In Argentina, conservative reformers scrapped rent control and triggered a drop in rental prices through deregulation. In New York City, commies imposed rent control and drove prices to new highs. This is not a question of mere incompetence or ignorance. This is a story of two different ideologies fighting for control of the West.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani knows perfectly well that his policies — like the pied-à-terre tax on second residences and the rent freeze — are going to make owning homes and renting homes unaffordable for most people. He is fine with that because he is a socialist who wants all the property, wealth, and power in the hands of an elite few. That is where he differs from Javier Milei in Argentina. I only wish more American politicians would be as hard-core and as indifferent to the opinions of leftists as Milei is in implementing reforms.
Remember, Mamdani has explicitly endorsed the "abolition of private property," and his director of the city's Office to Protect Tenants, Cea Weaver, called to "seize private property." You can watch the clip of Mamdani below:
Socialist Democrat Zohran Mamdani: “The abolition of private property” is preferable to what is going on right now. pic.twitter.com/PGidEafVz2
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 17, 2025
The fact that the impending New York tax on second residences has driven more people to rent, and the fact that Manhattan rents reached an all-time high of $6,655 after the rent freeze took effect, do not bother Mamdani and Co., because their goal was always to destroy society and remake it. They aim to shift property and assets around. Mamdani did not mess up from his point of view; he succeeded. Government interference usually drives up costs and crushes growth, but some politicians are fine with that.
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Milei, on the other hand, knows that socialism is a disaster for the majority of people who live under it. He inclines toward libertarianism, but can be described as a capitalist who believes in a limited government — perhaps more accurately a classical liberal than a strict libertarian. He knows that by deregulating many sectors and eliminating unnecessary and burdensome government bureaucracy, a leader can revitalize the economy and make housing much more affordable.
That is, in fact, exactly what has happened in Argentina over the last few years. Newsweek confessed in 2024 that “a surge in housing supply, with the freedom to negotiate contracts, previously restricted, directly causing a drop in rental prices” was the result of Milei ditching rent control. By drastically reducing public spending and slashing bureaucracy, Milei brought inflation down from a 2023 rate of 211% to a 2025 rate of about 30%. The latter rate might still sound very concerning, but he has made incredible progress. He wanted to increase affordability and housing supply for Argentinians, and he did it.
Milei and Mamdani both acted in accord with their own ideologies, their own beliefs. They got radically different outcomes because they had totally different goals. And the rest of the world needs to pay attention to the ideas behind the results, because they represent two economic perspectives warring for the West.
