Democratic Socialist mayoral hopeful Zohran Mamdani says he’ll push for an unprecedented leap to a $30-per-hour minimum wage by 2030 — nearly doubling New York City’s current $16.50 rate.

His voters might believe the “$30 by ’30” plan will lift workers, helping them keep up with NYC’s sky-high living costs.

In reality, such a dramatically increased wage floor would likely supercharge the adoption of automation and AI, especially in industries that rely on low-wage labor, and cost the city hundreds of thousands of jobs.

It’s not hard to see why: When the cost of labor increases, machines become a reliable, cheaper alternative.

And whenever the marginal cost of automation falls below the cost of employing workers, businesses will substitute.

NYC’s median wage is $29 per hour, meaning

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