(New York Post) Gov. Kathy Hochul, who hasn’t proven shy about issuing orders, had one for the state’s Republicans this week — all 5.4 million of them: “Just jump on a bus and head down to Florida where you belong, OK?” she said. “You are not New Yorkers.”
If you can move beyond the frankly disgusting political partisanship and intolerance, her message is fiscally irresponsible, even dangerous. The governor probably already knows this, but the state’s extensive public sector is heavily reliant on personal income taxes paid by residents, and with nearly $14 billion in projected budget gaps over the next five years, it can’t afford to lose any taxpayers, let alone 5.4 million of them.
The Empire State has already lost 1.5 million residents in the past decade, and there’s no sign of that trend letting up. In fact, more than 350,000 New Yorkers relocated during the 12 pandemic-plagued months leading up to July 1, 2021.
Kathy Hochul said Republicans should move down to Florida.Getty Images
In her attempt to be snappy, Hochul exposed a major problem that has gripped our state since the dawn of the Cuomo-Hochul era: New Yorkers are leaving, and they’re taking their tax dollars with them.
Hochul should be doing everything she can to encourage people to come to New York, not to leave. But she’s hasn’t. And her record $220 billion budget suggests she has no interest in ever letting taxpayers off a heavy hook.
New York City residents pay the highest combined state and local personal income tax rate in the nation. Those high taxes and other factors have led to a mass exodus of jobs and job creators. The Big Apple has yet to recover its pre-pandemic employment levels — coming in roughly 300,000 jobs below the February 2020 mark as of July. Two-plus years of pandemic-induced remote work have only accelerated the trend of New Yorkers seeking better and/or cheaper opportunities elsewhere.
A more cynical person might think this has been the strategy all along: Make it uncomfortable for your political foes in New York and they’ll leave. But it’s not just Republicans leaving — despite the governor’s command. New Yorkers from across the political spectrum are united by, and running from, a common enemy: the taxman.
Polling has shown high taxes are the primary reason New Yorkers are considering or making plans to bolt the state — and that’s the case across key subgroups: Democrats, Republicans, liberals, moderates, conservatives, all income groups, all age cohorts beyond age 24 and almost all education levels.
