MLK Day: Mayor Mamdani makes case for taxing the rich a personal one for Black families during BAM speech amNewYork

"Mayor Zohran Mamdani used his Martin Luther King Jr. Day speech at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) on Monday to push back against warnings that his plan for higher taxes on wealthy New Yorkers would drive them out of the city, arguing that city leaders have ignored what he described as a more concrete and damaging population loss. When I speak about how the wealthiest in this city should pay a little bit more in taxes, I am often told about a potential exodus, Mamdani said."

"Mamdani cited data showing that from 2010 to 2019, New York City lost nearly 20% of its population of Black children and teenagers, framing the decline as the result of policy choices rather than individual decisions. For it was we as this city that did so, he said, referring to the forces that pushed families out. He pointed to high childcare costs as a major driver of displacement, noting that the average cost of childcare was $26,000 a year, and that's a good deal."

"Throughout the speech, Mamdani tied his policy agenda to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s emphasis on economic justice, arguing that civil rights without economic access are insufficient. We cannot only speak of Dr. King's legacy as if it is a legacy of rights that can be given to people, he said. It must also be a legacy of rights that those people can exercise themselves."

Mamdani rejected warnings that higher taxes on the wealthy would trigger an exodus, arguing that city leaders have overlooked a tangible population loss. Data shows New York City lost nearly 20% of its Black children and teenagers from 2010 to 2019, which he attributed to policy choices. He identified high childcare costs — averaging $26,000 a year — as a major driver of displacement. He framed inequality as a defining contradiction of the city's wealth, noting extreme disparities in housing and public services. He linked his policy agenda to Martin Luther King Jr.'s emphasis on economic justice, arguing that civil rights require economic access to be meaningful.

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