Can the city of New York sell groceries more cheaply than the private sector' The mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani thinks so. He wants to start five city-owned stores that will be 'focused on keeping prices low' rather than making a profit'what he calls a 'public option' for groceries. His proposal calls for opening stores on city land so that they can forgo paying rent or property taxes. Skeptics have focused on economic obstacles to the plan. Grocers have industry expertise that New York City lacks; they benefit from scale; and they run on thin profit margins, estimated at just 1 to 3 percent, leaving little room for additional savings. Less discussed, though no less formidable, is a political obstacle for Mamdani: The self-described democratic socialist's promise to lower grocery prices and, more generally, 'lower the cost of living for working class New Yorkers' will be undermined by other policies that he or his coalition favors that would raise costs. No one should trust that...
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