Sure, let’s dump on the only guy demonstrably working to improve the lives of his constituents in whatever way he can in a system designed to concentrate wealth and power away from the people.
Perfect cannot be the enemy of good when the rest of the political landscape is clearly significantly worse.
Also, while COL in NYC is definitely not low, the pay at least allows one to actually survive because of the already-somewhat-progressive nature of NYC politics. Compare that to Florida where the pay for licensed and experienced Nurses for example is literally half that offered in New York and there are zero unions and/or worker protections besides, then maybe we can agree that forcing the predatory companies to at least be slightly less shady and let people show monetary appreciation for a job well done when clearly nobody else will is absolutely a lesser evil on the road to becoming something worthwhile one day.
For super-lefty Lemmy, shitting on the most openly and demonstrably active socialist politician in the country is kinda funny.
Your entire argument comes down to “But Muhmdani did it and therefore you’re not allowed to criticize it”
Let’s say this is the Tweet what do you think about it now
Nuance exists. Trump did ensure Project Warp Speed was enacted for COVID vaccines. I lauded him for at least doing the bare fucking minimum expected of an actual leader for once.
Look at every other policy Mamdani has managed to put in place already and then tell me why we should be mad at the guy over fixing another large issue in as sweeping a manner as he is reasonably able. You know, especially considering the federal administration would love for him to do anything “radical” so they can disappear him.
I’d see that tweet and say a broken clock is right twice a day.
Its not a perfect solution, but its a manageable step in the right direction that immediately benefits workers following a path of least resistance.
The perfect solution is to banish tipping and force employers to pay more. The reality of doing that, in an unguided way, is that Lyft/Uber would either pull out of NYC or find loopholes to stiff the worker. Forcing higher tip options is a quick solution, that’s easily implementable and enforcable, as a greater coalition builds of people believing in the government there will be less resistance to perfect solutions.
But for now, something that tangibly benefits workers is a good thing, and it certainly isn’t a bad thing.
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They’re also large enough that they could pull out of NYC with a note/call to action on their app bashing Mandami, “Mayor Mandami has passed a law that makes operations unsustainable in NYC. This unrealistic expectation jeopardizes the livelihoods of thousands of drivers and their families in NYC. Please write Mayor Mandami and demand that he repeals Law 863 and restore the jobs of thousands of people. Until then we cannot offer you a ride within NYC limits. Good luck!”
They could simultaneously pay their drivers to protest city hall.
They have the ability to create a protest that would cause most politicians to cave. I don’t know if Mandami would cave, but it certainly would hurt his image - and thus hurt the image of all Democratic Socialists and similar progressive movements.
Conservatism cares a lot about people having jobs. Not about whether they are paid living wages.
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The state has the power to suppress what?
To be clear though, my argument has nothing to do with the feasibility or responsibility of the government to regulate Lyft/Uber into paying living wages.
My argument is that Mandami is building a movement/coalition through paths of least resistance and sweeping incremental changes as opposed to highly targeted legislative changes.
Biden did wipe out student debt, but because the courts were packed, his efforts were nullified. Had the groundwork been laid first (replacing the courts) then this life changing legislation would have passed. In order to replace the courts, there would need to be a coalition built supporting the change. It’s great to shoot for the moon, but if our progressive spaceship blows up on the way to the moon, our progressive politicians will have a track record of getting nothing accomplished - just like the lazy sacks of shit that are the true enemies of the state: Mitch McConnell, Chuck Schumer, etc.
If we want the moon, and we deserve the moon, then we need to be OK with taking the path of least resistance, getting the easy wins, and building a coalition.
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They wouldn’t even need to pull out, they’d pass the increase in costs to the consumers (the riders), and they’ll make it very clear that it’s Mamdani’s fault their ride is so expensive now.
That’s fair too. Either way, it wouldn’t be a good look for Mandami.
you could probably force them do double every salary overnight and they would still be able to afford it.
They’d crank the prices up for the end user, and make it very clear that it’s Mamdani’s fault your ride home from the club is 3x what it usually is (because you know they would increase it more than they actually need).
How do you think that would work out for Zohran?
Price controls.
They’d just leave the city because it would become unprofitable.
It would need to be subsidized somehow if you want drivers to make a living wage while also implementing price controls and eliminating tipping. At that point, just have it be a city-owned public service.
Turns out that it costs a lot of money to transport people around for a living wage.
Who said anything about making it unprofitable? It would merely be less profitable, and they won’t leave over that. They can still make a huge amount of profit from volume.
This idea that we are at the mercy of private businesses and there’s nothing we can do to control them needs to die.
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You’re not allowed to point out how the best possible outcome in this system is still unacceptable because we’re getting the best possible outcome in this system.
I am euphoric at how inconsistent you are being
Please read all my comments in this thread and provide me examples of my inconsistency.
System is broken and needs fixing. This guy is trying to fix it. I agree this is a small step, but also believe its a step in the right direction and an example of a politician putting his money where his mouth is, all too rare these days.
I’m not “blue no matter who,” I’m saying look at the active track record of the political figure in question and then with receipts tell me how this is something actually worth criticizing like a New York Post writer. “His policies are not exactly what I want verbatim so I’m gonna throw a Libertarian-style hissy fit because I’m more right than you!”
Man is making moves people in one of the biggest cities on the planet actively approve of in ways that ease the financial burdens of working people. If I have to go searching through three screens to tip somebody through an online app then in all reality I probably won’t 9 out of 10 times. Which means more of my money goes to corporations where I never see it again versus into the actual economy where the actual value of that dollar continues to accrue as it circulates amongst the masses.
Let me reiterate from my top comment here: Perfect cannot be the enemy of good when the system is so wildly stacked against us. Every bit of progress in the right direction is a fight for an inch we no longer have to worry about later. That is how movements build momentum.
I was mocking you for calling actions completely consistent with their ideology inconsistent.
That’s why I used a quotation.
System is broken and needs fixing. This guy is trying to fix it.
The system doesn’t need fixing, it needs replacing. You cannot “fix” capitalism. The thing it does is the point of it.
It wouldn’t be the left without constant, self-sabotaging, infighting.
How much criticism is too much criticism for Mamdani? Is any too much?
Mamdani you were supposed to be better than that.
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Not familiar enough with US political system, does a mayor have a say in minimum wage amount? I thought that would be the competency of the state
I think NYC has a higher minimum wage than the rest of the state. Not sure if that’s limited to New York, or possible in every city.
NYC already has more protections for contract workers (rideshare drivers) than most cities on the planet.
Sometimes I wonder what people here think the mayor of NYC actually does
He’s the NYC Mayor of the United States duh /s.
