I’ve been thinking deeply about how New York City – a place built on hustle, risk, and reinvention – could possibly elect a Democratic Socialist. It’s easy to frame it as politics, but I think it reveals something deeper about where we are as a society. In a perfect world, everyone would start at the same line – equal opportunity, equal access, equal chance to rise. That’s the dream, but obviously an impossible reality. But somewhere along the way, we stopped fighting for equal starts and began demanding equal finishes. People now believe they’re entitled to the same outcome – the same wealth, the same recognition – regardless of effort, talent, or risk. That mindset breeds resentment toward success. If someone builds something great, they’re accused of taking it from someone else. If someone wins, they’re told to feel guilty for it. The idea that billionaires shouldn’t exist – that the people who create should give everything to those who never tried – is equality twisted into envy. Equality of opportunity is freedom – it inspires progress. Equality of outcome is entitlement – it destroys it. New York, like humanity itself, has never thrived on sameness. It thrives on drive, risk, and the chaos of people daring to run their own race – no matter where the starting line is.