Hochul Hides Budget Update

Designed to bolster transparency and accountability, New York state law requires a governor’s budget office to release updates on state revenue and spending no more than thirty days after each quarter’s end. The law ensures voters understand the current and expected financial climate and where their tax dollars are going.

Governor Hochul, it appears, has little interest in keeping voters in the loop, at least before midterms. This statutory deadline to release her financial plan was October 30^th, but that came and went. The suspicion, then, is that Governor Hochul doesn’t have good news for the voters, and apparently, no news is better than bad news.

There are already signs that New York’s out of control spending will soon put the state in a huge hole. The latest outlook suggests the state will be back in the red starting in 2023.

In a period of high inflation and economic downturn, elected officials have the obligation to be significantly more protective of taxpayers’ wallets and more conservative with their legislative goals. However, while the economy slows, Hochul spends. The governor’s budget update on August 1^st stated an expected deficit of over $6 billion in the years to come, yet 10 days later she decided to spend another $10 billion on increasing tax subsidies, according to Peter Warren of the Empire Center.

Governor Hochul would rather break the law and keep the masses ignorant until the gubernatorial race comes to an end. She knows her spending habits are unsustainable, particularly during times of economic downturn, but continues spending anyway. She knows the numbers won’t be kind to her and may tip the electoral scales in favor of Lee Zeldin.