Rent Control, Socialism, and the Fight to Save New York City | Reihan Salam

**SPEAKER_1** (0:01)
This episode is brought to you by Google Chrome. You think you know a browser, but Gemini and Chrome, that's new. It can help you with practically anything on the web, like restoring a vintage motorcycle from a 50-page restoration block, or finally break down that long article you've had open for weeks. Gemini and Chrome is here for it. Ready to make anything online make sense? There's no place like Chrome. Check responses set up required compatibility and availability varies 18 plus.

**Anthony Pompliano** (0:26)
Hey, I just Venmo'd you for rent.

**SPEAKER_3** (0:28)
Nice, now I can instantly spend it whether I'm checking out online with Venmo or using the Venmo debit card.

**Anthony Pompliano** (0:33)
Say more.

**SPEAKER_3** (0:35)
More exactly, because the more you do with Venmo, the more you get. Like earning up to 5% cash back with Venmo stash on a bundle of brands.

**Anthony Pompliano** (0:42)
So, order more pizza.

**SPEAKER_3** (0:44)
The math demands it.

**Anthony Pompliano** (0:45)
Get the Venmo debit card.

**SPEAKER_3** (0:47)
Venmo stash bundle terms and exclusions apply. See terms at Venmo.me slash stash terms. Venmo checkout not available at all merchants. Venmo master card is issued by the Bancorp Bank NA.

**Reihan Salam** (0:56)
If you want to destroy a city, you know, the only thing more effective than carpet bombing is rent control. You saw rent control for decades, degrading the value of multifamily buildings all over New York City to the point where the owners were so desperate that some of them did things that were pretty unethical. There were people who were burning down their apartment buildings in the hope that they could get an insurance settlement out of it. It was completely crazy.

**Anthony Pompliano** (1:20)
What's going on, guys? Today, we've got a very important conversation with Reihan Salam. He's the president of the Manhattan Institute, and he's here to talk about what is going on in New York City as an example of what's going on in the broader country of the United States. In this conversation, we talk about the economics, the affordability for the everyday citizen that's living in this city. We then talk about some of the political topics that people are very interested in. What's going on around immigration? What's going around on public safety? How should we think about government spending? What about public schools, police departments, fire departments and many other organizations that affect everyday citizen's lives? I wanted to have this conversation because I think it's very important for investors and business owners alike to understand not only what's happening in a local community, but to understand maybe the broader forces. What's going well? What's not going well? What are potential areas of support? And what are potential areas that you should be worried about? All of that can be unpacked by analyzing what's going on in New York City, what's working and what's not working. Because I think that there's a lot of chaos, there's a lot of controversy around all of these different groups and the different policies. But ultimately, I want to have a data-driven conversation. That's what the Manhattan Institute does. So I'm excited for you guys to listen to this conversation with Reihan Salam.
All right, I want to start with talking about affordability in New York City. And I think of New York City as like the microcosm of the broader nation. And there's nine-ish million people who live in these five boroughs.
Affordability is probably the worst here than it is anywhere else in the country. And you get this huge despair. You have Wall Street on one end and these guys are just printing cash. And then you literally have people who are complaining about not being able to afford rent, gas, groceries, and kind of everyday life.
Why is affordability so bad in New York City?

**Reihan Salam** (2:57)
Think about this. Back in the 90s, there were a lot of people with a very simple idea. Their idea was, why don't we bring Walmart to New York City? You know, you lived in New York for a long time, you know the city, I know the city. If you go to the outer boroughs, you got a lot of strip malls. You know, it's not like the suburbs way, way out, but you have parking lots, you kind of have these places where you could have a Walmart. There was a systematic effort to prevent Walmart from coming to the city. There was a systematic effort to prevent big box retail from coming to the city. And you know, why was that? Well, you know, is it non-union? Okay, even if you, okay, well, we'll make it union. Okay, you know, give us the space, give us the in an industrial zone. Let us do this. Let us do this simple thing. If you are a big box retailer that's coming to New York City, there's the sense that the only way you can do it is by being connected. I've got to know someone, I've got to talk to someone, I've got to work with organized labor, I've got to work with a politician. So that's like a vague, you know, that winds up being this kind of extra tax on top of you.