#14

Mamdani is unable to do by himself much of what he wants to do. Tax hikes, for instance, require the consent of the State House and the governor.

As an Econ geek, I'm fairly excited to see how this thing plays out. Socialism is a system where the workers own the means of production. That's OK, but if you own the means of production, you also own the risk that comes with ownership of capital. Democratic Socialism, as best as I can tell, leaves the risk of ownership with capital, but transfers the rewards to labor. This means that capital must willingly accept that risk, knowing that the rewards will be lower. The big question is whether or not capital will be willing to do that. That's the question I want to see answered. Not that New York is representative of the entire US, but the impact of any Policy Mamdani enacts might be representative of potential outcomes elsewhere.

I was always a small-government, low tax libertarian kind of guy, until I moved to Germany. Higher taxes and social programs are OK and can be very beneficial, provided that the government is a good steward of taxpayer dollars. It seems to me that people in the US, and progressives in particular, are very much against any sort of tax reform that would more closely mirror European systems.

"So why do you seem to support the party that spends like drunken sailors on golden ballrooms and private jets instead of the one that constantly lowers deficits and wants the kind of programs that Germany has?"

I don't know what party you seem to think I support. Neither party is even remotely fiscally responsible, although it seems that the Dems have chosen to adopt that mantle. Trump's populist policies are more like Dennis Kucinich or Huey Long than they are a fiscal conservative. And the last fiscally conservative prez this country had was Bill Clinton. That said, the Dems have cast a wide net, that has caught up populists on it's own side. Very unfortunate.

If you want to know what sort of politician I would support, Google Jake Auchincloss. He's a Dem, but depending on what flavor of Dem you are, you'll either love him or hate him.

"It always seems to me that you defend Trump/MAGA on a regular basis and decry Dems and Liberals personally."

I don't know where you stand on the political spectrum, but I think you may be selectively viewing my comments. The only thing I like about Trump is his approach to immigration policy and the deportation of illegal immigrants. Even then, I'm only about half in favor, as this country desperately needs immigrants. From the dudes who mow our lawns to the dudes who will plan the next mission to mars. But it needs to be both legal and organized. There were some incredibly positive aspects of DOGE, including encouraging government agencies to relocate from high-cost areas, such as Washington D.C., to lower cost areas where the taxpayers wouldn't be paying so much.

But other than that, no. I don't like Trump. I don't even really like Republicans, because they refuse to grow a spine and stand up to him. Like I said, if you want a historical analog to Trump, it's probably going to be a Democrat. Huey Long. Dennis Kucinich. Someone like that. And because I don't like Trump doesn't mean I like progressives. Most of them would use Trumpian tactics to achieve a different ideological end state.

"But his policies and actions seem to be catering towards his billionaire amigos."

I don't think so. Unless you think that the collapse of the dollar and trade wars are good for billionaires. Those things almost exclusively affect people of means.