Given changes in the electorate, the US may, before long, begin to favour contests between the Far Right and the Far Left, in place of the increasingly tiresome contests between two ideologically similar parties, the Democrats and Republicans.
By P.K.Balachandran
Colombo, July 12–The United States stands at a political crossroads. The entrenched rivalry between the Democrats and Republicans, often indistinguishable in their elitism, may soon give way to a sharper ideological divide: the Far Right and the Far Left, currently embodied by Donald Trump and Zohran Mamdani.
If Mamdani wins New York City’s mayoral race and expands his influence, Americans could sooner or later, face a stark choice between two divergent visions for the nation’s future, a Far Right perspective and a Far Left perspective, currently personified by Donald Trump and Zohran Mamdani.
On July 4, Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” became law, passing narrowly in Congress (218–214 in the House, with a Senate tie-breaker). Described as quintessentially right-wing, it prioritizes tax cuts for the wealthy while slashing social safety nets, deepening inequality.
The widespread opposition to the bill among Congressmen and Senators as indicated by the voting pattern, shows that there is a sharp divergence on ideas of good and bad, the desirable and the undesirable, cutting across traditional party lines.
The sharp cleavage in America’s highest political forums, could, in course of time, open the field to fresh ideas and also new political formations. The entrenched politics involving two elitist parties barely distinguishable from each other, could yield place to a more meaningful and sharper contest between the Far Right and the Far Left.
Divisive Economics
According to analyses of Trump’s bill by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), Penn Wharton Budget Model, and Tax Policy Center, the top 1% (earning over $1 million annually) gain an average after-tax windfall of $44,190, while the top 0.1% (earning over $5 million) receive $390,000.
Conversely, the poorest 10% lose $940 annually, a 3.9% income drop.
Over a decade, Medicaid faces $698 billion in cuts, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) loses $267 billion. These reductions threaten healthcare for 71 million low-income Americans and food assistance for millions, 81% of whom live below the poverty line. The Kaiser Family Foundation projects that 12 million will lose health insurance by 2034.
Medicaid eligibility now requires 80 hours of monthly work, potentially excluding 8.6 million people, including the elderly and disabled. Hospitals face funding cuts, risking care for 1.8 million rural Americans.
The White House defends these measures as targeting “illegal aliens” but critics, including the World Socialist Website, call it a “historic transfer of wealth to the ruling oligarchy,” with the CBO estimating a $2.3–$3.3 trillion deficit increase over a decade. Deficits typically lead to inflation, which in turn, exacerbates poverty.
Inclusive Economics
In contrast to Trump, Zohran Mamdani, New York City’s Democratic mayoral candidate, champions policies to combat poverty and inequality. His platform, rooted in democratic socialism, directly addresses the city’s economic challenges, as outlined in the 2023 Robin Hood Annual Poverty Tracker Report, conducted with Columbia University’s Centre on Poverty and Social Policy.
Mamdani’s economics is inclusive in contrast to Trump’s, which is exclusive. And poverty-stricken new York city is Mamdani’s laboratory to test his ideas on inclusive economics.
Galloping Poverty
New York may be the financial capital of the US and home to the richest, but it is also abjectly poor as stated by the latest Robin Hood Annual Poverty Tracker Report. The report shows that 25% is the overall poverty rate in New York City, climbing beyond the record highs observed in 2022.
The study found that slightly over 2 million New Yorkers were poor, which was reflected in outsized increases in the cost of basic needs, including food, housing, and utilities.
The 26% “child poverty rate” was the highest observed since the study began reporting child poverty rates in 2017.
The report showed that the increased cost of living plunged an additional 100,000 New Yorkers into poverty. As a result, New York City’s poverty rate hit 25% – up from 23% last year, which is nearly double the national poverty rate of 13%.
In New York, a family of four needs to make at least $50,000 just to survive. In 2023, the cost of five basic necessities that make up the poverty line—food, shelter, utilities, clothing, and telephone/ internet—outpaced income growth and the overall rate of inflation.
This pushed the poverty threshold up to $47,190 for a renting family of four—7.5% higher than the 2022 poverty threshold of $43,890—causing more New Yorkers to fall below this line.
A large majority (73%) of parents in these families had to reduce their savings to cope with rising prices. Nearly 31% said they took on an additional job or more work to cope with inflation. 54% of the poor were “rent-burdened”, spending more than 30% of their cash income on rent.
The reductions envisaged by Trump in vital support programmes would lead to “mass impoverishment” warned Richard R. Buery, Jr. CEO of Robin Hood.
Mamdani’s Recipe
To counter the slide into deeper poverty, Mamdani proposes city-owned grocery stores, a rent freeze on 1 million rent-stabilized units, stricter landlord accountability, and a Social Housing Development Agency to build 200,000 subsidized homes over three years.
He also advocates universal childcare (ages 6 weeks to 5 years), free public college tuition, fare-free buses, and a Department of Community Safety for housing, outreach, and mental health services.
These initiatives would be financed through a 2% income tax on those earning over $1 million and higher corporate taxes and leveraging the city’s $115 billion budget.
The implementation of Mamdani’s policies hinges on federal support—unlikely under Trump, who has branded Mamdani a “100% Communist Lunatic” and threatened to withhold funding even deploy federal intervention if he wins.
New Wave
Whether Mamdani secures the mayoralty or not, and whether Trump puts spokes in his wheel or not, Mamdani’s campaign signals a shift in American politics. Trump’s policies entrench wealth and power, while Mamdani’s vision seeks shared prosperity. This ideological clash could reshape how Americans view their future, challenging the dominance of the two-party system and igniting a debate about equity, opportunity, and the role of government.
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