While campaigning for mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani guaranteed endless free programs and giveaways.
So far, he's delivered nothing but division, continually blaming one economic class for the city's problems and his ongoing disappointments.
Mamdani's most notable campaign promise was delivering "fast and free" buses for all despite a transit system deeply in debt.
Consider, Gotham's populace has not voiced a need for free service.
Reality, in this regard, tells a different story.
Taking a bus or the subway in the Big Apple is not prohibitively expensive.
The cost per ride is three-dollars (one-dollar and fifty-cents for seniors) and after 12 trips within a seven-day period, all rides are free.
Yes, free.
The most you can spend in a seven-day period riding the bus and/or subway in New York City is $36.00 ($18.00 for seniors) and then it's unlimited rides for free.
By number of stations (472), the New York City subway system is the world's largest, plus it has over 665 miles of mainline track.
Concurrently, the bus system is the largest in the United States, operating a fleet of nearly 6,000, inclusive of 238 local routes, 20 Select Bus Service routes, and 75 Express Bus routes and employs more than 54,500 workers.
The opportunity to utilize this vast enterprise for $36.00 per week is a bargain compared to most other transactions one encounters daily in New York state's largest city.
Pizza costs anywhere from three to five-dollars for a plain slice.
A latte' costs between five-dollars and fifty-cents to eight dollars.
Even more at a hotel or restaurant.
A buttered bagel can cost anywhere from three to five-dollars depending on where you purchase it.
You get the point, unlimited access to one of the world's greatest mass transit systems is a truly remarkable deal.
Offering free service for even a portion (buses) of this extraordinary transportation system is reflective of arrogance, ignorance, a lack of sophistication, if not overarchingly deceptive.
Perhaps a unique combination of all.
If Mamdani truly cared about people in need — the poor, homeless, hungry, mentally ill, etc. — he would establish programs to help them rather than showboating an impossible, unnecessary policy solely to garner publicity for himself.
This self-aggrandizing behavior typifies today's Democrats.
Rather than attempting to help effectively manage and run the city's subways and buses — which have real safety issues — Mamdani instead made an undeliverable promise of free service for the sole purpose of enticing gullible voters.
Yes, there are people who can't afford mass transit, so this writer proposes offering free service to anyone with an income too low to afford bus or subway fare.
Meanwhile, rather than blaming successful people for our misfortunes, it’s time for politicians to run our cities, states and federal government responsibly.
When voters have expenses that don't match their income, they must budget accordingly.
Why should our elected representatives follow a different set of rules?
As citizens, we're expected to be fiscally responsible, and we must demand the same from our public servants or continue to face fiscal failures' enduring consequences.
Rob Taub has enjoyed a career in television, radio, and print journalism. He's written for People Magazine, Newsmax, FoxNews.com, and Huffington Post (HuffPost). For more information, visit: www.RobTaub.com Twitter X @robmtaub. Read more Rob Taub Insider articles — Click Here Now.
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