Mamdani balanced NYC's budget and Republicans are hysterical | Opinion

May 22, 2026, 4:30 a.m. ET

It seems that the democratic socialist mayor of New York City is more effective at governing than many viewers on both sides of the aisle anticipated.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani presented a new budget to the public on May 12, announcing that he’d shrunk the deficit from $12 billion to zero through a combination of slimming down costs and assistance from Albany. Miraculously, he managed to do this without cutting government services, tapping into the city’s “rainy day” fund or raising property taxes, as he’d threatened to do.

This is a huge win for Mamdani and, by extension, national Democrats. He’s doing his job and showing that progressive leadership won’t actually tank the city. It’s proof to every naysayer that he is more than just a good public speaker, and it’s infuriating those on the right.

“New York has a problem, and this latest fiscal foolishness is not making it better,” Liz Peek, a contributor to The Hill, wrote in an op-ed.

I understand where she’s coming from – New York City Comptroller Mark Levine, a Democrat and the person overseeing the city’s finances, expressed concerns about the methods Mamdani is using to balance the budget, and noted that the city is still spending more than it makes. Yet I think conservatives are just mad that New York City isn't setting money on fire the way their president is nationally.

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Conservatives and well-meaning liberals may be complaining about Mamdani's fixes, but they’re simply ignoring the fact that the mayor was able to take on this gargantuan task and escape relatively unscathed while accomplishing things that folks on both sides of the aisle can be excited about.

How did Zohran Mamdani manage to balance New York City's budget?

Through a combination of assistance from Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul, a proposal to delay payments to the city’s pension funds, and the pied-à-terre tax, among other things, Mamdani was able to close the enormous deficit he inherited from former Mayor Eric Adams’ administration.

Yet conservatives are still finding reasons to complain about him. Manhattan Institute fellows Ken Girardin and John Ketchum wrote an op-ed for the New York Post complaining about the budget, noting that “pension gimmicks and temporary fixes are no substitutes for the sort of spending prioritization that comes from proper management.”

With all respect to Girardin and Ketchum, it seems they are glossing over the fact that balancing the budget was possible at all. They aren’t wrong about the reliance on one-time fixes being an issue, but it highlights how Mamdani’s broader promises to tax the rich are necessary to keep the city running. Ironically, federal Republicans are cutting crucial services while still adding $3.4 trillion to the national debt as they cater to President Donald Trump's every whim.

Conservatives are grasping at straws to find something to complain about because they know that Mamdani is not the scary socialist dictator they make him out to be in attack ads. He’s governing the city just as any other mayor would, and is even doing it better than his predecessor. It’s a sign to Democrats that they can be both radical and successful.

Turns out taxes can be good when you actually help people

Everyone loves to complain about the cost of living and the things funded by our taxes, even me. I have one-sided beef with the Metropolitan Transit Authority after waiting 30 minutes for the J train on a recent Saturday night. The city garden near my apartment is never open, and it’s infuriating.

I hate that New York City police officers always seem to be on their phones. It is my right as a taxpayer to whine about these things when given the opportunity. But our tax dollars keep this city running.

We are helping people who are struggling be able to get by in a city with an incredibly high cost of living by investing $4 billion in building affordable housing over the next five years. We are making sure our libraries have the newest books and offer programs that enrich the lives of community members by spending $31.7 million. We are paying $200 million for bike and bus lanes, $122 million for public schools and $26 million for stronger hate crime prevention.

This is what I want my tax dollars to go to, not for a ballroom I'll likely never see in person or funding for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

The fact that Mamdani was able to accomplish a balanced budget that still funds all of these things is pretty remarkable, given what he was working with.

While I believe it is important to keep a critical eye on all government officials, and I hear the concerns about passing the buck, I also think that conservatives are just looking for something to be angry about. After all, Mamdani did exactly what he was supposed to do, and New York City didn’t become a communist utopia. Imagine that.

Follow USA TODAY columnist Sara Pequeño on Bluesky: @sarapequeno.bsky.social