New York City Budget and Ken Griffin Tax Spat (with David Westin)

Introduces the segment on NYC's budget fight and Ken Griffin.

David Westin

Whitney Tilson

Mamdani made a mistake targeting Ken Griffin. 1% of NYC taxpayers pay 47% of income tax. Driving out the rich is dumb. NYC should roll out a welcome mat.

Billionaires moved to Florida during COVID, impacting NYC's budget.

Asks about the size of the budget deficit and where to find savings.

David Westin

Whitney Tilson

NYC has a spending problem, not a revenue problem. The budget grew faster than inflation. He suggests 1-2% across-the-board cuts, citing waste in school budget and subway construction costs.

NYC pays 6x as much as any city to build one mile of subway.

Asks about keeping NYC attractive for young talent and companies.

David Westin

Whitney Tilson

NYC's brand is special, but AI uncertainty and housing affordability threaten its appeal. Texas is deliberately attracting jobs (court system, stock exchange, incentives). NYC needs more housing and a pro-business mayor.

JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs have more jobs in Texas than NYC now.

Asks if the market can make up the difference without government subsidies.

David Westin

Elizabeth Economy

Government subsidies are needed to get new technologies over the hurdle. The US needs to adopt elements of China's playbook, including more government intervention, to compete.

I think the Trump administration has come around to appreciate, right? That if you're going to compete with China, you're going to have to adopt some elements of their playbook, right? You're going to have to invest.

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