By Andrew Stuttaford
Saturday, April 18, 2026
One of the reasons why free enterprise works so well is
(apologies, this is basic stuff) because of the discipline provided by the need
to earn a return on the money invested. It follows that the higher the cost of
that money, the higher the return that will need to be earned upon it to make
the venture worthwhile. Reduce the cost of that capital to zero by providing it
out of taxpayer funds, which as we all “know” are free, and that discipline
disappears, even more so when there is not even a nominal requirement to make
money.
And so to some recent news about the new city-run grocery
stores planned by New York City’s mayor, Zohran Mamdani. He has announced that
the outlet in Manhattan, a “business,” which will be open before (checks notes)
the mayor’s term ends, will cost some $30 million to set up.
Mamdani boasted that “at our stores, eggs will be
cheaper. Bread will be cheaper.” Not so “cheap” for taxpayers.
Meanwhile, Elsie Encarnacion, the city council member for
the part of Manhattan where that borough’s store will be located, commented
that “this means access to affordable, healthy food that is hopefully
culturally relevant.”
So, this store will be in a food desert?
According to the New York Post, there are “already
five grocery stores within a two-block radius” of the lot where the store will
be located and 15 within five blocks. I wonder how they have survived without
selling “culturally relevant” fare. I
also wonder how they will manage to deal with the challenge posed by a heavily
subsidized competitor (which, incidentally, will not have to pay rent or real
estate taxes).
The New York Post reported that some kulak, Carlos
Collado, a Bronx supermarket owner who is vice president of the city’s Bodega
and Small Business Group, has been whining about unfair competition:
“We believe it is
fundamentally unfair to use tax dollars — collected from hardworking citizens
and existing local businesses — to subsidize unproven, government-run
endeavors.”
And his complaints didn’t stop there:
“The
administration claims these stores are a response to inflation, yet fails to
realize that their own constant mandates, regulatory hurdles, and rising fees
are significant drivers of the very inflation hurting shoppers today.”
Talk about being on the wrong side of history!
Other bourgeois elements grumbled about the cost:
“I almost fell
back when I saw the $30 million number,” Anthony Pena, president of the
National Supermarket Association, told The Post. “Even a high end, gourmet
store in the middle of Manhattan wouldn’t cost that much to build.”
Avi Kaner, the
former owner of New York’s 17-store Morton Williams grocery chain, said “$30
million is an awful lot to spend to build one supermarket.”
Kaner and Pena
both said that a typical, 15,000-square-foot store without elevators or
escalators costs under $10 million to build.
The two appear to have forgotten that nothing is too good
for the working classes.
Because this store will be good for the working classes,
right, right . . . right?
New York’s city council has yet to approve the scheme.
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