The importance of facts

Luann Byrne’s letter to the editor in the November 13-19, 2025, Advertiser-News North illustrates the importance of a full set of facts when forming our opinions. Two items in Ms. Byrne’s letter illustrate this point.

First, she appears to be of the opinion that Zohran Mamdani is a socialist, and then at length discusses the problems with authoritarian socialist and communist regimes, legitimate problems indeed. However, Mr. Mamdani is neither a socialist nor a communist, both of which have been used to inaccurately describe him and his policies. He is a self-described democratic socialist. Democratic socialism may be summarized as: working people, not just the wealthy, have a real say; everyone can flourish (this includes capitalists); and government manages or otherwise helps with essential services to which everyone should have access (think healthcare). In a fact-driven debate we would not be talking about socialism or communism, neither of which apply, we would be discussing whether we want to continue the “profit above all else” society driven over the past half century by the wealthy or whether we want a society that benefits all of us.

Second, Ms. Byrne appears to be of the opinion that the rich and corporations are being demonized and perhaps the top 1 percent pays more than their fair share of NYC taxes that will end when they leave NYC in the future. Suggesting that everyone should have a fair chance of success is not demonizing the rich or corporations, although the wealthy and corporations are those most likely to perpetuate this myth in service of profitability. Again, consider a more complete suite of facts. A summary of total NYC tax burden by annual income groups is as follows (2024 tax law, 2023 income data): Bottom 40 percent - 11.1-11.8 percent; next 55 percent - $13.3-13.8 percent; next 4 percent - 12.8 percent; top 1 percent - 13.5 percent.

This data illustrates: (1) that the wealthiest wage earners are not being disproportionately burdened, and (2) the income gap between rich and poor that exists and persists. Presenting these facts does notdemonize the rich and corporations, rather it presents a factual basis for debate about whether anyone is being demonized (no one should be) and whether the system is fair. One last point, the wealthy do notgenerate most jobs. Largely, jobs are generated by companies supplying the demand of our broader society, but supporting my opinion with data would take another letter.

Gary DiPippo

Wantage