11/4/25: Trump Threatens NYC Voters Over Zohran, Saagar Rips Boomers Avoiding Taxes

22:17It's like free dollars for 92 cents. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, you don't see, is there anything in the data there that would indicate anything weird happening? Yeah, I'll give you one thing. I mean, I'm stretching here a little bit. There was a massive polling miss in the primary. Right. Mayor races are a little weirder to poll. It's a three-way race. Yeah. So I feel like there's more room for things to go awry. That being said, there's considerably more polls. It's not a primary anymore. And, like, I'm just not seeing the signals. Cuomo clearly is not the same type of campaigner he was when he was running for governor.

22:51And Zoran is, I mean, the 130 % is just incredible that he's able to do that before you get into Also, in an era of negative polarization, if Donald Trump and Stephen Miller endorse you, how could that possibly be to your benefit? And Elon Musk, too, by the way. It's like, you know, just from a pure politics point of view, I mean, look, I guess what But Trump did OK in New York, in the state, not really in the city. But he did OK, right, in New Jersey as well. I think he lost it by five points or so. There is the whole Staten Island, Long Island, conservative, you know, kind of Trump Republican, which is certainly like an understudied demographic.

23:30But, you know, broadly in terms of this election and considering who the electorate is, it doesn't seem like it would be all that helpful to try and drive your turnout. Yeah, I think it's clear that Cuomo didn't want this because Trump didn't make this announcement until the last night, even though he's been passionately following this race and talking about all the time. So this suggests to me that he just couldn't help himself. It was just the night before and he just felt he had to get way in. Had to do something. Yeah, I don't think it's going to be helpful. Lastly, we can put a nine up on the screen here.

23:58This is on Bolts Magazine Breakdown, which, by the way, great, like great coverage. They go in depth on like if you are an election nerd, Maltz Magazine is where it's at because Daniel Nishanian goes into literally everything that's going to be on the ballot from the candidates to, you know, undercovered races to ballot initiatives and all of that. And, you know, a few other things to highlight here. You've got some Pennsylvania Supreme Court justices that are up. I believe there's in Georgia utility commissioners are on the ballot. You've got mayoral races in Albuquerque, Detroit, Jersey City.

24:32Minneapolis is one that's kind of interesting. And Seattle, of course, you also have that California ballot proposition that to determine whether or not they're going to be able to redraw their maps. I mean, that one looks like a short thing as well. Any other key races that you're taking a look at that you think would be interesting for people for people tonight today to follow? I hate to disappoint you for such a vanilla answer, but you covered all the ones I'm following. Yeah, well, there you go. OK, but so what just lay out the consequence? We talked about gerrymandering. Why does Supreme Court case matter?

25:00The Pennsylvania Supreme Court one. I think it matters in part because that's how Democrats are able to ensure that they have, from their perspective, fair maps potentially in the future. It's also a huge bellwether signal about how they might do in the next election. And also, this has become a recent advantage for Democrats post Roe v. Wade, and especially all these Midwestern states that, while they're really, really competitive, are very, very pro-choice, that Democrats have been dominating a lot of these court cases. Well, it's not even just on abortion, but as I understand it, it's also election law, because the high IQ version of the Stop the Steal movement, if there even is one, was focused on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and its decision to allow mail-in balloting extension.

25:46And so that seems to be kind of the flashpoint, I think. for election law as it would be decided in some potential 2028 race. Yeah, I think you're right. I also think that for Republicans in Pennsylvania, they probably have forgotten about that. So it's not going to still be the rallying turnout message that will get them to care and go vote when they might otherwise. I haven't seen much. Mastriano and all, it was a total disaster, right? And Josh Shapiro is like pretty popular governor. Well, the other, the Georgia Utility Commission, those are also statewide races. Yes, totally right. Sort of like indication of, I guess, excitement there.

26:18Last question for you. You know, if you're Democrats and you're looking at these results, you're feeling pretty good that you're going to be able to prevail in New Jersey, in Virginia. You know, what kind of margins do you think is the benchmark where they can feel like, oh, man, we really crushed it. We're in good shape right now. I think if you win by 10 % in Virginia and 6 % in New Jersey, you're feeling pretty good. Now, I know that kind of lines up with expectations. But honestly, those expectations are a good sign for the future. You want to be winning the races that you're supposed to win.

26:44Most midterms go the way of the party out of power. And so carrying along that path is a good sign for them. All right. Good flag. Thanks, Logan. Logan, great to see you. Thank you. Great to see you guys. Welcome to the A-Building. I'm Hans Charles. I'm Menelik Lumumba. It's 1969. Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. have both been assassinated. And Black America is at a breaking point. Rioting and protests broke out on an unprecedented scale. In Atlanta, Georgia, at Martin's alma mater, Morehouse College, The students had their own protest. It featured two prominent figures in Black history, Martin Luther King Sr.

27:22and a young student, Samuel L. Jackson. To be in what we really thought was a revolution, I mean, people were dying. 1968, the murder of Dr. King, which traumatized everyone. The FBI had a role in the murder of a Black Panther leader in Chicago. This story is about protest. It echoes in today's world far more than it should, and it will blow your mind. Listen to The A Building on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

27:59What do you do when the headlines don't explain what's happening inside of you? I'm Ben Higgins, and if you can hear me, it's where culture meets the soul, a place for real conversation. Each episode, I sit down with people from all walks of life, celebrities, thinkers, and everyday folks, and we go deeper than the polished story. We talk about what drives us, what shapes us, and what gives us hope. We get honest about the big stuff. Identity when you don't recognize yourself anymore. Loss that changes you. Purpose when success isn't enough. Peace when your mind won't slow down. Faith when it's complicated.

28:37Some guests have answers. Most are still figuring it out. If you've ever felt like there has to be more to the story, this show is for you. Listen to If You Can Hear Me on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

28:57I'm Bowen Yang. And I'm Matt Rogers. During this season of the Two Guys Five Rings podcast, in the lead-up to the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games, we've been joined by some of our friends. Hi, Bowen. Hi, Matt. Hey, Elmo. Hey, Matt. Hey, Bowen. Hi, Cookie. Hi. Now, the Winter Olympic Games are underway, and we are in Italy to give you experiences from our hearts to your ears. Listen to Two Guys, Five Rings on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

29:31So, as we were saying, today is also election day in New York City. The mayoral election there, of course, hotly anticipated Zoran Mamdani, looking like he has a strong lead here going into election day. But we do have a last minute intervention in the race from the president of the United States, who is basically threatening New Yorkers to vote against, to vote for Cuomo and vote against Zoran to avoid his retribution against the city. We can B4B up on the screen. This is Trump's truth that he put out yesterday evening. He says, If communist candidate Zoran Mamdani wins the election for mayor of New York City, it is highly unlikely that I'll be contributing federal funds other than the very minimum as required to my beloved first home because of the fact that as a communist, this once great city has zero chance of success or even survival.

30:20It can only get worse with a communist at the helm. I don't want to send as president good money after bad. It is my obligation to run the nation. It is my strong conviction that New York City will be a complete and total economic and social disaster should Mamdani win. His principles have been tested for over a thousand years and never once have they been successful. I would much rather see a Democrat who has had a record of success win than a communist with no experience and a record of complete and total failure. He was nothing as an assemblyman ranked at the bottom of the class and as mayor, potentially, again, the greatest city in the world.

30:50He has no chance to bring it back to its former glory. We must also remember this, a vote for Curtis Lewa, who looks much better without the beret is a vote for Mom Donnie. Whether you personally like Andrew Cuomo or not, you really have no choice. You must vote for him and hope he does a fantastic job. He is capable of it. Mom Donnie is not. So Andrew Cuomo on a local radio show was actually asked about Trump's support for his campaign. And he literally hangs up the phone in response to the question. This is B4, guys. Let's take a listen. Your boy was just on 60 Minutes, Cuomo, saying that you're his guy.

31:28no Trump said you're his candidate if he had to pick a bad democrat or what did he say or a communist he's picking you

31:44hello I think that he was they cut him off I think he had to wrap oh I really wanted to hear that answer That's what I was going to ask him. Pretty wild to just hang up, to not have a response to what is an incredibly obvious question that you're going to get asked by anybody, you know, radio or political media in this final stretch. And he also tweeted out yesterday, Andrew Cuomo did. If you want President Trump to try to take over the city, National Guard on streets, choking federal funding, vote for Zoran Mamdani because Trump just said he will be coming and this poser Zoran won't be able to stop him.

32:22This is a fact. The next mayor has to be able to get us more, not ensure our demise. I'm the only person in this race who can do that. So basically acting like a mob boss here, like threatening the city. If you don't, Trump saying, you know, if you don't vote the way I want you to, then I'm going to, there's going to be hell to pay. And Cuomo just playing right into that, saying, hey, look, Trump's threatening you guys. You're going to just, you know, you got to go with me or else there's going to be all these horrific consequences brought to you by the president of the United States in the city.

32:50Yeah, this is the Argentina strategy of telling voters that if you want your money. I actually did not realize this, just looked it up. Some 8.3 % of the total New York City federal budget actually relies on federal funds. That is slated to drop to some$7 billion this year because of some pandemic-related stuff, which is winding down. They say, though, that the federal government provides a suite of New York City funding from residents, agencies, nonprofits, public housing, health care providers. over$100 billion in federal flooding flows to the city of New York almost every year, which, again, I had no idea.

33:24I guess it kind of makes sense. It is the largest city in the state, or sorry, in the country. I guess the question comes down to how these New York City voters are going to respond. I mean, this is one where I have been mystified by the Republican response. It's like they don't understand negative polarization. It's like you people are not popular in the city of New York. And if anything, by the way, I think they're giving Zoran a lot of cover. Remember when we were always talking about sanctions? You know, one of the things that we could say for Venezuela, for Iran, and for many other opponents of the United States, whenever things go badly, what do they say?

33:59It's America's fault because they've sanctioned us. So let's say a lot of the Zoran programs don't work out, fail, and he's not able to accomplish them, which I think is the most modal scenario. Well, in that, what can you be like? Oh, it's Trump's fault. He can actually resuscitate his own popularity. So if things go to complete shit in the city, which, look, if you cut 8.3 percent of the federal – of the budget, let's say you even cut half of that and you have a significant funding shortfall and you see problems start to manifest, Republicans will be like, oh, that's on Zoran Mamdani. But he can just easily say, no, that's on Donald Trump and actually make it so that nobody will ever really know.

34:37A lot of Democratic voters in particular will also just say, yeah, Trump is the one who declared war on him. So I think they're actually saving him politically, making it so that there's no real test of anything that he's going to be able to do. And they're handing him like some great gift, in particular, also just politically. Like Stephen Miller endorsed Andrew Cuomo yesterday. In what world do you think that that is politically smart, right? Like if you wanted Cuomo to win, I would do something along the lines of saying I'm the most scared of Andrew Cuomo, right? I would make it so that because you want people who don't like you to negatively polarize and actually vote for the person who is perceived as your biggest enemy.

35:18I just don't get it. I mean, the thing is here, there's nothing Trump can do to change New Yorkers' minds at this point. You know, I mean, if he'd stayed quiet, that would probably be a little better for Cuomo. But it's not like that was going to rescue him. He tried to intervene and get Curtis Lewa out of the race, all the billionaires. I mean, it's wild to watch all of these billionaires just out in the open. Like, we cannot accept the Democratic result here. We must intervene. We will spend whatever it takes to make sure that our guy is propped up and becomes mayor in New York City. And ultimately, I mean, look, the votes aren't cast yet.

35:48You know, the votes aren't in yet. So we don't want to be too premature here. But certainly looks like all of those efforts were for not. I mean, it does bear remarking on how insane and how truly like unprecedented it is for the president of the United States to threaten the city with consequence. All the New Yorkers are like, we're not talking about threatening Zoran. I think Sagar's right that in some ways this will be beneficial to Zoran and his popularity in the city. You're not threatening Zoran. You are threatening the like the the lives and the livelihoods of New York City residents. These are people you are supposed to as president of the United States.

36:19You are supposed to represent them. A lot of them voted for you. Right. You didn't win the city of New York, but you actually did better than previous Republicans had in the past. Zoran launched his campaign going out and talking to residents who were saying, yeah, I voted for Trump because I thought that he would do better on the economy. I thought he'd bring cost of living down, etc. I mean, that informed a lot of how Zoran actually structured his campaign. So not only do you have Trump threatening the city, you have Andy Ogles and some other Republican representatives in the House threatening to try to keep Zoran from taking office, saying there's some 14th Amendment way that could allow Congress to block New Yorkers from being able to pick the candidate of their choice.

36:58You have Randy Fine and others who are threatening to denaturalize him and deport him to Uganda. again, just because they don't like him and they don't like his politics. And a lot of this comes down to Israel, by the way, certainly for Randy Fine, it comes down to Israel. Just complete and utter insanity. Like New Yorkers are allowed to elect the mayor that they want to elect, and they shouldn't be faced with retribution from the president of the United States. So completely wild. I think you're right on the even on the political impact short term. I, you know, I lived in New York for five years.

37:30I have a little bit of a I'm married to a New York York City residents, but a New Yorker. So I have a sense of the New York vibe. And they're going to say, fuck you. Like, you don't want me to vote for Zoran. I'm voting for him even harder now. Like, I'm showing up early to vote for this guy, you know, again and twice on Sunday. They are going to do whatever they can to, you know, to tell Trump, like, screw you. You don't get some mess in the affairs of our city. So it's, you know, it's grotesque the way this guy operates. And it is truly a break from the way we've seen anyone. I mean, I can't think of a single, can you, historical precedent for like, I'm going to come in, I'm going to threaten to withdraw funding and send in likely federal mass agents into your streets to wreak havoc and cause chaos if you don't vote the way they want you to vote.

38:14Well, I don't think that's a Zoran thing. I think that we're going to do that regardless. But, you know, in terms of, I'm trying to think, I guess, Ford telling the city to drop dead. That was in the 1970s. That was more of a budget. But that was, he wasn't going to rescue them from bankruptcy. It was like a bailout thing. Yeah, I have to rack my brain. It's been a while. It's not exactly usually said this explicitly, although I guess it does technically take some precedence. I mean, look, I just continue to sit on the politics of it. I just think it's incredibly stupid because I think one of the things is, as you and I know, New York City is going to be one of the most closely watched places in the entire country now for any signs of potential failure.

38:51But if you give them the excuse that it's because the feds screwed it up. I mean, that's basically on you. On the point about ICE and all that, though, I mean, don't you think they've already been doing ICE raids in New York City? Like, I don't know why it would be any potentially different. They did it in Chicago. They did it in Los Angeles. They've done Seattle. I mean, there's a recent one here in Houston. I mean, I don't think that really has much to do with Zora. I mean, maybe, you know, and potentially to invite a fight with NYPD and his own political commissionership. But I mean, that one, I would say is probably more to the benefit of the Republicans, at least politically, to pick a fight there.

39:26So I don't know. I don't know how this is all going to work out. Welcome to the A-Building. I'm Hans Charles. I'm Menelik Lumumba. It's 1969. Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. have both been assassinated, and Black America is at a breaking point. Rioting and protests broke out on an unprecedented scale. In Atlanta, Georgia, at Martin's alma mater, Morehouse College. The students had their own protest. It featured two prominent figures in Black history, Martin Luther King Sr. and a young student, Samuel L. Jackson. To be in what we really thought was a revolution, I mean, people were dying. 1968, the murder of Dr.

40:07King, which traumatized everyone. The FBI had a role in the murder of a Black Panther leader in Chicago. This story is about protest. It echoes in today's world far more than it should, and it will blow your mind. Listen to The A-Building on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

40:34What do you do when the headlines don't explain what's happening inside of you? I'm Ben Higgins, and if you can hear me, it's where culture meets the soul, a place for real conversation. Each episode, I sit down with people from all walks of life, celebrities, thinkers, and everyday folks, and we go deeper than the polished story. We talk about what drives us, what shapes us, and what gives us hope. We get honest about the big stuff. Identity when you don't recognize yourself anymore. Loss that changes you. Purpose when success isn't enough. Peace when your mind won't slow down. Faith when it's complicated.

41:12Some guests have answers. Most are still figuring it out. If you've ever felt like there has to be more to the story, this show is for you. Listen to If You Can Hear Me on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

41:31I'm Bowen Yang. And I'm Matt Rogers. During this season of the Two Guys Five Rings podcast, in the lead up to the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games, we've been joined by some of our friends. Hi, Bowen. Hi, Matt. Hey, Elmo. Hey, Matt. Hey, Bowen. Hi, Cookie. Hi. Now, the Winter Olympic Games are underway, and we are in Italy to give you experiences from our hearts to your ears. Listen to Two Guys, Five Rings on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

42:05At the same time, we could put B1 up on the screen. This is how Zoran was closing on his campaign while Andrew Cuomo was threatening New Yorkers. Here you have Zoran walking across the Brooklyn Bridge and, you know, out of clubs, dancing with everybody and being out and about with taxi drivers and really just trying to be, you know, in the streets with the people. At the same time, you had Hakeem Jeffries, you know, continuing to be asked about Zoran and whether he sees him as the future of the party. Hakeem Jeffries did very belatedly and very begrudgingly endorse Zoran in this race and get behind him once the writing was on the wall and it was absolutely inevitable.

42:45Let's go ahead and take a listen to what Hakeem Jeffries had to say. This is B2 about Zoran and the future of the party. Do you see Mamdani as the future of the Democratic Party? No, I think the future of the Democratic Party is going to fall as far as we're concerned relative to the House Democratic Caucus and members who are doing a great work all across the country as it relates to our need to both take back control of the House. But in doing so, make sure that we're communicating to the American people like we understand you deserve better than the country that you have received. This guy is just so lame.

43:25He's just so bad at this. Yeah, but the sad thing is, you know, he's going to be the major beneficiary of a lot of this because it'll look like the midterm. I mean, unless there's some anti-Hakim Jeffries movement in the House of Representatives amongst the Democrats and they actually would pick a new leader, which I obviously think that they should. I don't think they will, though. He unfortunately does. I think he's going to get away with this. I don't know if Schumer will because he could give a primary challenge against him. I mean, he may also may not just may not run again for reelection.

43:54All signs currently point in that direction. But Jeffries, I mean, there's no organic movement against him. And I honestly think he's going to get away with it. You don't think there's an organic movement against him? Against Hakeem Jeffries? Yeah, there definitely is. I mean, he may even find a he may even have a primary challenge against him for his own seat. Yeah, sure. In the House. Well, I was talking about in the House caucus right now. There's not a single organized like anti-Jeffries movement. Obviously, look, you're right. Yeah. Things can change. I mean, I think the base is very disappointed with him.

44:22And I think there will be a lot of pressure on Democrats to choose someone different for leadership. And you'll also have these primaries playing out where I do think some incumbents will probably, you know, I think you're going to have some dumb Tea Party vibes. And some incumbents taken out and new renegades coming in who will be like, absolutely not. Am I voting for Hakeem Jeffries or in the Senate? Am I going to vote for, you know, Chuck Schumer? I hope to see it. I would love to see. I do think that his position, both as a member of Congress, but also as leader of the Democratic Party, given how lame he's been and how trashed the Democratic brand is and how disgusted the Democratic base is with him and how poorly he's been able to stand up in Trump 2.0.

45:07I definitely think that his not that there's any guarantees, but I definitely think that his leadership is is at risk here. And the way he's played the Zoran thing has been pathetic. And I mean, that actually in and of itself tells you something about his concerns, because part of why he didn't want to endorse Zoran appears to have been that he wanted to get a guarantee from Zoran that he would not back a primary challenger to Hakeem Jeffries. And as far as we know, he never secured that commitment from Zoran. But it tells you he's looking over his shoulder, you know, towards the left of the party, too, and worried that he could be taken out in a primary challenge, which I do think is a distinct possibility.

45:43Abigail Spanberger was also asked about Zoran. And, you know, Spanberger is the consummate, like, centrist national security dem of Rahm Emanuel's dreams, former CIA, blah, blah, blah. You know, after Trump gets elected, she did a lot of, like, oh, this is all the left's fault. So we can put this next element up on the screen to see her reaction. So Ken Klippenstein tweeted this out and said Abigail Spanberger takes a swipe at Mom Donnie when she got asked about him and his impact. She said maybe he should be a Democrat, which I don't even know what she means by that. Like, he literally won the Democratic primary.

46:21So, lady, what are you talking about? In any case, acknowledging when pressed that Mamdani is, in fact, the Democratic nominee, Spanberger said that for all the talk, including from within the DSA itself about the DSA's growing power, she doesn't see Democratic socialism on the rise. She argues there's a level of dishonesty in some of the big promises Mamdani is making that she's worries could hurt Democrats with voters long term, saying the reason she doesn't have a Mamdani-style proposal for government-run grocery stores is because I couldn't ever pass it. People do want us to be aspirational and dream big.

46:54They also don't want us to lie to them, she told CNN. When you have a party that makes promise after promise and then say, oh, we pass it in the House, it's not our fault. Vulnerable people believed you. Maybe he's going to get Albany on board with totally refinancing public transportation. But there's a lot of people who believe him. And so, I mean, this is kind of standard centrist ideology of like, well, big things aren't possible. So we shouldn't even put them out there. We're going to nibble around the edges. And I just think, you know, this is a country that just elected Donald Trump, who was, you know, a bomb to the system.

47:29Like that is the whole purpose of electing a Donald Trump is that people are disgusted with it the way things are. They don't want you to just like manage the status quo and take around the edges. They want something that is more transformational. And so even if you feel like it's going to be a difficult fight or it may even be impossible, you have to at least offer people some sort of aspirational vision for how you're going to do more than just, you know, like palliative care and manage the decline of the empire at this point. Well, part of the fight, which I think is always missed by a lot of people, is not all Democrats have to be the same.

48:03A Democrat who's going to win the Northern Virginia electorate should not look like Zoran Mamdani. And Zoran Mamdani or the New York City Democrat should obviously not be the person who is going to be running, let's say, in the Midwest, right? That's why not all of these people can or should be the same. That's the entire point of living in a pretty diverse and very different country locally. You can nationally stand for semi sort of principles. On the point about like promising things, I don't know. I mean, to be honest, I'm seeing a lot of hopium that's being drank by, I think, a lot of the progressive left.

48:37And I do think they're in for a rude awakening. I mean, the vast reality is that he does not have the significant amount of power to enact the most, you know, the biggest promises of his campaign. Like even in terms of freezing the rent, you know, part of the cope is always like, well, he's not going to freeze it for everybody. It's just going to be on rent controlled apartments. It's like, yeah, well, unfortunately, because you don't – I mean the system of New York is so governed by all of these various different councils, neighborhoods, and other like NIMBY-style stuff that's built into it that the net result is probably going to be some sort of organic market increase in the rent.

49:17I don't even think it's necessarily his fault. The rent's been going up for every single year since that happened. But that's – I don't think it's particularly a good look. Same, I mean, free buses and MTA, the vast majority of the funding from that comes from Albany and the upstate. Like, you know, why would they necessarily want to play ball? The feds are saying that they're going to cut the amount of city services to you. Like the truth is, is I think that the mayor in New York has the absolute most control and even then not a ton when it comes to crime. That's basically it. And, you know, in a lot of ways, like Eric Adams most well understood the job because it was schools and it was also kind of just being like a hype man for New York.

49:55Like I'm not saying he's a good person, but like that's all he really focused his time doing was being a commercial salesman for the city. But, yeah, I mean, I kind of think – I don't think New Yorkers would say he understood the job since he ended with the lowest approval rating of any mayor in history. Sure, but whenever it comes to like what do you actually have power over, picking up trash and crime policy, like that's basically it. And schools, okay? I'll give him that. Which, by the way, Zoran wants to do away with some gifted and talented schools. I think the bet is that you got a taste of the strategy when Hochul had to bend the knee to Zoran and came to his rally and was met with chants of tax the rich.

50:32And Hochul is facing a primary. But she's the person who could actually do that. Hochul is facing a primary challenger from the left. Yeah. So that's where that's where the you know, the hope that you can actually push Albany to enact the policies that yes, Zoran would need in able to deliver. Now, some of the things I mean, the grocery stores he will be able to deliver on. He's actually identified the funding. Right. The rent freeze is, you know, something that like through the rent stabilization board, he should be able to accomplish now. They're trying to stack the board with opponents of it, et cetera.

51:03etc. But I mean, that is something else that is within the power of the New York City mayor has been done in the past and should be something that he can accomplish. The child care is probably the biggest and most challenging one that does require action from Albany. And so, yeah, that's part of why what happens in the election tonight looks or on looks very certain to win. But his margin and how strong of a victory, that's where those things start to matter, because he needs not only to win, he needs to send a message that I have a powerful coalition behind me. And you, Kathy Hochul, are put on notice that if you don't, you know, if you don't tax the rich and bend to our program, then you're going to face political challenges.

51:43And that's, you know, I mean, we just talked about like Hakeem Jeffries worrying, very likely Richie Torres is going to face a primary challenger. You know, Dan Goldman, who's another one who wouldn't get behind Zoran is, I mean, that guy, Brad Lander is going to challenge him, Brawley, and he's going to have a very difficult time. I would love to see Mr. Levi Strauss for you. Yes, indeed. And, you know, the question there is only whether you have two progressives that split the vote. But I think if you get just Brad Landon against him, he's basically toast. So those all send a real, very strong message to cynical political actors that you'd better work with these people and not be the roadblock to their ambitions.

52:23That's where the bet is. Now, is it easy? No, of course it's not easy. It's incredible. It's what he signed out for is incredibly difficult. I think your point about Trump in some ways, like kind of bailing him out and giving him excuses for, you know, things that won't go because there will be things that don't go the way he wants them to go. There's no doubt about that. And so having a narrative about why it hasn't lived up to the aspirational promises that are being, you know, put out there on the campaign trail, I think that will be actually significant benefit to him as well. And it's a good point.

52:50Well, that's part of what's annoying is I don't I don't think this guy's going to succeed. I mean, I hate to piss in everybody's cornflakes, but like New York state's legislature has the total, a total authority to raise taxes. Also, you know, this is part of the thing. I have a very limited experience with the state of New York, but as I understand it, the tension between upstate and the city is like the central thing in Albany. And in particular, the New York state legislature, because of the representative system in the Senate and with the governor from where they are, they do not like to not just bail out the city per se, but they in particular don't want to be seen as acting entirely on their benefit.

53:23There's an entire like white working class constituency outside of the city of New York, which the state politicians, people like Chuck Schumer, Kathy Hochul, they don't spend most of their time in New York City. They spend it in Buffalo or, I don't know, Plattsburgh or whatever, like way up in the north near the Canadian border. And the reason why is there's a ton of votes out there that have a very distinct set of like wants, circumstances, populations, just totally different, right? These are like rural areas. And so they have competing interests a lot of times with the city. And there is kind of a rivalry with it.

53:52Again, I'm just relaying kind of what I understand the people who have worked in New York state politics like generally. So from that point of view, I mean, look, the net result is he has the most control over the cops. He has the most control over city services, over schools. And like, yeah, sure. I'm sure he can throw some culture war. He'll create a transgender transition fund, which I guess is democratically representative of that population, but for the New York City state or for New York City, like generally. He can do some virtue signaling on ICE, but he doesn't have a ton of power, like at the end of the day with NYPD.

54:27And yeah, I mean, you know, you can end gifted and talented. Congratulations to the Asians of the city of New York. Like that seems to be it. Like, to be honest, I really don't see very much. Now, can he be a spokesperson and use it as a bully pulpit? Yeah, he absolutely can. And that has power. How can we deny that? But I mean, I don't know. I just think a lot of people in the city of New York, and I hate to be cynical, but listen, you know, I've seen too many people get their hopes up around certain types of politicians wanting to be crashed and burned. Like the truth is, is that we live in a deeply corrupt, entrenched system.

54:59New York state is probably one of the most corrupt states in the entire country. The reality that you're going to raise tax and particularly going to lower rent in one of the most like cartel controlled cities in the world where the global super elite rich all have been flocking to for the last 30 years. It's fantastical. I mean, even freezing rent control. Again, the probably net market result is going to be a net result or net increase in rent generally in the city. You're also going to see you have huge tax problems in New York. You have a significant portion of the tax base, which is reliant on the super rich.

55:34They're going to leave and you're going to find yourself in a huge budget shortfall. Like if you lose even 25 billionaires from the city, it's going to significantly hurt your coffers. I don't think it should be that way. I don't think they shouldn't have. I don't think you should have that sort of tax system. I've always warned that it's a huge problem. A lot of businesses and others, the city employers, like there's a reason that he's been cozying up to these people in some ways, because he knows like they can destroy your life. Like all they have to do is pull eight, 10 ,000 employees out. You lose a huge portion of the tax base, the developers.

56:03I mean, this is just the reality, I think of, of what it means. And I don't want to take anything away. I I'm happy that people have some hope left in, in politics, but just seeing like where seeing all of the different roadblocks that you face. I mean, think about this. If you got your hopes up about the president, that's the most powerful man in the world. And 90 % of the time, they can't get shit done whenever it comes to what they want. And this is a local politician, you know, with no statutory authority, no veto capacity, no taxation, no foreign policy, nothing. The alternative view, which is that Zoran has a much better relationship with Kathy Hochul than Bill de Blasio had with Cuomo.

56:40Yeah, that's fair. They hated each other. Cuomo, I mean, legendarily hated each other. And Cuomo did everything he could to fuck de Blasio, everything he could. And de Blasio made a big promise in his campaign. He said, we're going to do universal preschool, big promise. And Cuomo tried to block him at every turn. And even with that incredibly aggressive adversarial relationship and a lot less of a mandate and a movement behind him and political power that Zoran has, he was able to do it. He was able to accomplish his goal. And now you do have universal pre-K in New York City. It's a fantastic success.

57:21It's been incredibly important. It's one of the most impressive things that a local city government has been able to accomplish in recent years. So if de Blasio can pull that off with, again, much less of a mandate, much less of the sort of like political power and movement that he can wield. He didn't have any ability to threaten primary challenges against anyone. No one was looking over their shoulder because Bill de Blasio was going to endorse against them. And you had Cuomo, who was just like a legendary asshole trying to stand in his way. If he can pull that off, then yeah, I think Zoran can pull some things off as well.

57:54Now listen. Did he get any real benefit from that? Everyone hated Bill de Blasio. And the problem in New York City is it's an expensive shithole. But soccer. Yeah. The residents in New York City did get universal pre-K. Okay, but they didn't appreciate it all De Blasio was not particularly popular. But this program has been extremely impactful. So Zoran, I think, has a lot more going for him than de Blasio does. And we're going to see. Like I said, the real question for him is going to be how big of a mandate does he have tonight? How much does he transform the electorate? And what does that mean for a youthful energy around him and his administration?

58:34How is he able to govern? and is he able to apply pressure to to Kathy Hochul to Albany um and are you know is he able to sort of set the agenda in a sense where people's political benefit is to work with him rather than try to stop him and to my mind you already have seen that I mean even the fact Hakeem Jeffries felt the need that he had to endorse him is very telling Kathy Hochul being at the rally with Bernie and AOC very telling um so you know that's it's definitely going to be difficult. You are absolutely right about that. But I have much more hope than you do that he's going to be able to accomplish some key parts of his promises.

59:13And I don't think voters are stupid. I don't think that they believe any one politician is just going to wave a magic wand and make everything perfect in the city. But they want to see you out there fighting for the things that you claim to believe in and that you stood under. Well, I guess my worry is that a lot of these young people, part of the reason they're disillusioned with the system and that they think that a lot of this stuff is going to work because they actually do think that he can do them. And I mean, he's not dishonest, I guess, by saying he wants to do them. I believe him in what he wants to do.

59:42But I think they're incredibly naive as to the level of corruption and systems of politics and like how the balances in our system make it nearly impossible for a local politician to be able to deliver any of them, even the pre-K thing. Like New York is not better because of it, is it? I mean, otherwise people would be super happy and be like, oh, oh, what a great place to raise a family. No, it's a horrible place to raise a family. That's why a huge number of people who have kids left the city because they're like, this is a disaster. After 2020, if universal pre-K was so attractive for children and for families in the city of New York, and you have a net increase, instead you've had a net decrease of the level of people with children.

1:00:20New York is basically a playground for the rich. Their entire tax base revolves around it. How can you possibly reverse that? Of Zoran is, you're right, New York City has been run largely, especially by Giuliani and Bloomberg and Eric Adams as a playground for that. That is what it is. Who the policy has been catered towards. And so that is the true promise of Zoran's campaign is what if we actually ran the city for its like working class residents? What if we actually oriented policy to try to make it so that families can live here and they can survive? And it's not so expensive that they you know, that they can't continue to stay in the city because, you know, there's all this talk about, oh, rich people are going to flee the city, which I don't believe, by the way.

1:01:00But in any case, the people who have been actually leaving the city are its working class residents. Those are the people who are actually fleeing the city, and the city cannot survive without them. It will be a hollowed out husk without people, working middle class people able to live and thrive in the city. And so that is truly actually the most difficult thing for him to accomplish is to reorient the city around the needs of, you know, the workers who actually make it run. I just, I, again, I don't see how it literally is impossible considering the way that their progressive tax system is structured in the state of New York.

1:01:35The entire thing revolves around big businesses and extremely wealthy people putting up with 50%, 60 % net tax in order to, you know, go to Carbone at night, which, but look, I think it's a degenerate and a stupid lifestyle, but you guys do what you want to do. You live there. My only point is just that the net benefit, you know, let's say of trying to orient around working class residents would require a top to down reformation of their entire financing structure. Like there is a reason that the that New York is the playground for the rich because of the businesses and others that attract them.

1:02:09Like if you want to try and have some redistributive policy, people are going to make individual choice. I'm not defending it. I think it's a horrible system. But I think that to reform that system, again, it wouldn't even just take the state. I think that would have to be national policy, considering where things are today. The net way that has been designed, I would say, what, since the 1980s, since Rudy Giuliani and all them came in was, let's make it a playground for Wall Street, and let's make it so that we can tax a certain percentage of all of these global super elites that love to hang out here.

1:02:40And that's effectively where the city has gone, which I think is bad. I don't think it's a good thing for the people who live there. But I almost think it's at a point now where by trying to accomplish any of this, I mean, let me ask you this. What is success for Zoran? Like, what is it? To me, it would be he needs to be popular at the end of his term. And two, let's say if we take him at his word, then the city actually does need to be affordable for the normal, let's say, let's call it 100 ,000 for a middle-class worker. I just don't think, I think there is literally no way that that's going to happen.

1:03:12I think that is probably setting the bar too high. I think that he's popular and that he accomplishes, you know, let's say three out of five of his key goals. You know, affordable child care being, I think, the most transformational one. So, you know, if he's able to freeze the rent on rent controlled apartments and he's able to do the free buses. I mean, the grocery stores are going to happen. This is my thing with the rent control. How can, why is that a win? So that people who get rent control. Because he promised it. Okay, great. But if everybody else's rent has to go up as a result of that, I'd be pissed off.

1:03:44These people are paying$4 ,800 a month for a two-bedroom apartment. His policy, though, is, like, that's, like, the catchiest part. But he has a whole housing policy that's very abundance-pilled, by the way. Yeah, but, I mean, what's the reality of that happening? Zero. And so, you know, there's a lot more to what he's, you know, what he wants to do on housing than just freezing the rent. But, yeah, for those people who are in those apartments, that's going to make a big difference. And there are a lot of people who are in those apartments. For those 8 million people who aren't in those apartments and their rent is probably going to go up as a result of this policy.

1:04:15So are you basically arguing, like, you shouldn't try, you shouldn't promise anything? Like, why bother? Because that's what it feels like you're promising. I mean, if anyone has a chance of success, it's this guy who comes out of nowhere, who's got a clear vision, clear promises he made to people that people like New Yorkers are excited about and who has the force of a political movement behind him to put pressure on the political powers to beat actually effectuate that outcome. Like if anyone has a chance of success, it's him. No, is it easy? No. But, yeah, I do believe in a politics where you try to do things and make people's lives better.

1:04:50and I think it's sad to just have a nihilist view of like well it's not gonna fucking work anyway so why bother getting people's hopes up well I guess no I mean I just think it's more about look if you live through Obama I don't know how you can't be you know where I am right now in terms especially with this stuff so where are you though what do you mean for with Zoran like you just think people shouldn't campaign on doing positive things like what is your position here well what did we talk about yesterday with voters I mean just a lot of voters are just literally just huffing a bunch of bullshit.

1:05:18Like they have no idea the reality of the city and the state that they actually live in. And so, yeah, I think they're in for a very rude awakening. I think that New York will be vastly more expensive in five years, not necessarily as a result of Zoran, but just organically. And that's probably going to be a net failure. And if you live through that and you vote for that, that will continue down, you know, a dark path. You can fight for it if you like. So then what, yeah. So what are the politics that you would support in that case then? For Zoran? Is that what you're saying? Yeah. Like if you don't think that politicians should be trying to improve, like making promises about here's my plan to improve people's lives.

1:05:53If you think that's like getting people's hopes up, like what kind of politics do you know? I support realistic politics in local state and local and state elections in particular, because that's part of what I'm saying is like the the reality of affordable New York is something that you actually just don't have control over. And it's one of those where I think you could run for it as president. I think you should. You have a much, much better chance and much more statutory authority power to actually get a lot of that stuff done. That's kind of what I'm pointing at. But I mean, we identified five things that are doable.

1:06:22Difficult, sure, but doable. So what's wrong with that? I just said with freezing rent, I mean, you're running on affordability. You're not actually going to address the market rent system of New York. You actually don't even have the power because of the ability with the boards and all those are currently being stacked. So, look, it's up to you. If you want to vote for him and you want to go through that, like, that's on you. You can have it if you would like. But it's just, I don't know. I want people's eyes to be open. I mean, I just see the, I don't know. I think it's funny. I'm going to see it reverse.

1:06:53Like, he set out five, not, like, easy slam dunk, but five things that are actually concrete and achievable. So it seems like the opposite of the like pie in the sky, we're going to have a socialist utopia. I've never said that he's promising pie in the sky. That's what I'm saying is that even the stuff that he's trying to promise. I mean, he even talked about taxation. You literally have no statutory authority to tax anybody, literally zero. You can make a recommendation, you know, if you want to, but you do nothing in terms of taxes. You pick up the trash, you run the schools, you run the cops.

1:07:23And yes, you can occasionally like stack various boards which vote for, you know, based on corrupt interests as to whether to green light certain projects or not. So if he's able to accomplish a majority of the five key promises that he made, would you see that as success? Absolutely. Yes, I absolutely would. I don't think it's going to happen. I don't think he's a chance in hell of even maybe like one out of five. And I do think that running on affordability and ultimately noting that it will probably – I mean does anybody disagree with me that New York will probably be more expensive in five years today even if he is mayor?

1:07:56Like does anyone disagree with that? Well then, you know, you're kind of selling a false bill of goods here. And I think that the reality – it's like you pointed to universal pre-K. Like there's a lot of multifactorial things that go into making the place extremely expensive. No one person has any real power over that. It's a broad system thing. I guess the point could be this is a signal to the system that people should change. That's a little different. Like, I don't think people. Well, just yesterday you were saying that we should blame voters. I think a lot of them are stupid. I don't think we should think that voters believe he can just magically transform everything.

1:08:29I think that they believe that, you know what, if we have someone who in general is trying to orient policy more towards our needs, that's going to be to our benefit. I think they believe, hey, if we had access to free public transportation, that would be helpful. Right. Which again, he has no control. affordable child care that would be helpful if we you know and and they like the idea of an optimistic politics that experiments with things like okay we're gonna you know the grocery store no one says it's gonna like transform everything but hey let's try some things and try to make life a little bit better for people in the city i think that's the idea i don't think anyone's like you know he's gonna fix the cost of living crisis and it's gonna be you know it's gonna be miraculous and i'm gonna have an apartment for eight hundred dollars a month or whatever like i don't think anyone, I don't think anyone really believes that, but he's made a series of concrete promises.

1:09:15And so we'll be able to assess whether or not he's able to achieve them or how close he comes to being able to achieve those concrete problems. You may be right. I, my fear is that with Obama, I mean, look, I was young when Obama was elected. I actually thought that they would solve the crisis. I thought that the wars would end. It was a huge mistake, right? To believe any of that. A lot of my current orientation is built on that. And then, by the way, in my adult life, I had multiple campaigns, including in which you knew the people in power and you believed some of those people, and then they fucked you whenever they came into power.

1:09:47If you lived through that, I don't know. I mean, look, that's my own orientation. You're catching me at a unique moment of time. But like any time that I've even had an inkling, even with a ton of realism and all of that, to see the falsehoods and the fakery that you end up getting, it's a difficult pill to swallow. And I guess that's just where I'm coming from. And I do think that a lot of those 18 to 29-year-olds have not been burned yet in that type of system. and considering where the Obama generation went from 2008, for a lot of people who were my age and your age as well, who lived through that, that level of lack of delivery and of failure left like a searing, searing thing at the heart of a lot of the way that we look at politics.

1:10:29And that is how I view Zoran Mamdani. And I think a lot of the people who support him are, I think they believe him. Like, I think you're wrong. I think a lot of them actually believe that their rent is going to go down. I think a lot of them actually believe that he will have the ability to have, I mean, how many people in the city of New York are sitting around talking about MTA funding? Like, it's just not a lot of people. How many people even know that, you know, the various boards and other people that set the which projects get to be greenlit and the stories? And I mean, I could go on forever.

1:10:55Do you know about the scaffolding thing in the city of New York and the scaffolding cartel? Like most people just accept it. They're like, oh, that's ugly. We just walk underneath. They have no idea the various, you know, Byzantine regular. Something else around us that he's going to try to tackle. Yes, I know. It's funny. I remember looking at that. I'm like, yeah, good fucking luck, man. I mean, the scaffolding cartel in the city of New York alone is one of those where that has been a problem for like 30 years. Unsolvable. Do I think that he's going to do it? No, I don't. I think they're probably still going to be scaffolding there.

1:11:23Like there's all these various things from the city is designed to basically protect itself from Zoran. I think in general, the financial system broadly of that entire place is designed again to protect itself from any sort of democratic input. I don't think that's good and I think it's bad. I don't think that it could really be reformed until it's really at the federal level. There's such a level of incentive and all that built in to keeping these types of places the way that they are that any one local mayor, even though we may want to believe that, I don't see the evidence for it. Yeah, I think New York is going to be more expensive whether Zoran is elected or not.

1:11:57And if anything, I think Trump is bailing him out because I don't think he'll deliver on basically much. Yes, if he accomplishes even three out of the five, I'll be honestly stunned. I would say he was one of the most successful New York City politicians literally ever. But the days of like if even if we judge the great mayors or OK, fine, not the great mayors, maybe in our view, but the good mayors in the voters view is always what? It just comes down to crime. That's what they're like. Oh, he lowered the crime rate. He cleaned up the city. They don't ever say really ever much about anything else.

1:12:27Like it doesn't you only have a significant amount that you can actually control. And to be clear, president is very different. But in a lot of ways, the same dynamics I'm talking about, they exist at every level of the political spectrum. And that's not to poison the well, I guess. I just want people's eyes to be open for the reality of what you're, not even what you're signing up for, but of what it even means to really participate at a local level. You don't have nearly as much control as you think you do. And I think it's sad. I wish you had more. Don't hope, people. Don't believe in anything.

1:13:01don't hope that anything's possible. That's the message from Sagar today. You can believe what you want. Whether you will get any of what you want, I'm not so sure about that. Or if you do, it'll be very, very unique circumstances. Welcome to the A-Building. I'm Hans Charles. I'm Menelik Lumumba. It's 1969. Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. have both been assassinated. And Black America was at a breaking point. Writings and protests broke out on an unprecedented scale. In Atlanta, Georgia, at Martin's alma mater, Morehouse College, the students had their own protest. It featured two prominent figures in black history, Martin Luther King Sr.

1:13:43and a young student, Samuel L. Jackson. To be in what we really thought was a revolution. I mean, people were dying. 1968, the murder of Dr. King, which traumatized everyone. The FBI had a role in the murder of a Black Panther leader in Chicago. This story is about protest. It echoes in today's world far more than it should. And it will blow your mind. Listen to The A-Building on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

1:14:20What do you do when the headlines don't explain what's happening inside of you? I'm Ben Higgins and if you can hear me is where culture meets the soul a place for real conversation each episode I sit down with people from all walks of life celebrities thinkers and everyday folks and we go deeper than the polished story we talk about what drives us what shapes us and what gives us hope we get honest about the big stuff identity when you don't recognize yourself anymore loss that changes you, purpose when success isn't enough, peace when your mind won't slow down, faith when it's complicated. Some guests have answers.

1:15:00Most are still figuring it out. If you've ever felt like there has to be more to the story, this show is for you. Listen to If You Can Hear Me on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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1:15:52You want a good transition as to why I'm talking about the stuff and the people who rule us and the level of systems and the baked in assumptions that make it so that your life isn't going to be affordable? Let me all enlighten you about a little thing that's going on in my home state of Texas. Let's go and put this up here on the screen. OK, this is like the hidden gerontocracy that rules all of us. So the Texas voters today will take to their ballot boxes to vote on a little proposition. Now, that proposition is worded in such a way for property tax relief. Now, who could be against property tax relief, right?

1:16:29Nobody likes paying property taxes. It's horrible. Everybody wants to vote to cut them. But here's a little thing that they decided to hide inside of it. What they decided to hide is that actually what a lot of Texas voters are almost certainly to greenlight is something called the Texas Older Adult Homestead Exemption, which would not only will the state pick up the tab for homeowners under age of 65, but those 65 and older would gain an extra benefit if the new property tax bills are approved by the voters. The current homestead exemption would be increased from a current homestead exemption for those 65 or older is$110 ,000.

1:17:07That's already an increase from$50 ,000 two years ago. The exemption would then jump to$160 ,000 and a total of$200 ,000 combined with a new thing. What that means is that you get to write off a significant portion of your overall property value whenever it comes to your actual property tax. Two million Texas state residents would actually be affected by this. and what it would also do is cut the school taxes that people who are 65 and up would pay by up to 50%. So the way that this is worded is basically, and by the way, again, I'm under no illusions. This shit's gonna pass 100 % because everybody doesn't wanna pay property tax.

1:17:43Well, and this gets to what we were talking about earlier, what most people in Texas love is usually like, oh, we have no income tax. Well, okay, that's great. But it means a property tax is gonna finance the vast majority of local services. Well, who wants to pay for those local services? Well, the people who benefit from those local services, let's say emergency services and others, and they're all financing, this is a little reductive, but elderly people, by and large, consume a large amount of those services. But what they have decided to do is to rig the property tax system such that they will get their school taxes cut.

1:18:16And the justification is that they don't have children in schools anymore, so they should not have to pay for it. Now, let's all just sit with that, is that even though older people in the past had to pay for their children's schools, their decision is that because they don't use the schools, they shouldn't have to pay for them anymore. And what the net result means is that people who are younger who don't get a property tax homestead exemption, even though their property values are also exploding, not only will have to pay property tax, they will have to shift the burden of school taxes onto them.

1:18:51This is the type of hidden nonsense which makes it so that being young and having a family in this country becomes unaffordable. And these are the types of people who vote. And it's like I'm so enraged by it because I'm watching this happen in every state across the country. New York State, by the way, very similar homestead exemption. This elderly exemption tax is built on this idea of so-called fixed income. And the theory behind it is that people who are on Social Security should not be, quote, forced out of their homes. Now, first of all, they get a cost of living adjustment from the Social Security Administration of inflation.

1:19:26That's number one. Number two is at the end of the day, who is the state supposed to serve? What is Texas so proud of? All of these millions of people moving from across the country for affordable housing to send their children to school. They're now going to have to be stuck with more of a bill because these elderly people don't want to pay for their children's school. We all live in a society. And just by the way, you know, in terms of this whole like, well, we don't use the schools so we shouldn't have to pay for them. I'm not morbidly obese. I don't go on dialysis. 1 % of the whole federal budget is for dialysis.

1:20:00I am not a Medicare recipient, a Social Security recipient. I don't get any sort of exemption. I can't opt out. By the way, do you know how many childless people? I know I lived where I currently live now for years with no children and didn't use the schools. I still had to pay the school tax. Childless people all over the country have to pay school tax if they're under the age of 65. I just think it's totally absurd the way this is happening. And this is, again, a nationwide thing, which is gaining steam in particular in areas where a lot of younger people are moving. So let's put B8, please, up on the screen because there's a similar measure down in Atlanta and in Fulton County where they similarly want to do some sort of cap for property tax and schools specifically for people who are 65 and above.

1:20:46This, by the way, is only an expansion of what is already the case in almost every state in the country, which is adopting these 65-plus property tax exemptions for people who are on so-called fixed income. And what it does is it locks elderly people into their homes, and you basically are supercharging the whole nation as California, where when people in California, they bought a house at$200 ,000, they lock the increase in the amount of their property tax such that they don't have to pay the actual market rate. But when they sell the house, the person who buys that house still has to pay the property tax of the newly assessed market value.

1:21:21And what it means is that boomers never leave a shit ton of housing stock. So this is kind of what I'm talking about, about the hidden things underneath that make it completely unaffordable. And that, frankly, it's not even a political – there's no politician that can just wave a wand and do away with it. Because here in Texas, where I'm from, this is massively popular. The way they phrase it is for elderly people. Most people are like, I want property tax relief. And they don't even look at it. They don't even understand what the impetus behind it is. What I would say is this is actually part of a political vision that is being effectuated, which is there's a number of parts to this.

1:22:01I mean, number one, Republicans have long had a war on public education effectively. And, you know, this is the push for for vouchers and against teacher unions and all of, you know, you see lots of anti-teacher rhetoric coming from the right. And you long have. And so it's you know, that's that's one piece of this, like the excuse to cut the budget for the schools is something that Republicans are always. excited to take up. That's number one. Number two, you have in the type of voters you're talking about, they're very politically powerful because they vote. They vote, they contribute to politicians, they do the volunteer work, they show up.

1:22:38And so, yes, they've amassed a large amount of political power. And so politicians very much cater to them. So then you have the long-term national bipartisan project of inserting sort of like this hyper individualism where it's everybody up by their bootstraps, every man for himself. And so it manifests in ways like this, where you said this comment about like, they have to live in society. Like we all have to live in society. But they don't believe in society. Well, and that's the thing is that's, that is an ideology that has been perpetuated in this country for decades now, basically like who cares about society, you get yours.

1:23:20And I think we're at the like extreme, like tail end of that ideological project of where it feels like the economy is very uncertain. AI is coming, climate crisis, like existential politics, all of these sort of, you know, all of these sort of crises that are mounting and right in front of our faces. And so you have more and more people who are in a mentality of like, I'm just going to get mine. You see that all the way up to the White House, by the way, of like, you know, I'm going to get mine with my crypto deals and building out my ballroom and doing whatever the hell I want while I can. So I think that ideology also infects the public and not to make too much of it, but as you know, this is like one small instance of the way that that plays out in the public policy.

1:24:01I don't think it's small because Florida is about to try and abolish all property tax. That is the one of the oldest states in the country. Like, do we all understand that? Is that these places which are zero income tax are now going after property tax to make it so that all of the people who are young, who move to those states for affordability, get the entire tax burden shifted onto them. It's deeply regressive. It is not only deeply regressive. Think about this. I mean, look, you know, I'm going to sound like an uber lib now at this point. Who do you think is floating the state of Florida, literally, whenever it comes to hurricane relief?

1:24:34The federal government. Who pays the vast majority of the income for a lot of their residents? The federal government and all of us via Social Security. Who's the one paying for all their health care, all of us via Medicare. This is the stuff that drives me crazy. They have no qualms lobbying for their tax-free Social Security, every tax benefit in the world. They are the wealthiest generation in the entire country. They make it so they lock up the housing stock, increase vastly the amount of wealth that they have, and then lobby to make it so they don't have to pay very much for any of it on a tax level and shift the burden to people with young children.

1:25:13All of society is basically structured this way. You know, I was talking recently about the health insurance thing. And the thing is, is if you look at the overall increase right now for not just Obamacare, but in general, it's some 15%. Well, guess what? You know, we are paying hundreds and hundreds, if not thousands of dollars a month, the average person who has, let's say two children. People on Medicare, they're always complaining because they have to pay one or 200 bucks a month. It's like, what a joke. And the theory is that, oh, that they paid into it. No, the vast majority of Medicare recipients receive vastly more dollars from the federal government than they ever paid into the system.

1:25:50And I just think what it does is that they're privatized. They're basically, we have socialism for the old and we have rugged individualism for the young. And they like it this way. This is part of the issue where the shifting tax burden and in terms of the cost of living crisis is dramatically affecting family formation, marriage, the entire American dream. And at the very same time, the states which have the most elderly influence are actually making it to shift even more of the tax burden on the people who are younger. You even see it here in the federal government. Who got the best tax cut?

1:26:23People who are old, Social Security. There's no organized effort for anybody who's young. I've been thinking about in AARP, one of the most successful lobbying organizations literally ever. And of course, nobody can crosswise them as politicians. Why don't we have that for people who are like 35 and under? Like, why don't we even have, you know, anyway, hell, like 65 and under, there's no like unity or there's no unity, sympathy or general consensus for a lot of people. So I guess it's a long way winded way of saying what you're, you know, backing up your point about society. Like people genuinely, especially the wealthiest and the elderly here seem to actually believe that they made it on their own and not because of a variety of structural factors, which were societally based.

1:27:06And they're now telling the young people, screw you, like make it on your own. And I think that's sick. If you have, if you, you know, give up on like living, we live in a society and we're kind of all in this together. Um, I mean the country literally doesn't work. I mean, even if you think about right now, we're talking about Trump is threatening New York City funny, right? Californians and New Yorkers are looking at how much they send to the federal government and how much they get back and are going, fuck you. Fuck you. I feel that way right now. We float the rest of the country. It's true.

1:27:39You look at your Mississippis and your Arkansas. You're nothing without us, New York and California and these blue states that have massive job creation and wealth and send more tax revenue or net net have send more to the federal government than they're getting back. And so when that logic starts to take hold, you start to get, yeah, I've seen people calling for, hey, you know what? We're not sending our tax revenue to the federal government. We will send it to a trust to be held. And then when you give us what we're supposed to get, then we'll send you the tax revenue. That's the sort of thing that it leads to on a national level when you lose the idea of this is a society and we're all doing this thing together.

1:28:22And, you know, there's been a lot of bricks laid on the path to that place. But Trump, as with many things, is accelerating in that direction when he's explicitly, he is explicitly withholding billions of dollars from states that he doesn't like the politics of. I mean, don't you feel that way? And it's openly threatening New York City right now because they're voting for someone that he doesn't like. I mean, don't you feel that way? I do. Like with this bailout to Argentina and every time we have to pay our quarterly taxes, I'm just like, oh, man, I guess it makes me happy. It's one of those where, look, you know, I don't want to fall victim to the same sense of the boomers.

1:28:54But when you see what actually gets prioritized at the federal level, I just – well, I focus on the property tax thing. That is the one which has the most impact on your actual life is schools, if you're young, is schools. And the fact that these people want to opt out because they, quote, don't use it anymore, while at the same time taking the socialized benefits that all of us are paying into and floating them makes it's infuriating to a level that not nearly enough people have bought into. And what's even worse is a lot of people are like, oh, well, why would you ever want to tax anybody? I'm like, well, do we have schools or not?

1:29:31Like, we have to have a school. You want to live in a society where people are just like completely uneducated and illiterate and only the rich can send their kids to private schools. and that's the society you want to live in? We've already lived in that society and we all collectively decided we're not doing that anymore. And now there's like this new war basically to say that public education, and I'm not some free college guy, okay? That's about higher education. I'm talking about K through 12. Did we not all have some sort of a consensus whenever it came to that? And we have a lot of local input.

1:29:59I think it's great that everybody fights about what's happening in schools. It's good. That's because it means you care about your education. You should have a say. But the point actually comes back to the reason you have a say is because you pay into it. And then these people don't even want to pay for it because they're not using it. They want some a la carte system for it. And this is the reason I'm raising the alarm is that as they amass more wealth, more political power, this is now happening in almost every major state in the country. California has it for boomers. Now Texas is going to expand it.

1:30:29Florida literally wants to eliminate it. If you are under the age of 35, if you have children, you are the person who is massively going to see your property tax bill. It has to increase from somewhere. And in a lot of cases, they're making it so that the burden, and again, you're already paying extrobinant amounts for health care, for basic costs of living. This is a singular part where public education, something we used to be able to rely on, is now actually going to be made more expensive for the actual families, for people who are going to be in the future, which I think is totally wrong.

1:31:151969. Malcolm and Martin are gone. America is in crisis. And at Morehouse College, the students make their move. These students, including a young Samuel L. Jackson, locked up the members of the Board of Trustees, including Martin Luther King Sr. It's the true story of protest and rebellion in Black American history that you'll never forget. I'm Hans Charles. I'm Menelik Lumumba. Listen to The A-Building on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Over the last couple years, didn't we learn that the folding chair was invented by Black people because of what happened in Alabama?

1:31:52This Black History Month, the podcast Selective Ignorance with Mandy B unpacks Black history and culture with comedy, clarity, and conversations that shake the status quo. The Crown Act in New York was signed in July of 2019, and that is a bill that was passed to prohibit discrimination based on hairstyles associated with race. To hear this and more, listen to Selective Ignorance with Mandy B from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can scroll the headlines all day and still feel empty. I'm Ben Higgins, and If You Can Hear Me is where culture meets the soul.

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