As New York lawmakers continue negotiating the next state budget, State Senator Tom O’Mara is sounding the alarm over what he describes as fiscal recklessness and runaway spending by the state’s Democratic leadership.
In a sharply worded column released this week, O’Mara, a Republican representing the Southern Tier and Finger Lakes region, accused Governor Kathy Hochul and legislative Democrats of ignoring mounting economic red flags. These include population loss, sky-high taxes, and warnings from national fiscal watchdogs about the state’s heavy debt burden.
O’Mara pointed to the recent decision by Goldman Sachs to shift more employees and operations to Texas as part of a larger trend of financial institutions moving out of New York—a sector he describes as critical to the state’s economic health. He also cited rankings from WalletHub and the Tax Foundation placing New York among the most heavily taxed and indebted states in the nation.
“Warning signs keep flashing and Albany Democrats just keep ignoring all of it,” O’Mara wrote.
According to the senator, the state’s fiscal plan is barreling toward a record-breaking budget. Governor Hochul proposed a $252 billion budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year—already a $9 billion increase over the current year. But Senate Democrats, O’Mara said, are pushing for even more: a $259 billion plan that he claims will saddle the state with budget deficits totaling nearly $27 billion over the next three years. Assembly Democrats, he added, are seeking to go even further.
O’Mara argues that these increases are unsustainable and will worsen New York’s affordability crisis—a crisis, he claims, that Democratic leaders acknowledge but are unwilling to address with meaningful reform. “They do plenty of talking about it,” he wrote. “Yet the Democrats can’t give up increasing handouts.”
In response, Senate Republicans have proposed alternative legislation, including tax cuts for small businesses and farmers, a tax credit for first-time homebuyers, and financial relief from climate policy mandates under the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. One key measure is the “Affordable New York Act,” which aims to reduce taxes on individual workers.
O’Mara concluded with a call for a new direction, warning that continued unchecked spending is neither affordable nor responsible. “We need to liberate New York,” he wrote, urging a pivot toward fiscal sustainability, safer communities, and relief for middle-class families and businesses.
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