"We don't think that anyone should have a constitutional right to double-digit returns on their investment."
That was the line from Democratic Socialists of America co-chair Gustavo Gordillo during his debate with Fox News’ Martha MacCallum last week, as he tried to defend the group’s socialist tenets primarily its rent control and rent freeze agenda now being pushed in New York City.
No, there is no enumerated constitutional right guaranteeing anyone a double-digit return. But I’m still waiting for Gordillo to explain where he found the constitutional right to seize other people’s wealth, cap their gains, or punish success simply because his political movement considers it excessive. The right to a healthy return is not spelled out in the Constitution, but the broader principle is far more American than the socialist instinct to level outcomes by force. It is rooted instead in the Declaration of Independence, which recognizes the right to pursue happiness, a promise that, in the real world, carries undeniable economic meaning.
“We don’t think that anyone has the constitutional right to double-digit returns…it’s not in the Constitution.”
— David Asman (@DavidAsmanfox) July 20, 2026
Of course it doesn’t need to be in the Constitution. The Constitution is about restraining government, not about restraining profits. pic.twitter.com/OcP7i5CVyU
"Landlords in New York have been making a 12 percent return on their investment for, on average—" Gordillo said.
"How much should they make?" MacCallum asked. "What's fair for the landlord to make if you don't like 12?"
"They're complaining that 12 is not enough, and we don't think that anyone should have a constitutional right to double-digit returns on their investment," the DSA co-chair explained. "That's why we've implemented—"
"No one should have a right to a double-digit return on their investment? No one has a right? What are you talking about?"
"That's not in the Constitution," Gordillo explained. "But what we see is that when we implement a rent freeze, we have landlords who are crying that the government is going to put them out of business."
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Well, despite what the DSA may think, business is productive, landlords are productive, and it is a perfectly legitimate way for Americans to make money. In fact, they are willingly providing a good to their fellow man: a home. That is a beautiful thing. And that is the point of the United States, the freedom of each individual to pursue his or her own interests and well-being unencumbered by a government that believes that every personal choice must be corrected because they do not fit its preferred worldview.
As history shows, the chaotic choices of millions of individuals consistently outperform government planning. No committee can match the dynamism of a free people making decisions for themselves. So no, there is no constitutional right to a double-digit return. But there is also no constitutional right for government to prevent one. It is not for government, or even a simple majority, to decide how someone earns their livelihood.
Editor’s Note: New York City is now facing the consequences of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s socialist takeover.
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