BREAKING: Mamdani promises new era of 'collectivism' for NYC in ominous inauguration speech

New York City Zohran Mamdani said that he is going to replace the culture of "rugged individualism" with a culture of "collectivism" in New York City during his inauguration speech on Thursday. He said that he was "elected as a democratic socialist" and will "govern as a democratic socialist.”

"We will replace the frigidity of rugged individualism with the warmth of collectivism. If our campaign demonstrated that the people of New York yearn for solidarity, then let this government foster it," Mamdani said.

"Because no matter what you eat, how you pray or where you come from, the words that most define us are the two we all share, New Yorkers," he then added. Mamdani then went on and focused on reforming a "long broken property tax system." During his campaign, his policy included a proposal to increase property taxes to "whiter neighborhoods." 

According to the campaign proposal, to "fix the property system" in the Big Apple, Mamdani vowed to "shift the tax burden from overtaxed homeowners in the outer boroughs to more expensive homes in richer and whiter neighborhoods." 

He later emphasized how large the government in NYC will become, promising to increase taxes and create government-funded programs, "To those who insist that the era of big government is over, hear me when I say this: No longer will City Hall hesitate to use its power to improve New Yorker's lives."

He later focused on campaign promises, including making childcare free, free public transportation, and freezing the rent in housing. "The cost of childcare will no longer discourage young adults from starting a family, because we will deliver universal childcare for the many by taxing the wealthiest few. Those in rent stabilized homes will no longer dread the latest rent hike, because we will freeze the rent. Getting on a bus without worrying about a fare hike or whether you'll be able to get to your destination on time, will no longer be deemed a small miracle, because we will make those busses fast and free."  

"I was elected as a Democratic socialist, and I will govern as a Democratic socialist," he later added. Mamdani then gave plaudits to the socialist Senator from Vermont, Bernie Sanders (I), who was the lawmaker to inaugurate Mamdani. "As the great Senator from Vermont once said, 'What's radical is a system which gives so much to so few and denies so many people the basic necessities of life.'"

Sanders, during his speech at the event, had said that programs and policies based on socialist principles are "not radical," and called for "the wealthy and large corporations" to pay "their fair share of taxes." The top 1 percent of New York City's earners pay about 41 percent of all city taxes.