Can Socialism Truly Improve Government Efficiency?

This week, editors Peter Suderman, Katherine Mangu-Ward, Nick Gillespie, and Matt Welch dive into New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s newly formed Commission on Government Efficiency (COGE). The panel weighs Mamdani’s assertion that bureaucracy throttles New York’s ability to provide housing, transit, and other essential services, while debating whether the commission signals a genuine reform effort or merely a branding upgrade of the city’s existing political priorities. They also ponder what Mamdani’s adoption of efficiency rhetoric reveals about the Democratic Party’s current state and the rising awareness that government often fails to deliver on its promises.

Next, the editors examine former Vice President Mike Pence’s remark that “Democrats have lost their mind” and analyze the Democratic Party’s continuing lure of polarizing figures, from Maine Senate hopeful Graham Platner to California’s still unsettled gubernatorial contest. The panel then checks in on the Iran dispute that remains unresolved, before evaluating a proposal to abolish property taxes for senior citizens and what it signals about the trend toward narrowly targeted tax relief. Finally, the editors respond to a listener’s question about whether late Senator John McCain’s (R–Ariz.) opposition to mixed martial arts helped shape the cultural forces that eventually brought the UFC to the White House lawn.

 

0:00—The Commission on Government Efficiency

14:04—Pence’s remarks about the Democratic Party

22:21—Platner and the quality of Democratic candidates

30:19—Iran conflict update

33:01—Listener question about the White House UFC event

42:30—Should seniors shoulder property taxes?

50:05—Weekly cultural picks

 

Mentioned in the podcast:

“Elon Did DOGE. Now Mamdani Is Trying COGE,” by Megan O’Rourke

“Mamdani ‘Balanced’ New York City’s Budget—With a Bailout From Albany,” by Joe Lancaster

“Confidence in Market Principles,” by Mike Pence

“Mike Pence’s Sensible (and Probably Doomed) Plan To Fix the National Debt,” by Eric Boehm

“Today Mike Pence May Find That All His Temporizing and Obfuscation About the Election Sacrificed His Integrity for Nothing,” by Jacob Sullum

“Ken Paxton’s Primary Victory Shows How Trump’s Grudges Undermine His Party’s Interests,” by Jacob Sullum

“Don’t Get a Nazi Tattoo or Praise Hitler: Advice for New Politicians,” by Robby Soave

“Bleeding into the Mainstream,” by Greg Beato

“Government’s Ongoing Effort to Shutter Mixed Martial Arts,” by Kerry Howley

“UFC: One Man’s Brutal Spectacle Is Another’s Eden,” by A. Barton Hinkle

“Stop Giving Property Tax Breaks to Senior Citizens,” by Eric Boehm

“Baby Boomers Are the Richest Generation in History. Why Do Politicians Keep Spending More on Them?” by Eric Boehm

“Abolish Property Taxes?” by Christian Britschgi

“Helen Lewis: The Dark Side of Genius,” by Nick Gillespie

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