Permanent Problem: Puzzle #155
"Subject matter expert"
New York City
Zohran Mamdani Goes Full Commie on Air Conditioning
Robby Soave and Christian Britschgi discuss NYC's air conditioning wars, birthright citizenship, 2010s comedy, and more!
Dave Portnoy Trashes Zohran Mamdani
Could Dave Portnoy challenge Zohran Mamdani for mayor of NYC?
L.A. Delays Its $30 Hotel 'Olympic Wage' Until After the Olympics
It's a temporary reprieve for a sector that has been struggling for years. But the fight is just getting started.
Mamdani Got His Rent Freeze Wish. Don't Expect New York City Housing To Become More Affordable.
The NYC Rent Guidelines Board voted to freeze rent for approximately 1 million apartments on Thursday night.
The Housing Bill Trump Won't Sign
Plus: Mamdani's rent freeze, Darializa's "no jail for murderers" stance, inflation ticks up, and more...
The DSA and the Democrats' Retreat Into Economic Fantasyland
The party's new crop of Mamdani-backed socialists are just the latest sign of a long slide into economic radicalism.
Only Fools Gloat
Plus: Usha Vance's baby bump, earthquakes in Venezuela, British sex shops, and more...
Mamdani's Socialists Conquer New York City
Robby Soave and Jason Russell break down the socialist sweep in NYC, the latest in House of the Dragon, and the World Cup.
Darializa Avila Chevalier Will Be This Congress' First Campus Radical
A democratic socialist who favors the eradication of Western civilization just won her primary.
Socialists Hijacked My City
Plus: The legality of ICE masks, elder care denial, McKinsey consultants dream of pie, and more...
The Mayor Who Loves Bodegas Is Building Taxpayer-Funded Competitors
Zohran Mamdani's administration has not studied how New York City's government-backed grocery stores will affect nearby mom-and-pop outlets, which operate on thin profit margins.
New York City Has a History of Public Bathroom Failures. Will This New Plan Flush Away More Tax Dollars?
Throne Labs won a $4 million contract to bring 17 new bathrooms to New York City.
My New Washington Post Op ed on NYC Mayor Mamdani's Unconstitutional Housing Policy
His plan to expropriate rental housing violates the Takings Clause, and would exacerbate the City's housing crisis rather than alleviate it.
Streamlining and Taxes
New York lawmakers exempt some housing from the state's environmental review law while piling taxes on second homes.
Instacart Is Suing New York City Over Its $22.13 Minimum Wage for Delivery Drivers
The economic fallout of the law has been significant. Is it even legal?
Elon Did DOGE. Now Mamdani Is Trying COGE.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s COGE sounds like DOGE, but New Yorkers should not expect the mayor to shrink the city’s bureaucracy.
A Flawed Minimum Wage Study Shows How Bad Stats Get Turned Into Policy Gospel
A 2024 paper claimed higher minimum wages don't kill jobs. It was statistically significant—and almost certainly misleading.
Mamdani 'Balanced' New York City's Budget—With a Bailout From Albany
The mayor eliminated a $12 billion deficit with an infusion of cash from the state government, as well as by putting off some of today's obligations for tomorrow.
A Dispatch From the AI Psychosis Summit
Digital artists, Claude devotees, and aspiring builders embraced AI obsession in NYC.
Self-Checkout Is Under Fire Across the Country. Is Theft Really the Reason?
The restrictions are often framed as a crime prevention measure. But the fine print points to a different motivation: adding union jobs.
Is The Devil Wears Prada 2 the Great Millennial Journalism Movie?
This 20-years-later sequel traces a generation's economic fortunes through the decline of magazine journalism.
Even Laws That Haven't Passed Can Have Unintended Consequences
Mere proposals can change the risk calculus for business and investors. Politicians, and the public, should be wary.
Taxing the Rich
Plus: New York City's persistent budget problems, the crony capitalist scramble for Venezuelan oil, senseless trafficking PSAs, and more...
A $33 Burger? As New York City Eyes $30 Minimum Wage, Restaurants Brace for Impact
The proposal would eliminate the tipped-wage credit and send labor costs skyrocketing in an industry notorious for its tight margins.
Can Zohran Mamdani Make NYC Affordable?
Zephyr Teachout and John Ketcham debate the mayor of the Big Apple.
Pittsburgh Thinks the NFL Draft Is Worth $19 Million of Taxpayer Money. Here's What Past Draft Data Say.
Plus: NFL draft rookies get screwed by the players union, and governments are charging a ton to get to the World Cup
The Bipartisan War on Cheap Food
Republicans and Democrats preach about food affordability. Yet their policies continue to make it worse.
Mamdani's Fix for Food Deserts: Opening a $30 Million City-Owned Grocery Store Near Other Grocery Stores
New York City plans to open five city-owned grocery stores by 2029.
Strait Talk
Plus: Mamdani vs. self-driving cars, blue state wealth and exit taxes, Hillary Clinton's awful affordability agenda, and more...
'They're Going To Go Elsewhere': Steve Forbes on Why Taxing the Rich Backfires
"For the first time since California came into the union," the publisher and businessman says, "they're having out-migration."
America's Deeply Unserious Federal Government Is Becoming a Real Problem
From long TSA lines to air traffic control issues to the chaotic war in Iran, it's all the result of a government that won't take its powers or responsibilities seriously.
Mamdani Might Raid a Severely Underfunded Retiree Fund To Balance New York City's Bursting Budget
While he admits New York is facing a “serious fiscal crisis,” Mamdani’s solutions won’t actually fix it.
NYC Spent Over $368 Million To Combat Homelessness This Past Fiscal Year. Now the State Can't Track the Money.
The Big Apple is spending more than ever on services for the unsheltered, but state auditors don’t know if it’s working.
Tax the Rich All You Want. It Won't Fix the Deficit.
The problem is not that the government collects too little. It's that the government spends too much.
NYC Transit Just Got Rid of MetroCards for Fares. The Successor Could Put Your Privacy at Risk.
Unlike the MetroCard, the OMNY system requires train and bus riders in New York City to give their name and phone number to the government.
CNN Retracts Terrible Post About Alleged Terrorists at New York City Mayor's Mansion
"In less than an hour, their lives would drastically change as the pair would be arrested for throwing homemade bombs."
Mamdani's 'Rental Ripoff' Hearings Won't Fix New York Housing
Demonizing landlords might make for good social media, but it does nothing to reduce the regulations that make New York housing so expensive.
The 'Fairness' Law That Could Raise Grocery Prices for New Yorkers
Legislators are trying to pass their own state version of an outdated antitrust law—one that is dead at the federal level for a reason.
Sunnyside Yards and the Errors of Pro-Growth Progressivism
Plus: New Jersey property owners survive an eminent domain attempt based on bogus blight allegations, a corporate homebuyer ban is slipped into Congress' housing bill, and the true cost of permitting in L.A.
Zohran Mamdani's $70 Million Grocery Gamble
Amid a $5.4 billion budget deficit, the mayor of New York City is pushing forward with a proposal that has historically yielded terrible results.
Mamdani To Increase NYC Property Taxes by 9.5 Percent To Balance Budget if Income Taxes Are Not Raised
So much for "the warmth of collectivism."
Austerity Socialism
What's a "tax the rich" mayor going to do when he can't actually tax the rich?
Florida Embraces New Urbanist Mega-Developments
Plus: Zohran Mamdani's rent rip-off hearings exclude public housing tenants, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is a "yes" on rent control, and the intersection of zoning and qualified immunity.
