New York City Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani promised that if elected, he would establish five city-owned grocery stores, one in each borough, to provide low-cost food items for New Yorkers.
But the experience of a city-owned grocery in Kansas City. Missouri should offer proof to the self-avowed socialist that such a venture, along with socialism in general, is a totally unworkable solution to a problem that doesn't even exist.
The city-owned Sun Fresh Market opened seven years ago with high expectations, as part of a $15 million city revitalization project.
A TV news report that aired three weeks ago by local news station KSHB 41 told a wholly different story.
A reporter was taped walking through the store’s produce aisle, which she said was "the first section people see when they walk in." That first impression to shoppers was a bad one — enough to make shoppers want to turn right around and walk out.
Most of the produce shelves were empty — as were most of the other shelves throughout the store. And the produce wasn’t very fresh as "a rotting smell comes through the door."
Sun Fresh? Really? So much for truth in advertising.
Walking further in, a hand-scrawled sign announced that the hot food and deli sections were closed.
Despite receiving financial assistance from the city, they’ve been unable to keep the shelves stocked, earning it a local moniker, "The food desert."
On Tuesday Sun Fresh closed its doors for good without warning, according to a sign posted on the front door.
"Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances beyond our control, we are no longer, at this time, able to serve the residents of this community," the sign began.
"It has always been our dream and passion to provide quality products and services in a safe, family environment. At this time, unfortunately, we are unable to do that."
But in truth socialism has never worked out. A large factor leading to the former Soviet Union’s failure was its socialism-based economy.
During a 1959 U.S. visit, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev toured a San Francisco-area supermarket and was reportedly astonished by the sheer volume and variety of goods that lined the shelves — especially the fresh produce, deli meats, and frozen dinners. it contrasted sharply to what was available in his own country under socialism.
Despite socialism’s past failures, Mamdani believes his government-run grocery store scheme will be a winning proposition, due to his belief that the city treasury already has funds earmarked for a related project.
"This is a bit embarrassing," writer, columnist and author Tim Carney observed. "Mamdani has a plan for paying for his city-owned grocery stores. He's planning to tap into a $140 million pile of subsidies for 'corporate grocery stores.' But that pile of money doesn't exist. He just misread a government website."
Although Carney pointed this out more than two weeks ago, city-owned grocery stores are still prominently featured on his platform.
Columnist George Will was a guest over the weekend on HBO’s "Real Time" with host Bill Mahr, who brought up Zohran Mamdani's mayoral race.
"I want him to win," he told a surprised Mahr. "I think every 20 years or so, we need a conspicuous, confined experiment with socialism so we can crack it up again."
Will added that the new socialist slogan is, "Trust us, this time it won’t be a mess," and related a story about a post-war British Labour Party leader, Aneurin Bevan, who was an avowed socialist.
"He said, 'What could go wrong? We have a nation bedded on coal, surrounded by fish. It would take an organizational genius to get a shortage of either.'"
Then Will delivered the punchline: "In three years they had a shortage of both."
That’s socialism.
The reason capitalism succeeds is that each individual business owner knows that he has to provide quality goods and services at reasonable prices in order to prosper.
Conversely, socialism fails because it requires no initiative, no drive, no ambition.
If and when Mamdani’s New York City grocery chain is established, it will fail for the same reason the Kansas City grocery failed — no one has a personal financial stake in the success or failure of the operation.
And that’s why capitalism succeeds where socialism fails.
Michael Dorstewitz is a retired lawyer and is a frequent contributor to Newsmax. He's also a former U.S. Merchant Marine officer and a Second Amendment supporter. Read Michael Dorstewitz's Reports — More Here.