I'll give New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani credit for one thing: He knows how to make quasisocialist ideas sound appealing.

Americans spend more on food than on anything except housing and transportation, and grocery prices have spiked 33% over the past seven years. People are looking for ways to cut costs and still eat. As a mom of four, I don't blame them.

Mamdani is nothing if not politically astute: He sees the same problem and has proposed a solution. On July 27, the mayor announced that city-owned stores would offer a 30% discount on produce, meat and other pantry staples to offset the soaring cost of food. Five stores are planned, one in each borough, with at least one opening in late 2027.

“Thirty percent off adds up to real money for New Yorkers,” the democratic socialist mayor of New York City said at a news conference in front of a display of produce. “In the wealthiest city, in the wealthiest country in the history of the world, no New Yorker should have to worry about being able to afford to feed their family.”

When he floated this idea in 2025, Mamdani said if it doesn't work, “C’est la vie, then the idea was wrong.”

Discounted food at a grocery store down the street, run by the city at the mayor's discretion, with prices he mandates. What could go wrong?

The idea sounds charitable, even generous, but it's deeply flawed.........

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