There’s hope for New York’s economy yet — and you can find it in the jobs plan Rob Astorino presented Tuesday.
The Republican candidate for governor believes lower taxes, fewer government rules and mandates, fracking and investment in roads and bridges can help reverse the state’s economic woes.
It’s a refreshing change. And there’s good reason to believe it can work, whoever’s governor.
Face it: New York’s economy has stagnated, particularly outside the city. Year after year, rating groups list us as one of the worst states in which to do business and place our economic prospects at the bottom. For much of Upstate, conditions long ago became desperate.
Ask just about any New Yorker outside of a few neighborhoods, says Astorino, and they’ll tell you about someone close who’s under- or unemployed — and about their own anxiety over the future here.
Meanwhile, New York has the highest tax burden in America. We have more onerous government rules and regulations than almost every other state. And Gov. Cuomo has banned the one industry that seems poised to resuscitate Upstate: fracking.
Here’s what Astorino proposes:
- Regulatory reform: Ban any new rules and review those on the books. He’d also repeal the Scaffold Law, a costly, outdated gift to lawyers that’s unique to New York.
- Lower taxes: Cut or roll back state spending, make the property-tax cap permanent and repeal “hidden taxes on health-insurance premiums.”
- Energy development: Green-light fracking, keep the Indian Point nuclear plant running, upgrade the power grid and aid renewable-energy sources.
- Roads and bridges: Use some of the state’s $4.2 billion take from recent legal settlements to boost our infrastructure.
Astorino notes that 400,000 New Yorkers have fled the state since 2010, while states with lower taxes (Florida has no income tax) and more business-friendly regulations have seen influxes.
There’s no reason New York can’t duplicate their success.