Tipsheet

Here's How Mamdani's Snow Shoveling Program is Going

Dmitri Bolt
Dmitri Bolt  |  February 27, 2026 3:45 PM

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is providing a striking example of how poorly run government programs can quickly go awry. Under a city initiative paying volunteers between $30 and $45 an hour to shovel snow, participants are reportedly taking far longer than necessary to complete routine tasks, with videos circulating online showing more than a dozen people crowded around a single street corner, shoveling inefficiently and appearing to stretch the work to maximize their pay.

As one user aptly pointed out, the incentive structure put in place by Mamdani, like many socialist-style compensation systems, breeds inefficiency while draining taxpayer funds. Because shovelers are paid by the hour rather than for completing the task, workers have every reason to maximize the time spent on the job and minimize the amount of work actually accomplished.

This comes as Mamdani’s program has also drawn criticism for requiring at least two forms of identification to register for the city’s shoveling initiative. That requirement stands in stark contrast to Democratic claims that mandating even a single form of ID to vote would disenfranchise millions of Americans. Apparently, what is described as an insurmountable barrier at the ballot box is no obstacle when taxpayer-funded wages are on the line.