Basic economics is getting attention as a young person, Zohran Mamdani, is running for NY mayor with slogans designed to pull at the heart strings rather than deliver economically sensible policies.
This is not new.
Much like Rob Henderson articulates with his “Luxury Beliefs”, wealthy people in favor of imposing policies, like rent control or government run grocery stores, to “help poor people” are doing the exact opposite.
Rent control doesn’t lower rents. More supply of rental units lowers the rent.
Government cannot run a grocery store better than a private company.
These are not controversial statements.
But yet, apparently needs to be clarified.
“Build, baby build” should be the policy of the party looking to help those struggling with rents.
It is a supply & demand problem. Building more supply is the answer.
Mamdani’s success is also a pre-cursor to how future politicians will gain support. His grass roots appeal was extremely effective & driven completely on social media, specifically TikTok. TV and traditional media had virtually zero impact.
The mediums that candidates use to appeal to the electorate will change. The next big national US election in 2028 will be the first one dominated, nearly completely, by social media and podcasts. Networks like MSNBC and Fox will still be important as “papers of record” but will have far less influence than in past election cycles.
Econ 101. Supply & Demand.
The answer is to the below complaint is to build more units. This is primarily accomplished by making it easier to build, i.e. reduce regulations.
