Transcript: Mayor Mamdani Appears Live On CNBC's Squawk Box With Andrew Ross Sorkin
Zohran Mamdani on NYC Mayor's Office transcripts.
Passages
Yes, well, first I want to say it's a real pleasure to be on. And today, you're right, we're going to be sharing the truth with New Yorkers that has sadly been hidden from them for far too long, which is that the prior mayoral administration has left us with a $12 billion fiscal deficit. And this is at a scale that's actually greater than what we saw here in New York City during the Great Recession, and it's something that is attributable to gross fiscal mismanagement, to a refusal to actually budget honestly and be direct with New Yorkers, and that's what we're going to actually do today.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the source Well, I think the first way is you actually be honest about it. And the reason that that's important is what we saw in the last year from the mayoral administration was there was a recognition about the scale of this crisis, but instead of actually being direct with New Yorkers, it was trying to shift those costs out of view. We had cash assistance, for example, where we were budgeting only for about 50 percent of its cost on the books, keeping about 50 percent of its cost off the books. The second thing is about actually making the case for how we fix structural imbalances in this city. We're talking about a $12 billion deficit that is a result of not just the fiscal mismanagement, but also the decades-long effort of then-Governor Cuomo to shift costs from the state to the city. So, we need to change our relationship to the state. We also need to change our relationship to the wealthiest residents and most profitable corporations here in New York City.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the source I think the scale of this crisis is one where we have to pursue all of these things. I have to show that this city government is not just serious about public goods but also public excellence and public efficiency. And so, we have to make sure every dollar that's being spent is actually being spent in a worthwhile way. I'll give you an example. The previous administration launched an AI chatbot that is basically unusable [and] cost the city close to half a million dollars. That's the kind of money that is going down the drain. At the same time, 12 billion dollars of a fiscal deficit requires the kind of increased revenue on the top 1 percent of New Yorkers who make a million dollars a year or more, increasing their taxes by 2 percent. It also means that we look at the relationship between the city and the state, where New York City is the economic engine of the state – of the country – and yet while we contribute 54.5 percent of the state's revenue, we only receive 40.5 percent in return. And if we had actually bridged that gap over the Cuomo years, we'd be talking about receiving an eight billion dollars additional every single year.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the source I think as a New Yorker, you always have to do all of the above. And so, we have to increase taxes on the wealthiest, we have to also change the relationship with the state, and we have to pursue these kinds of savings and efficiencies here in our city.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the source I think you get back to first the facts, because capital flight is always spoken about whenever we talk about the potential of increasing taxes on the wealthy. What we’ve seen is that since 2021, when New York State increased taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers, the number of millionaires actually increased in the state. And so, it has to be to get back to the facts. The second thing also has to be, we are increasing revenue also to be able to increase quality of service. We’re sitting here right now in one of the coldest stretches in New York City weather history. One of the reasons why the city could start to get back on its feet was because we had a [Department of] Sanitation that was staffed by thousands of people to the extent that we could have 2,500 workers on every 12-hour shift. That’s only possible when you’re actually investing in public service.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the source Well, I think I have to prove that this increased revenue leads to an increased quality of life. And frankly, we also have to get through the kind of fear-mongering that typically takes place in this. The other day, I was speaking to a New Yorker who self-identified themself as someone who would be taxed by our proposals. They said, “I’ve heard that you’re going to tax millionaires. Is that true?” I said, “Yeah, that’s what we want to do. We want to increase personal income taxes by two percent.” They said, “I’m going to leave,” like you’re saying. I said, “I don’t think you will.” They said, “Why?” I said, “Because it’s a two percent increase. We’re talking about $20,000 on an income of a million dollars.” They said, “That’s actually much less than I thought it would be. I wouldn’t actually be making a financial decision on the basis of that kind of an increase.” Come on hit me.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the source I really think the invisible line comes from whether working people can afford to live in the city. And what I mean by that is, for all of the talk about capital flight, the potential of it, we lose sight of the fact that there is an exodus of people from the city. It’s working people. We’re talking about so many who are leaving because of housing costs, childcare costs. And also, we tend to talk about this as if it’s a conversation about a collective versus capital. But even when I sit down with business leaders, I ask them, “What are some of your greatest retention issues?” They’ll tell me [it’s] childcare. They’ll tell me that when their business invests in childcare, in the business setting, they see their retention rates increase. And part of the reason they have to invest is because the city has refused to acknowledge its own responsibility in this.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the source I think that we’ve shown that we are advancing universal childcare. We’re doing it with existing state revenue, and that was on day eight of our administration. However, we’re also inheriting the largest fiscal crisis that we’ve seen since the Great Recession. And I think that here in the most expensive city in the United States of America, also the wealthiest city, we have one in four people living in poverty. And I think the last point I’d make, kind of more at the philosophical level as well, is that everyone benefits from a stronger city. And what I mean by that is that, though you may not think that the programs we’re speaking about might directly benefit you, the benefit it has to the strength of this society is one that is immeasurable, just in terms of peace of mind and kind of –
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the source And I think that to me is, the health and vitality of the city is not by protecting what it has, but continuing to grow. And for too long in our politics, there’s been this kind of reverse New York exceptionalism, where we say things that worked elsewhere could never work here. We’re New York, we’re always going to be great. We have to earn that greatness every day. And so, part of my point here is that I want us to be delivering the best public services this country has ever seen. I want us to have a public transit system that is so good that no matter how much money is in your pocket, you say, “Quickest, best, easiest way to get around, I’m going to get on the train, I’m going to ride the bus.” That is something that can be transformative. It’s only possible, however, if we reckon with these structural issues.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the source Well, look, I think the president and I had a productive meeting at the Oval Office. And after that meeting, he said, when New York does better, he’s happier. I think that for everything that we have firm and fundamental disagreements about, we are also two New Yorkers who care deeply about this city. And I would agree that this is a city that has become so expensive that so many are being pushed out of it. And I think even when we talk about the cost of childcare, it’s $25,000 a year, and that’s considered a good deal in New York City. You could be earning two, $300,000 a year. That cost could still push you out of the city. And so, I do think we need to take this affordability crisis seriously. I also think we have to pierce through the fiction and get to the fact of what’s actually happening.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the source So, the corporate tax that I’ve been speaking about is the highest echelon of profitability. We’re not talking about the bodega where you’re getting your egg and cheese and jalapeño on a roll. We’re talking about corporations that are making an immense amount of profit. And what this is about is redirecting to ensure that that profit is also something that helps the city remain strong, that helps the city also get back on a firm financial footing. Because right now what we’re seeing is there’s an immense amount of money being made in the city, but that prosperity is not reaching enough New Yorkers’ lives.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the source You know, I said to the president directly that these ICE raids are cruel and inhumane and that they do nothing to actually serve the interests of public safety. And that public safety is of paramount importance to us. It’s the cornerstone of an affordability agenda. But to use it as a justification to pull people out of their cars, out of their homes, out of their lives, it is completely contradictory to what New Yorkers are seeing and what Americans are seeing. And I think what we’ve seen is that there is a fear that has gripped hold of so many. And this is a fear that is without respect to anyone’s documentation. A friend of mine the other day told me that if ICE was to come here at the kind of presence that we’re seeing elsewhere, they wouldn’t feel comfortable with their mother, a U.S. citizen, leaving the house, because they wouldn’t know if she would be profiled. That’s how people are living right now.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the source
Every passage above is taken from this recording: NYC Mayor's Office transcripts, Transcript: Mayor Mamdani Appears Live On CNBC's Squawk Box With Andrew Ross Sorkin.