Elizabeth Warren Backs Zohran Mamdani in the Best Way Possible

Please, won’t somebody think of the billionaires?

Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren defended mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani’s plan to tax the wealthiest New Yorkers in order to make the city more affordable for working people during a CNBC interview Monday.

Journalist David Faber repeated a common talking point about wealthy New Yorkers and businesses being “chased out” of the city if they were to be taxed at a higher rate, and Warren was having none of it.

“The issue is affordability. Do you know how many working families are chased out of New York City every day?” she asked, resolute. “What Zohran is saying is, ‘I want people to be able to afford to live in New York City, that’s what keeps it a vibrant city.’”

Faber interjected: “Nobody disagrees with that, Senator, but raising taxes in order to do it?”

Voice dripping with faux-earnestness, Warren responded, “Oh my goodness! Oh dear! Are you worried that billionaires are going to go hungry?”

Mamdani’s affordability-centric message proved to be a winning one, landing him the New York City Democratic mayoral nomination by 12 points in ranked-choice voting, a margin that shocked the media ecosystem and Democratic establishment. Disgraced former Governor Andrew Cuomo had been seen as a shoo-in for the nomination, with most polls predicting his win up until the primary. But Mamdani’s simple, progressive goals, grassroots strategy, and infectious energy won the day.

The young assemblymember’s proposed tax hike of two percent for the top one percent of New Yorkers has sparked hysteria among some in the business community, and much has been written about the potential mass exodus of millionaires and billionaires in search of lower taxes.

But this billionaire bogeyman isn’t backed by convincing evidence, “according to copious research on taxes and their impact on migration,” reported USA Today. A 2023 study by the nonpartisan Fiscal Policy Institute found “no evidence of significant tax-motivated migration” from New York state after previous tax increases.

Meanwhile, one in four New Yorkers can’t afford essentials such as housing and food, according to a report from Columbia University and an anti-poverty nonprofit.