John Ketcham: Mamdani’s Grocery Plan Is an Example of How the Solution Is Much Worse Than the Problem, Bodega Owners Are Not Making a Fortune

RUSH EXCERPT:
KETCHAM: "Thank you Maria. Mayor Mamdani’s Marshall plan is an example of how the solution is so much worse than the problem it seeks to correct. These local bodega owners are not making a fortune. The typical grocery store margins are in the low single digits. They cannot have the economies of scale that larger big box stores and large discount supermarkets are able to offer customers pretty but they’re really essential in ensuring New Yorkers have access to essential groceries across the city. Now there are stores that do have discounted prices like aldi that are doing quite wellin New York and that are bringing prices down for consumers. These are private companies are paying taxes in New York. By contrast Mamdani plan would have the city run grocery store not pay taxes. Not pay rent and have to use of taxpayer dollars to subsidize the stores on an ongoing basis so the taxpayer loses and the bodega owners to lose and lose a should be upset. This is been tried in other cities like Kansas City and it has failed basic economics as if you set the price below the market level you’re going to get a shortage. Other cities have had real problems with their grocery store plans. There’s no reason to think New York City would do any better. In fact just take a look the way the city runs its public school systems to get a sense how the city operates anything. It spends $42000 year per pupil gets results at or below the national average we could expect the same from the grocery store plan."