Mamdanis utters a laughable call for fiscal responsibility

Feel free to chuckle at the irony of Mayor Zohran Mamdani joining city Comptroller Mark Levine in calling for a City Charter amendment to ensure adequate Rainy Day Fund cash for the next emergency.This is John Dillinger calling for better bank insurance.Mamdani just sought to raid more than $3.25 billion from the city’s main reserves, after all.And the city should have a much heftier Rainy Day Fund; it’s now just $2 billion, far short of the $15 billion the Citizens Budget Commission deems prudent, given Gotham’s $125 billion spending plan.But the larger threat to the city’s long-term fiscal health is Mamdani’s drive to fund his socialist dreams.No mandatory reserve minimum can solve the city’s structural budget woes.Mamdani’s still-to-be-passed financial plan keeps spending out of the red for the coming year only thanks to new taxes, state aid, unexpected revenue and one-off gimmicks.The state, for example, delayed its class-size mandates, saving $500 million this year but kicking those costs down the road.In total, as Levine himself notes, the budget “relies on $2.8 billion in one-time measures and $2.3 billion in short-term pension savings” — but still leaves the city spending “more than we take in, even in a year of record revenues.” Subscribe to our daily Post Opinion newsletter! Please provide a valid email.By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Never miss a story.The plan’s “structural imbalances,” he added, create monster shortfalls totaling $25 billion over the following three years.It’s not that taxes are too low: The combined city and state income-tax rates are already the nation’s highest, and the mayor just added his pied-a-terre tax and hiked the unincorporated-business tax.It’s the spending that’s out of control.Indeed, the gimmicks to cover outlays now — like the stretch-out of pension-fund payments to fund new spending...