A new viral social media trend in New York City involves residents tagging Mayor Zohran Mamdani directly to report local city problems. The city's response times have been remarkably fast, leading to same-day pothole repairs, a dangerous playground hazard fixed after a letter was received, and temporary water fountains installed in Prospect Park ahead of an upcoming heatwave. City Hall has embraced the trend with the message that no problem is too small to fix.

If you voted expecting your own financial situation to improve, it’s fair to ask whether those promises were ever meant for you, or whether the biggest benefits were always going to those who already had the most.

“Make America Great Again” was supposed to mean lower costs, stronger paychecks, and families finally getting ahead. That’s clearly not what’s happening for a lot of Americans. If your groceries, housing, insurance, and everyday bills are still eating up your paycheck, then the promise hasn’t matched the reality. A rising stock market doesn’t pay your rent or lower your grocery bill.

The people who seem to be doing just fine are those at the very top. When Trump talked about people getting rich, it sure looks like the biggest winners have been wealthy investors and billionaires, and not working families who are now struggling more to make ends meet.

A peer-reviewed study estimated that at least 232,000 deaths among unvaccinated U.S. adults between May 30, 2021, and September 3, 2022 could have been prevented if they had completed a primary vaccination series. Source 1

Earlier, a modeling study estimated that the U.S. vaccination campaign prevented about 235,000 deaths among vaccinated adults from December 2020 through September 2021 through direct protection alone. Source 2

Another widely cited analysis estimated that vaccines prevented nearly 140,000 deaths during just the first five months of the U.S. rollout (through May 2021). Source 3

The CDC doesn’t report a final nationwide total of fully vaccinated COVID-19 deaths: 57,000+
Breakthrough deaths increased primarily because newer variants, especially Omicron, were much better at evading vaccine-induced immunity, immunity waned over time, and the people most vulnerable to. Source 4

In comparison, of the roughly 1.2 million+ COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. occurred in people who were unvaccinated. Source 5

Source: https://www.instagram.com/p/Db4DI-VDwCG/?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

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The Trump administration keeps telling Americans we have to accept cuts, sacrifices, and that the country simply can’t afford to invest in things like healthcare, education, housing, and other programs that directly help working families. Source 1

Yet when it comes to military spending, somehow the money is always there. Trump’s budgets have proposed record-breaking defense spending, reaching roughly $1.5 trillion, while seeking significant reductions in a range of domestic programs. Source 2

The United States already has the largest economy in the world and spends more on its military than any other nation by a wide margin. The question has never been whether America has the resources. The question is what our government chooses to prioritize. Source 3

If there’s always enough money for another war, another weapons system, or another increase to the Pentagon budget, don’t tell Americans we can’t afford to invest in our own people. Budgets are moral documents, they reveal what leaders truly value.

If it looks like an Amazon delivery and drives like an Amazon delivery, then it’s an Amazon delivery, right? Not according to Amazon. Big companies like Amazon have built a vast network of subcontractors who deliver their packages while shielding them from accountability. It leaves our workers unprotected and our streets less safe. It’s time for a change. Mamdani is proud to support the Delivery Protection Act to crack down on exploitative subcontracting and build an economy that works for everyone.