The Real Racism

In the New Gilded Age, bias is not going back to Jim Crow voting patterns and a Plessy court. No, true bias is taxing the rich.

Steven Roth, the chief executive of Vornado Realty Trust, used an earnings call on Tuesday to castigate Mayor Zohran Mamdani of New York for his “tax-the-rich” rhetoric, which he likened to a racial slur or a pro-Palestinian rallying cry.

“I must say that I consider the phrase ‘tax the rich’ — quote, tax the rich — when spit out with anger and contempt by politicians both here and across the country, to be just as hateful as some disgusting racial slurs and even the phrase, ‘from the river to the sea,’” Mr. Roth said, referring to the pro-Palestinian phrase that some Jews believe amounts to a call for ethnic cleansing.

Mr. Roth said “tax the rich” suggests that the wealthy are evil and should be made targets, and he criticized the mayor for singling out Kenneth C. Griffin, a fellow tycoon, in his campaign to force rich New Yorkers to pay more to support the city’s programs.

Mr. Roth said Mr. Mamdani’s decision to film a social media video celebrating Gov. Kathy Hochul’s proposed pied-à-terre tax in front of Mr. Griffin’s multistory penthouse — in a building developed by Vornado — was “dangerous” and an “ugly, unnecessary video stunt.”

There’s a kinda sorta general resentment toward the super rich generating right now. But only kinda sorta. If only people could really organize around this and show Roth what hate actually looks like, we might get somewhere.