New York State’s budget battles continue to breed uncertainty, and the costs for taxpayers are only growing, State Senator Tom O’Mara warned in a column released this week.
O’Mara criticized Governor Kathy Hochul and the Democrat-led Legislature for operating government through a series of emergency extender measures, calling the approach “no way to run a government.” He noted that despite Hochul’s announcement of a “general agreement” on a $254-billion spending plan, Democratic leaders in the Legislature have yet to finalize any deal, leaving critical details unresolved behind closed doors.
The senator pointed to a troubling pattern of fiscal mismanagement, warning that the consequences for everyday New Yorkers are severe. He cited a Bloomberg News report showing that 30,000 New Yorkers left the state for Florida’s Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties between 2017 and 2022, taking $9.2 billion in income with them.
Among the major concerns O’Mara outlined was a proposed hike in the payroll tax for businesses with payrolls over $10 million, a move he said could drive more companies out of the state and hurt workers’ paychecks. He also referenced a statement from State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, who warned that cuts in federal funding could not simply be offset by state taxpayers without reducing critical services.
O’Mara stressed that taxpayers are likely to be left holding the bag for rushed, late-night budget bills packed with unaffordable surprises. He recalled last year’s budget process, where a supposed $237 billion plan turned out to total roughly $240 billion according to a quietly released Division of the Budget report.
He concluded by painting a stark picture of the future, saying that under one-party control, the state government’s spending habits have become so addictive that “every move that everyday citizens make in New York will come attached with another cost, another tax, or another new fee or mandate.” He blamed the surge in spending—nearing $90 billion since 2018—on what he called a “relentless pursuit of a misguided, questionable, unsustainable political agenda.”
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