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Why Zohran Mamdani's Socialism Sounds Good But Hurts Everyone · Right Now Hot Takes

• 0:08
  Welcome. Welcome to the show. Gotta love the
• 0:12
  eagle cawing. Love it. Welcome to the show, Right
• 0:16
  Now Hot Takes, where we are unfiltered, bold,
• 0:19
  and right now with our news and what we're talking
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  about. I'm the host, Jim Rand. A little about
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  me. I love this country. I love the American
• 0:29
  way. The idea that free people working hard in
• 0:33
  a free enterprise system can build real prosperity,
• 0:37
  opportunity, and dignity for themselves and their
• 0:40
  families. That's why we're talking straight today
• 0:43
  to you 20 -somethings or even the 30 or 40 -somethings
• 0:48
  out there that are trying to get ahead. And I
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  really believe that much of this podcast will
• 0:55
  really focus on the 20 -somethings, because from
• 0:57
  what I see on the news, those are the ones that
• 1:01
  are rejecting the American way and falling prey
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  to the empty promises of socialism and communism.
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  You hear voices like Zeron Mamdani pushing democratic
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  socialism, heavy rent controls, tax the rich
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  harder, more government programs for everything.
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  It sounds compassionate, but good intentions
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  don't pay the rent or create jobs. Today, we're
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  cutting through the noise, why these ideas are
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  wrong for everyone, rich, poor, and especially
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  those just starting out, and why free enterprise
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  remains the moral and practical path that lifts
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  people up. So, ladies and gentlemen, let's get
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  into it. Look, I get the frustration. Housing
• 1:53
  is expensive in big cities. Debt feels crushing.
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  It seems like the system is stacked. Mamdani
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  and his allies offer simple fixes. Cap rents,
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  soak the wealthy, let government handle more
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  to make your life easier. It feels like they're
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  on your side. Take a fresh example from just
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  days ago. Ziran Mamdani proudly announced he
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  balanced New York City's $12 billion inherited
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  deficit, except he didn't. He claimed victory
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  through taxing the rich and making government
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  more efficient, saying, we did not balance this
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  budget on the backs of working people and we
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  never will. Mamdani is hoping you won't hear
• 2:39
  the rest, the truth of the story. Independent
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  journalist Nick Shirley called it straight, and
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  I want to quote him. This is a lie. You balanced
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  the budget by borrowing billions from the New
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  York state government, which pushed back pension
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  payments. So you literally took money from the
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  backs of hardworking people across the state.
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  Here are the specifics. The city got roughly
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  $1 .5 billion from Albany in January and another
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  $4 billion in late May. part of an $8 billion
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  multi -year bailout package. That includes deferring
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  pension contributions, pushing costs onto future
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  taxpayers, and other accounting maneuvers. In
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  other words, it wasn't socialist magic or pure
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  efficiency. It was shifting the burden to taxpayers
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  elsewhere in New York State and delaying obligations.
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  This is classic big government socialism in action.
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  Claim credit for balancing the books while relying
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  on bailouts, debt tricks, and higher costs down
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  the road. It sounds compassionate in the moment,
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  but it erodes fiscal responsibility and leaves
• 3:53
  everyone worse off long -term. This stands in
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  stark contrast to the approach in Florida under
• 4:00
  Governor Ron DeSantis. Florida's state budget
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  for fiscal year 2026 to 2027 is about 117 to
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  $118 billion, serving over 23 million people,
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  while New York City alone, roughly 8 .5 million
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  people, is running a 125 plus billion dollar
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  budget. So let's recap. Florida, 23 million people,
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  $118 million. New York, only 8 .5 million people
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  with a larger budget. Florida has no state income
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  tax, has reduced spending for multiple years
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  in a row, maxed out its rainy day fund, paid
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  down debt, and delivered tax relief. The result?
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  Massive population growth as people vote with
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  their feet, moving from high -tax, high -regulation
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  states like New York to Florida. for opportunity,
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  lower costs, and better governance. DeSantis'
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  model proves the conservative principle. Limited
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  government, fiscal discipline, and respect for
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  taxpayers creates real prosperity. Guys, this
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  is what socialists miss. Respect for the taxpayer.
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  They just don't get it. People are fleeing the
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  results of socialist -style spending and bailouts
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  for the results of free enterprise and responsibility.
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  Again, we have to judge ideas by results, not
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  feelings. Socialism, even the democratic version,
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  has a track record, and it's not a good one.
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  Free enterprise isn't perfect, but it's proven.
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  It rewards work, innovation, and voluntary cooperation,
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  meaning people freely trade with each other,
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  your labor for a paycheck, your business for
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  customers, your ideas for investment. Everyone
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  participates because they believe they're better
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  off, not because the government forces them.
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  Government interference usually makes things
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  worse by replacing those free choices with mandates,
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  controls, red tape, and coercion. Take rent control,
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  a flagship idea. Protect tenants from greedy
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  landlords. Sounds moral, right? In practice,
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  it destroys housing supply. When you force rents
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  below what it costs to build and maintain, investors
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  stop building new units and landlords cut back
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  on repairs. Existing apartments get locked up
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  by those lucky enough to have them already. Young
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  people like you, moving to a city for that first
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  real job face brutal shortages and skyrocketing
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  black market prices. We've seen it play out in
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  New York, San Francisco, and other controlled
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  markets. The poor and working class suffer most
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  because new supply dries up and quality drops.
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  The connected and wealthy find loopholes. Free
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  markets aren't heartless. They respond to demand
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  by creating more housing when people can profit.
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  Remove the profit motive through force and you
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  get less of everything. Okay, let's take, take
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  for example if you were a landlord. You bought
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  the property, you fixed it up, and now you're
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  renting it out and making a living, pocketing
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  a few hundred bucks a month off the tenants.
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  Now make it to where you can't make a profit.
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  Zoran says the rent is frozen. so you can't set
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  it where you can make a profit. What are you
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  going to do? Hypothetically, let's say crime
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  gets bad in the neighborhood. Welp, can't install
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  security cameras because the rent is frozen.
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  There's no money to do that because you're not
• 7:48
  making any profit. Want to add amenities to the
• 7:52
  building? Nope, not gonna happen. No money for
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  that. Pretty soon, development and building stops
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  altogether. because no one wants to build knowing
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  they won't make any money. If they're not building,
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  there's less jobs for brick masons, less jobs
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  for people who hang sheetrock and carpenters,
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  and the construction industry comes to a halt.
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  See what I mean, everyone? There are real consequences
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  for the interference of government into the housing
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  sector and the private sector. Then there's the
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  tax the rich till they bleed approach to fund
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  free college, healthcare, you name it. It feels
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  like justice. But who creates the jobs, startups,
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  and wage growth you need? High taxes and heavy
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  regulation drive businesses, talent, and capital
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  to friendlier places. Companies leave, hiring
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  slows, innovation stalls. The tax base shrinks,
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  so government delivers less, not more. History
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  shows this repeatedly, from places that went
• 8:58
  full socialist to soft versions that still stagnate.
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  Here's why free enterprise beats government interference
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  every time. Capitalism rewards work. If you show
• 9:11
  up, learn a skill, and deliver value, you can
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  advance. It drives innovation because people
• 9:18
  chase better ideas, products, and services that
• 9:21
  solve real problems for customers. And it runs
• 9:24
  on voluntary cooperation. You freely trade with
• 9:29
  others, your labor for wages, your business for
• 9:32
  profits, without a bureaucrat forcing the deal.
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  That respects human dignity and choice. Government
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  interference flips the script. It replaces voluntary
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  agreements with coercion, taxes, mandates, controls.
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  It distorts incentives so people work less, invest
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  less, or leave. Conservatives understand this
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  because we trust individuals and families making
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  decisions in their own lives far more than distant
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  officials picking winners and losers. When government
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  meddles deeply in the private sector, we get
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  inefficiency, higher costs and fewer opportunities.
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  Look at the difference between heavily regulated
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  cities that stagnate and freer markets that boom.
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  The evidence is clear. At the heart of this is
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  a choice about human dignity. Free enterprise
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  treats you as a capable image bearer with God
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  given talents to use responsibly. It encourages
• 10:36
  family, work, charity, and community solutions
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  over top -down mandates. Socialism, no matter
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  the compassionate rhetoric, treats people as
• 10:47
  dependents of the state. It punishes success,
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  spreads scarcity, and erodes freedom. Rich and
• 10:54
  poor alike lose when the engine of wealth creation
• 10:57
  breaks down. Intentions don't change outcomes.
• 11:02
  Venezuela, historical examples, and even struggling
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  US cities prove it. America's way. Limited government,
• 11:11
  free markets, rule of law, has done more to lift
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  people out of poverty than any redistribution
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  scheme. That's not hype, it's history. 20 -somethings.
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  Don't fall for the easy promises. Study the results.
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  Bet on yourself and the American system that
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  rewards grit and creativity. Work hard, build
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  skills, support policies that expand freedom
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  and enterprise. That's how you win and how our
• 11:42
  country stays strong. I love this nation too
• 11:45
  much to sugarcoat it. What do you think? If you
• 11:48
  enjoyed this content, please do us a great favor.
• 11:51
  Rate and review on iTunes or Spotify and share
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  this episode with a friend. Subscribe for more
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  unfiltered truth. I'll see you next time on Right
• 12:01
  Now Hot Takes.