NYC Cheers Socialism, California Billionaires Run From It

Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani was sworn in as mayor of New York City and members of the Big Apple’s chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America were ready to party, The New York Times reported. “The event served as a fund-raiser for the N.Y.C.-D.S.A., with 500 tickets sold, most at the socialist-friendly price of $25.” (Why not Free?)

“What are we going to do? Say it with me: tax the rich, tax the rich, tax the rich!” said Eon Huntley, a socialist candidate for a State Assembly seat from Brooklyn, leading the crowd in a chant, adding, “That never gets old.” (What’s the definition of rich?)

 The NYT reported, “Mamdani buttons and beanies were prized attire, and other garb included cartoon images of characters urinating on the word ‘Capitalism’...”

Previous N.Y.C.-D.S.A. events included socialist speed dating, “‘Don’t rely on dating apps created by capitalist corporations to help you find love,’ one ad read, complete with a depiction of a lovelorn Karl Marx with a rose in his mouth.”

Jabari Brisport, a state senator from Brooklyn, shouted, “The socialists are ascending!”

Gustavo Gordillo, a co-chair of D.S.A.’s New York City chapter, riled up the crowd with, “All right! Let’s celebrate a year of class struggle.”

Meanwhile in California, the socialists are doing more than shouting slogans. “Asking those who have benefited most from the economy to contribute more—particularly to stabilize healthcare systems under direct threat—is not radical. It is reasonable,” Suzanne Jimenez, the ballot measure sponsor and the chief of staff of the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West told the Wall Street Journal.

The ballot measure she speaks of calls for a 5% tax on the wealth of billionaire Californians and requires 875,000 signatures to make the ballot.  

Golden State billionaires aren’t sticking around to see if the ballot measure is voted on and passed. Bay Area investor Chamath Palihapitiya posted on X that he knew of people “with a collective net worth” of $500 billion who “scrambled and left California for good” before the end of 2025, reports the WSJ. 

“They took no risk because of the proposed asset seizure tax—introduced as a ‘Billionaire Tax,’ ” he wrote. “Without these people, the California budget deficit will only get bigger.”

Bringing to mind Margaret Thatcher’s famous quote, “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other peoples' money.”

Which begs the question, who will pay for Mamdani’s socialist agenda?