this post was submitted on 27 Oct 2025
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Okay, but New York (City) is different, bro, I promise (infosec.pub)
submitted 1 week ago by Novocirab@feddit.org to c/microblogmemes@lemmy.world
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[–] givesomefucks@lemmy.world 5 points 1 week ago (1 children)

especially

I'd say anyone even slightly familiar with US politics would know billionaires have lots of ways to obfuscate campaign donations...

Like, it's not exactly a secret, and US politics are kind of unavoidable.

[–] rumschlumpel@feddit.org -1 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

Sure, but this is a rather specific claim that seems a little hard to believe. You're telling me they're spending billions on a mayor campaign (assuming Mamdani's plans are similar to what Massachusetts did)?

[–] givesomefucks@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago (2 children)

You’re telling me they’re spending billions

No...

I think you're confused

[–] Lumidaub@feddit.org 2 points 1 week ago (1 children)

But how much ARE they spending then? And why? I'm not from the US either and I'm baffled at the media attention this mayoral election is getting.

[–] curbstickle@anarchist.nexus 4 points 1 week ago (1 children)

https://www.thecity.nyc/2025/06/09/cuomo-super-pac-fix-the-city-donations/

Under New York City laws that aim to curb the potential for or appearance of pay-to-play corruption, nobody on the city’s official list of companies and individuals doing, or even seeking, business with the city can give more than $400 to a citywide candidate in any election cycle.

But there’s another option: so-called independent expenditure committees, New York’s version of super PACS, that allow deep-pocketed players to spend unlimited amounts of money backing one candidate. And this election cycle, the overwhelming beneficiary of such spending has been former Gov. Andrew Cuomo — and those seeking to influence the vote in his favor.

mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo has received $10.8 million in total contributions to his Super PAC "Fix The City".

A few "fun" snippets here:

donor Scott Rechler, chairman and CEO of RXR Realty, a major player in New York City’s ultra-competitive real estate market.

On March 13, Rechler wrote a $2,100 check to Cuomo’s campaign. The campaign promptly refunded him $1,700, bringing his donation in line with the $400 limit on “doing business” donors. Rechler had landed on the list two months earlier regarding the Hall Street project.

But Rechler wasn’t finished. The very next day he wrote a much more impressive check of $250,000 to Fix the City, an independent expenditure committee that is aggressively supporting Cuomo’s bid for City Hall.

Arker also owns a company called Progressive Management of New York and a limited liability corporation called Chateau GC LLC. On April 23, the day after Arker wrote his $400 check to the Cuomo campaign, Progressive and Chateau each wrote $25,000 checks to Fix The City.

The tell

the Cuomo campaign and Fix The City have already been accused of improper coordination on the spending side.

The city Campaign Finance Board made such an accusation last month when it withheld nearly $1.3 million in public matching funds from Cuomo’s campaign, finding that a Fix the City ad plugging Cuomo’s candidacy was nearly identical to language on the campaign’s official website.

Some more:

In addition to Fix The City, a landlord group, the New York Apartment Association, last week announced the formation of an independent expenditure committee called Housing For All, promising to spend $2.5 million to support the former governor’s mayoral bid.

24 entities who are currently on the “doing business” list wrote checks to Fix The City ranging from $5,000 to $1 million

They include corporations such as DoorDash ($1 million), Lyft ($25,000), Charter Communications ($125,000) and major real estate developers The Durst Organization ($100,000) and Two Trees Management ($250,000) — entities that are strictly prohibited from giving any amount to campaigns.

To date (NOTE BY ME: that date was June, 4 months ago) Fix The City has spent $5.6 million in support of Cuomo’s City Hall bid and has more recently launched negative ads against his main rival Zohran Mamdani. That includes $1.29 million to air a video ad that included text the CFB found mirrored text that existed on an obscure page within the Cuomo campaign’s website.

In short, its really hard to know how much is being spent, because they can hide it in all kinds of ridiculous ways.

Tens of millions of dollars have been spent in easily tracked money. There's more being spent that isnt as easily tracked.

[–] rumschlumpel@feddit.org 2 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

How much do you think Mamdani's plans are going to cost them?

[–] curbstickle@anarchist.nexus 4 points 1 week ago (1 children)

In taxes, about a few billion annually. 2% increase in income tax on over $1 million, 11% at the top of the corporate tax bracket. To be clear about the brackets, they would be paying more on amounts over $1 million, you pay the percentage for each bracket.

So not devastating their profits at all, they would still be raking it in.

Long term he could be representative of a larger shift in approach, especially among blue states (where the overwhelming majority of profits can be found). Again, not devastating to profits or income, just making the ultra wealthy pay their part.

Massachusetts has a similar approach now which has given them around $5 billion annually.

[–] rumschlumpel@feddit.org 2 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

That's about what I thought. I really doubt they're spending anywhere close to that on the current campaign. Even if they thought it was worth it, how do you even spend that much money on ads that target one city?

[–] curbstickle@anarchist.nexus 2 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Easy, you don't target just the city. Or one campaign. Or even a campaign, there are some who set up the same sort of PAC - not to get a candidate elected, but specifically to oppose him getting elected.

If they were targeting just NYC, do you think you'd know this much about mamdani?

That said, some billionaires spent another $20+ million just last week. Some went to campaigns, some went to opposing mamdani. That was last week, and only some of the billionaires. Anti-trans and anti-immigrant groups are donating and running ads elsewhere. They are lobbying against mamdani and other for Cuomo in DC to try and get those reps to make statements.

Official spending? Not remotely near a billion. I'd say the campaign has officially spent $20mil or less.

Unofficial spending is going to be quite a bit more. I don't think its in the multiple billions, no. But I would say its a safe assumption to put it in the hundreds of millions.

[–] rumschlumpel@feddit.org 1 points 1 week ago (1 children)

hundreds of millions < what Mamdani's policies are probably going to cost them

[–] curbstickle@anarchist.nexus 1 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

I don't believe I ever said otherwise, so I have no idea what you're driving at.

[–] rumschlumpel@feddit.org 1 points 1 week ago (1 children)

If they aren't spending billions, the claim that billionaires are spending more money on the anti-Mamdani/pro-Cuomo campaigns than Mamdani's policies would cost them is flat-out wrong.

[–] givesomefucks@lemmy.world 1 points 1 week ago (1 children)

So...

You think that Mamdani's policies will cost multiple people over a billion dollars?

Facts:

  1. They are billionaires.

  2. Mamdani will raise their taxes

Assumptions:

A. They are likely spending more on Cuomo's campaign then they would pay in taxes

B. This is because if Mamdani's policies are successful they'd see wider adoption.

Besides the fact that you somehow think the taxes will cost any single person a billion dollars, the big flaw is you think the office of the NYC mayor is the full war, and not just a battle.

Billionaires will spend more than Mamdani will cost them, because they see it as a single battle in a very long class war. Win or lose the battle, they will keep fighting the war

[–] rumschlumpel@feddit.org 1 points 1 week ago

You think that Mamdani’s policies will cost multiple people over a billion dollars?

Do you think that I think that multiple people are spending over a billion dollars each? Obviously not. But collectively, probably?

Billionaires will spend more than Mamdani will cost them

I haven't seen so much as a hint of evidence for this.