Only 8 days into his term, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is fulfilling campaign promises that several of his constituents had criticized as too lofty a goal throughout his mayoral run. As cost of living prices soar throughout various regions of the US, as average wages fail to keep up with inflation pacing, numerous resources such as childcare are becoming difficult to access for many Americans–leading to possible lack of access to career opportunities for working parents. This free childcare plan pledges to universal pre-kindergarten programs statewide, partnering with New York Governor Kathy Hochul, and numerous free childcare programs for two-year olds city-wide.
Often various bipartisan political candidates have run on working class values and pro-worker reforms and policies, yet they often fail to properly serve this American order, seeking to appease America’s various billionaires and big businesses. As Mamdani’s administration achieves what many previous democratic campaigns have failed to fulfill, it makes one wonder just what makes this administration so different.
In a bid for the 2020 presidential election, both candidates Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, who would eventually become the President and Vice President from 2020-2024, noted their stance on childcare being one of a more progressive policy. In an interview by Vox, these candidates stated their support for either universal preschool or a universal childcare program for working families. Yet in their presidential administration, these childcare programs never came to fruition due to funding cuts from the Inflation Reduction Act. Further, these programs failed to gather sufficient support from skeptics in both parties, believing the cost to implement such universal childcare would be too costly on taxpayers.
So how did Mamdani achieve such a program less than one month into serving as mayor? To limit further expenses on both the families that these programs would serve and remaining constitutions, Mamdani and Hochul found advances for funding that could be taken from existing revenue. While Mamdani is still working with Hochul to progress beyond a temporary program to support New York families, the mayor is still working to incorporate a tax raise within the city, targeting the economic elites. This shift towards a more permanent structure and more governmentally involved economic system within New York City marks great change for both this world capital and the future of the democratic party. What lies ahead now is if these changes will further influence the party as a whole to shift from its moderate position to a more progressive stance.