By The American Tribune | Created at 2026-08-12 10:32:06 | Updated at 2026-08-12 12:12:07
1 hour ago
The Florida Chamber of Commerce took its economic rivalry with New York directly into the heart of Manhattan, putting up a massive Times Square billboard thanking New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani for supposedly helping send jobs, businesses, and wealthy residents south. The billboard names Mamdani Florida’s “Economic Developer of the Year” alongside “Thanks for the jobs!” The campaign is part of the Chamber’s effort to showcase Florida’s low-tax, pro-business model.
The digital billboard went up at Broadway and West 43rd Street in Times Square, giving the Florida business group a prominent location for its jab at Mamdani. The Chamber says the campaign is about more than just trolling the socialist mayor, arguing that businesses and residents respond to taxes, regulations, and the cost of living by moving to states where they see better opportunities. Florida has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of interstate migration out of New York in recent years.
The Chamber was explicit in its campaign material, declaring, “New York Can Keep Its Socialism,” while presenting a side-by-side comparison of the two states. They argued that Florida’s lack of a state personal income tax, much lower government spending, population growth, and business climate have helped it attract both people and investment. The Times Square billboard puts Mamdani’s face on that argument by personally crediting the New York mayor with helping Florida recruit residents and businesses.
As the Florida Chamber of Commerce explained on its campaign page, “Every time a business or family relocates, an entrepreneur launches a company, or a skilled worker chooses Florida over a higher-cost state, Florida becomes stronger. That is why the Florida Chamber recognized the leader of New York’s policies as ‘Florida Economic Developer of the Year.’”
Florida Chamber President and CEO Mark Wilson said the group wanted to thank Mamdani for the people and economic activity it believes New York policies are driving south. “We wanted to thank him for the jobs, the companies, the people that they’re pushing out of New York — and a lot of them are coming to Florida,” Wilson told Fox News Digital, according to the New York Post. Wilson argued that Florida has pursued the opposite approach by repeatedly cutting taxes while maintaining growing state revenues as its economy expands.
The Chamber also cited IRS migration data, saying Florida is gaining roughly $2.4 million in net taxable income every hour while New York is losing approximately $1.1 million per hour. Its campaign page lists Florida as gaining 551 residents per day through annual net migration compared with New York losing 115, while noting Florida has no state personal income tax compared with New York’s top rate of 10.9%. The Chamber also points to a five-year population increase of 8.7% in Florida compared with a 0.6% decline in New York.
Wilson said the campaign is intended to promote Florida’s economic approach rather than merely celebrate New York’s problems. “Even though Florida is winning right now, we’re not looking for New York to lose,” Wilson said. “We’re hoping that these other states will say ‘no’ to this move towards socialism and say ‘yes’ to the very policies that our country was founded on.” He added, “This isn’t about spiking a football or looking at the scoreboard about Florida versus New York. This is really about trying to save our country from crazy.”
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The Florida Chamber has made free enterprise and private-sector job creation central to its economic agenda, and the organization argues that Florida’s recent growth shows the model is working. Its campaign compares Florida’s $117.6 billion state budget with New York’s $277 billion budget and puts per-capita state spending at $5,012 in Florida compared with $13,848 in New York. “Florida now has more people than New York, yet New York’s budget is more than twice the size of Florida’s,” Wilson said in the campaign. “No wonder people are leaving. To be c lear, New York has incredible people and companies who want a chance to grow, and I believe they deserve that chance. Neither socialism nor government creates innovation or jobs — the private sector does.”
New York City Hall pushed back on the attack, pointing to recent job creation, investment, and Manhattan’s office market. A spokesman said that the city had added more than 21,700 jobs over the previous six months and argued that the city’s economy remained strong under Mamdani. “By any metric, New York City’s economy under Mayor Mamdani is as strong as it’s ever been,” the spokesman said, adding that the administration intends to continue growing the economy while making sure working-class residents benefit.
The Chamber, however, apparently does not intend to stop with New York. Wilson suggested that similar billboard campaigns could eventually appear elsewhere as the group targets cities and states whose governments it believes are pursuing the same economic policies. “There’s several runner-ups for this,” he said. “When you look at Chicago, when you look at California, Minneapolis, there’s places all over the country that come in a close second to the movement in New York City. So we’re gonna continue to highlight what works.”
