposing Mamdani is quite crowded. On the right is Republican Curtis Sliwa, defeated in 2021, a GOP candidate who dislikes Trump and will not win his support. In the middle are two independents who have split from the Democratic Party: Andrew Cuomo and Eric Adams. The former, defeated in the primary, announced in a video on July 15 that he will run as an independent. The latter, after becoming close to Trump, split from the Democratic Party after a scandal-ridden term as mayor. Neither seems ready to give way to the other.
The two-candidate race is divisive among funders. Cuomo enjoys the support of a relative majority of the city’s billionaires, but Adams has the backing of many local real estate developers. A few weeks ago, some investors, alarmed by Mamdani’s rent freeze proposal, organized fundraising events specifically for Adams, raising millions from Manhattan to the Hamptons.
But time is running out, and a clash between Adams and Cuomo could serve Mamdani well. According to one of the latest polls conducted by the left-leaning Progress Data Institute, Mamdani is leading with 40% of the vote, followed by Cuomo with 24%, Adams with 15% and Sliwa with 14%. /Adapted from Il Giornale Pamphlet/
Lini një Përgjigje