STEVE FORBES: Radical ideology replaces competence at the NYC Health Department
New York City is facing serious public-health challenges. Drug overdoses are surging. Mental illness is rampant. Emergency rooms are under strain. Life expectancy in parts of the city has declined.
So what are some employees at the New York City Department of Health reportedly studying? The effects of "global oppression" on health.
This is not a joke. It is a disturbing example of how ideology has displaced competence in city government — and how taxpayers are being asked to foot the bill.
A public health department has a straightforward mission: protect people from disease, respond to health emergencies and ensure basic safety standards. It exists to prevent outbreaks, combat addiction, improve maternal health and keep food and water safe. It is not a political theory workshop.
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Every hour spent theorizing about "global oppression" is an hour not spent addressing tuberculosis outbreaks, fentanyl deaths, or mental-health crises. These problems are not academic abstractions. They are immediate, measurable, and — when ignored — lethal.
This episode fits a broader pattern under New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration. From day one, City Hall has signaled that ideological alignment matters more than operational performance. Agencies are encouraged to pursue political narratives rather than focus relentlessly on outcomes. Business confidence has weakened, regulatory pressure has increased and accountability has become diffuse. Instead of prioritizing growth, safety and efficiency, the mayor’s team has embraced a worldview that treats markets with suspicion and bureaucracy as an engine for social transformation. The result is a city government that talks a great deal about justice but delivers far too little in the way of results.
Under this governing philosophy, nearly every challenge is explained away as the product of abstract systems of oppression. That may play well in activist circles, but it offers no guidance for running a complex city of eight million people. It cannot reduce overdose deaths, speed emergency response times, or restore public confidence in basic services.
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What it does is to try to divert attention from real problems.
New York is already one of the most heavily taxed and regulated cities in America. Businesses are leaving. Families are rethinking whether they can afford to stay. Tourists — once taken for granted — are increasingly uneasy about safety and quality of life. Against this backdrop, diverting scarce public resources toward ideological exercises is not merely irresponsible — it is self-defeating.
Public trust depends on focus and accountability. When citizens see health agencies chasing political theories instead of protecting public health, confidence in government erodes. And once lost, that trust is exceedingly difficult to rebuild.
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The tragedy is that New York knows how to do better. The city has thrived when leaders emphasized competence, growth, and accountability. When government focused on expanding opportunity rather than assigning blame, New York became a magnet for talent, investment and innovation.
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A serious administration would immediately refocus the Department of Health on its core mission. It would demand measurable outcomes, strict oversight, and a clear separation between public service and political activism. Taxpayers are not funding ideology — they are paying for results.
New Yorkers deserve a government that treats public health with urgency and seriousness. Studying "global oppression" may satisfy ideological appetites, but it will not make the city healthier, safer, or more prosperous.
It’s time for City Hall to stop chasing fashionable theories — and start governing again.