Financial Times Laments NYC Elites Might Pay Their Share
According to the Financial Times , Mamdani's plan to fund an 'affordability agenda' by taxing millionaires could lead to an 'exodus' of the city's richest. One might wonder if these 'job creators' threaten to flee every time their yachts need a new coat of paint. This narrative of a wealthy flight, trotted out every time progressive taxation is mooted, conveniently ignores the fact that New York's
allure isn't just low taxes for the rich—it's also the vast infrastructure and labor pool sustained by the very public services these taxes would support. The media, often so eager to dissect 'fiscal responsibility' (read: austerity for the masses), suddenly finds itself distressed when it might apply to the 0.1 percent. How many times will we hear the same fear-mongering about millionaires
packing their bags, only to find them still comfortably ensconced, albeit with slightly fewer untaxed millions? The tragedy, apparently, isn't New York's affordable housing crisis, but the potential inconvenience to those who benefit most from it.