How rich is too rich for rent subsidies? Should they be capped at incomes above $150,000? How about $500,000?

Picture above - self portrait of Rama Duwaji playing a Gibson Les Paul guitar in her rent controlled NYC apartment. If you become a collector of her works at this stage, who knows how much these things could be worth eventually? Stop laughing - remember Keith Haring?

I would LOVE to live in a rent-controlled apartment for $2,300 a month. It could both cut my living expenses, and probably be a housing upgrade at the same time. And I’m not even earning $150,000 a year like NYC Mayoral Candidate Zoran Mamdani (see link below).

Before someone snarks that this is just a cheap campaign attack by Andrew Cuomo on Mamdani for squatting in a rent controlled apartment, let’s acknowledge that BOTH candidates are millionaires. Can we stay focused on the issue: should government handouts, rent control, college tuition forgiveness, beach property tax credits, EV tax credits, and subsidized government flood insurance be available even if you’re a gazillionaire?

If everybody in America can get government freebies, then where does the tax money to pay for stuff come from? Will it be Trump-like tariffs on China, Suriname, and Ceylon? Or the founding fathers’ notion that the government should be small, and paid for by duties on alcohol, tobacco, and firearms? Actually, there was a "whiskey rebellion" at one point because voters didn't like the alcohol tax idea. For a smaller government we might have to rethink our 800+ military bases worldwide and B21 supersonic bombers at $2 billion each. Actually, those are some of the first things I’d put on the government chopping block, irrespective of who pays taxes.

Breaking news: America has an unprecedent number of homeless people living in tents. Rent subsidies aren’t going to help, them because it’s hard as hell to build new homes and apartments. The process is fraught with zoning issues, permits needed from dozens of agencies, and in some cases outright bribes. Can we at least admit that a formerly homeless person doesn’t need a dedicated level 2 charging station, or a solar rooftop array with a geothermal heat pump as backup for nighttime use?

That’s the essence of the Mamdani question. Will he be keeping someone out in the cold this winter, while he exercises his privileges? Almost half of all New Yorkers live in rent controlled apartments, so there is sizeable base of voters who are paying attention to this. The actual homeless in NY, probably not paying attention so much. They're panhandling for food.

Wait until New Yorkers find out that Mamdani’s wife is a renowned commercial artist who makes an estimated $500,000 a year, putting their combined household income halfway to the moon. I just hope we don’t find out that the 3rd candidate – Curtis Sliwa (also a millionaire) - is either living in a rent controlled unit or is a confessed sexual predator. But then again, we ARE talking about New York City . . .

I’m just sayin’ . . .

Andrew Cuomo swipes at Zohran Mamdani over typical NYC topic: rent – NBC New York

rama duwaji income - Search