A week after the deadline passed, state leaders left Albany without delivering a new budget—drawing sharp criticism from Senator Tom O’Mara, who says the delay masks a dangerous failure to confront New York’s deepening financial troubles.
O’Mara, a Republican representing parts of the Southern Tier and Finger Lakes, argues that budget talks have been hijacked by partisan priorities. He says policymakers are fixated on non-budget issues like discovery reform and mental health commitment laws, while ignoring what he sees as the state’s real emergencies: high taxes, ballooning Medicaid costs, unfunded mandates, and prison staffing shortages.
O’Mara pointed to a WalletHub study showing New York ranks among the highest in the nation for tax burdens, including the top spot for individual income tax and second overall. “Providing relief or prioritizing affordability continues to be more of a talking point than an action item for policymakers in Albany,” he quoted from the Upstate United advocacy group.
On Medicaid, he cited Empire Center findings showing a proposed $6.4 billion increase in the state’s share—rising 17 percent in a single year. The group warned that Governor Hochul’s plan simply “pumps more of the taxpayers’ money into an already expensive and dysfunctional status quo.”
Local schools and businesses, O’Mara argued, remain saddled with unfunded mandates like a pending all-electric school bus requirement that he says could devastate districts. Meanwhile, he criticized the state’s response to a prison staffing crisis sparked by the firing of over 2,000 corrections officers. Instead of hiring replacements, the state is deploying National Guard troops—at up to five times the cost—and accelerating early release plans for inmates.
At the heart of O’Mara’s column is a warning about unsustainable spending. Under one-party Democratic control, he said, state budgets have grown by $90 billion since 2019. If the current plan is approved, projected deficits will hit $6.5 billion by 2027, $9.8 billion in 2028, and $11 billion in 2029.
“These Democrats are the biggest spenders in state history,” O’Mara wrote. “They’re more than willing to keep on spending money that’s not there.”
He accused legislative leaders of directing billions toward politically driven handouts and of seeking new taxes to cover the gap—without answering a key question: Can New Yorkers afford it?
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