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As New Yorkers head to the polls, one economist is elevating the alarm about Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani’s plan for city-run groceries, calling it a feel-good repair that flouts fundamental economics.
“It sounds superb on paper – ‘free’ all the time does,” Dr. Anne Rathbone Bradley, an economics professor and vice chairman of educational affairs at The Fund for American Research, mentioned in an interview with Fox Information Digital.
Mamdani, a self-described Democratic socialist who’s the frontrunner in Tuesday’s mayoral race, argues these shops are wanted to deal with meals deserts and provides working-class New Yorkers extra entry to inexpensive groceries. The pilot program, which might launch 5 shops within the metropolis – one in every borough – is a key a part of his progressive platform to decrease prices for New Yorkers, that additionally contains freezing the hire and better company taxes.
Bradley predicts that Mamdani’s plan, whereas well-intentioned, will not work as a result of it replaces market indicators, like costs, property rights and revenue motive, with “bureaucratic decision-making.”
New York Metropolis mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani visits “The Story With Martha MacCallum” at Fox Information Channel Studios on Oct. 15, 2025, in New York Metropolis. (John Lamparski/Getty Photographs)
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“The issue is believing that the financial system is an engineering venture,” she defined. “That once we put good, well-intentioned folks answerable for that venture, we are able to sort of redirect issues in sure methods and get the outcomes that we would like.”
The outcomes of this plan, she says, have already been seen in different U.S. cities who’ve tried it. Related packages in Kansas Metropolis, Missouri, and Florida collapsed, regardless of thousands and thousands in taxpayer funding.
“These shops have failed to stay open,” she mentioned, referring to a Kansas Metropolis retailer that closed its doorways in August after scuffling with empty cabinets and crime.
In line with Bradley, the difficulty is constructed into the system itself: if shops promote their merchandise at beneath market costs, clients rush to purchase all the things and shops cannot hold cabinets stocked.
One economist warned that city-run grocery shops are usually not sustainable. (Marli Miller/UCG/Common Photographs Group through Getty Photographs / Getty Photographs)
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“So that you would possibly be capable of inventory it and open it on day one, however these shops have failed to stay open,” she argued. “Not solely that, however they’re affected by theft as a result of the grocery shops do not have the identical incentives {that a} Walmart has for loss prevention.”
Bradley mentioned historical past presents even starker warnings. Central planners who tried to regulate costs and provide within the collapsed Soviet Union and Venezuela resulted in folks ready in lengthy traces and empty cabinets.
“All these kind of issues are a characteristic of this sort of system. It is not a bug, proper? It is baked in,” she mentioned.
The economist praised the candidate for attempting to deal with the large downside of excessive prices of residing for New Yorkers. She mentioned there are higher methods to decrease meals prices, suggesting a method could be permitting a giant field retailer like Walmart to open in New York Metropolis, which would supply extra entry to cheaper groceries.
New York mayoral candidate, Zohran Mamdani, D-N.Y., plans to open city-owned grocery shops in an effort to decrease meals costs. (Getty/iStock)
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Mamdani’s marketing campaign says the shops is not going to pay hire or property tax, and he’ll redirect among the $140 million in non-public grocery retailer tax breaks to finance the pilot program.
“Meals costs are uncontrolled. Practically 9 in 10 New Yorkers say the price of groceries is rising quicker than their earnings. Solely the very wealthiest aren’t feeling squeezed on the register,” his marketing campaign web site states. “With New York Metropolis already spending thousands and thousands of {dollars} to subsidize non-public grocery retailer operators (which aren’t even required to take SNAP/WIC!), we should always redirect public cash to an actual ‘public choice.'”
Mamdani defended the plan when confronted in regards to the failed Kansas Metropolis experiment in a September interview.
New York Metropolis mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani speaks to members of the media throughout a press convention in New York Metropolis, U.S., Aug. 22, 2025. (Jeenah Moon / Reuters)
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“[W]e need to show not solely the efficacy however the excellence of this concept,” he instructed CNN. “As a result of for each one instance that you may level to, there’s one other of one other municipality right now contemplating opening a city-run grocery retailer. However to me, a very powerful factor is the end result. That is one thing I consider will work. We’ll carry the very best and the brightest to ship it, and will probably be 5 shops at the price of $60 million, which is lower than half the town’s already spending on subsidizing company supermarkets.”
Bradley countered that the proposal continues to be a expensive experiment that might burden taxpayers and divert funds from simpler tasks.
The economist famous the candidate’s rise in recognition comes at a time when youthful Individuals have extra favorable attitudes in direction of socialism than earlier generations. She believes that financial realities must be taught to Individuals early on.
“We’re not doing an awesome job of instructing economics,” she mentioned. “We have to do a greater job of that, of at early ages, exhibiting folks that economics in some methods presents legal guidelines which can be simply as actual because the legal guidelines of physics. So I might say I do not like gravity, I do not consider in gravity, however gravity is my actuality. And economics presents us with realities which can be simply as vital to obey.”
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“There is not any such factor as a free lunch,” she mentioned. “We have to advocate for insurance policies that make issues extra accessible and extra inexpensive. I feel what economics exhibits is that markets do a very good job [at that],” she mentioned, pointing to the array and quantity of products supplied within the common grocery retailer within the U.S.
In the end, Bradley mentioned, affordability comes not from authorities management however from extra competitors within the market.
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“What we would like folks to have the ability to do is simply stretch their budgets additional, she added. “And I feel the best way we do that’s extra competitors available in the market for groceries relatively than much less.”
Mamdani’s marketing campaign didn’t reply to Fox Information Digital’s request for remark.
Fox Enterprise’ Amanda Macias contributed to this report.