AI Summary
5 min readNew York City Mayor Eric Adams announced a plan to open city-backed grocery stores that would sell a core set of groceries at a 30% discount. The city would pay for the land, building, and property taxes, while private companies would manage day-to-day operations. The idea is that this subsidy compensates businesses for selling goods below market price. Similar projects exist in Illinois, Georgia, and Wisconsin, while efforts in Missouri and Florida failed. From an economics perspective, the plan creates an obvious arbitrage opportunity: if eggs and milk are sold 30% below market, entrepreneurs could buy them and resell them elsewhere for an instant profit. Asked about this, Adams’ colleague indicated they are considering a card-based system to monitor large purchases and enforce the discount, though customers would be allowed to walk in without one. The details remain vague, but the episode notes that people will likely find creative ways around the restrictions.
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What you'll learn
- 1 (02:17) **Mamdani's 30% Grocery Discount Plan** - New York City mayor announces city-backed supermarkets that would sell core groceries at a 30% discount.
- 2 (04:36) **$166 Billion in Sports Bets vs. Other Entertainment** - Americans wagered $166 billion on sports betting last year, more than combined spending on movies, arts, museums, and music.
- 3 (07:09) **Gen Z Drinks at Nearly the Same Rate as the General Population** - New data from IWSR shows 74% of Gen Z adults drink alcohol, virtually identical to the total adult population.
- 4 (09:02) **Host Darien Woods Announces Book Leave** - Darien is leaving The Indicator for the rest of the year to write a book on decision-making and the explore-exploit dilemma.
- 5 Standout Quotes
- 6 "Milk scalpers. I can't wait to see them." — Adrian Ma, on potential arbitrage of discounted groceries.
- 7 "It's trading, not gambling." — Ricky Mulvey (sarcastically), on prediction markets being equivalent to sports betting.
+ Full timestamped outline available in the app
Show Notes
On today’s episode: The inner workings of Mamdani’s marts; how much Americans gamble; and Gen-Z aren’t the sober generation we’ve been led to believe!
Fact checking by Corey Bridges.
Your Next Listen
— Is gambling the reason we have pro sports?
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