A state TV spot meant to lure companies here touts New York’s “new approach to business development.” This week’s budget deal shows just what “approach” Albany has in mind.
Hint: Central planners in the old Soviet Union would be pleased.
Start with the Kremlin’s — er, Albany’s — hike in the minimum wage, to $9 an hour over three years. Never mind that businesses can go to other states and pay less.
Next come profits: Should business folk prove successful despite all the over-regulation, the budget deal will force some of them to ship more of it to Albany. Breaking his “no new taxes” vow yet again, Gov. Cuomo slapped another 29 percent surcharge on the wealthy, effective in 2015.
That’s just the state. At the city level, apparatchiks are busy issuing their own diktats — e.g., prevailing- and living-wage laws that set pay for selected employers above state and federal levels.
And never mind telling firms how much to pay workers; they also specify whom to hire: You can’t “discriminate” on the basis of “race, color, creed, age, national origin, alienage or citizenship status, gender (including gender identity and sexual harassment), sexual orientation, disability, arrest or conviction record, marital status, partnership status, or status as a victim of domestic violence, stalking and sex offenses.”
To that list, the City Council recently added folks without a job. Bosses who so much as ask if an applicant fits any of these categories risk pricey lawsuits.
Another council bill would dictate sick-leave policy. And there are rules for insuring workers, for setting the size, shape and use of buildings, even for how firms operate (the latest idea: forcing stores to hide cigarettes that are for sale).
Compare all that to the nine states whose minimum wages are below the federal rate. Or the nine with zero income tax. Or those with flat taxes. Or minimal regulations.
These states seek to grow jobs and attract enterprise by lightening the business load and keeping taxes low. Anyone think businesses who see that are going to be sold on “the new approach” in New York?