this idea of a publicly subsidized grocery store in new york city is a prime example of socialism for the rich. what this seems to be about is a way to subsidize businesses that don't pay their interns, without relying on the food stamps system used by poor people and blue collar workers, because that system is for poor people. the unpaid interns doing free work for businesses downtown and living in apartments rented by their parents are the educated children of the wealthy; they can't be using the same system of food welfare as the poor. instead, they need a parallel system intended to cater to their tastes, and to ensure they don't have to interact with the poor, or suffer the indignity of getting food stamps.

it would probably be more reasonable to just put them on snap and embarrass and shame everybody into just fucking paying them, but you can't have that in america. there are shareholders to report to.

so, the city has to step in instead. how do you fund such a thing? in the united states, i believe food stamps are federally funded. these grocery stores, if they are subsidized by the city, would have to come from property taxes, as that is where cities generate funds. who pays property taxes in new york city? not the wealthy living in their mansions on the water or upstate whose kids will rely on the publicly funded grocery stores, or people working downtown to pay rent and living in apartments. the answer is blue collar property owners, many of them unionized, and working in trades or services.

and, there you go - you get the blue collar working class paying to feed the children of the wealthy, who are living off government welfare. socialism for the rich.

you'll excuse these blue collar workers, however, if they point out that it seems a little more like taxation without representation than it does like socialism.