ALBANY, N.Y. (WBEN) – The chairman of the state republican party blasted Albany democrats for their plans to spend more than $200 billion as part of this year's annual budget.
"To put it in perspective, it's roughly the same size as California's annual budget," Nick Langworthy said in Albany. "But they have double our population. There's something wrong here. New York was already headed toward the fiscal cliff. This budget drives us right over the edge."
Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said the $208.3 million budget would make "historic investments" in health care, housing, education, local governments, and funding for critical transportation projects.
"I have always said New York had significant needs before the COVID outbreak and they have only been made more dire because of this unprecedented healthcare crisis. Our state budget must meet the moment, and we in the Assembly Majority are committed to meeting the needs of all New Yorkers," Heastie said. "We are receiving significant federal funding, but we must also ask those who can do more to step up and help. The COVID-19 pandemic impacted every aspect of our lives, and we need to make investments that will aid in our state's recovery, while ensuring that New Yorkers continue to have access to the vital services they need."
The State Senate bill is mostly similar to the Assembly budget. Both budgets are billions more than what was planned by Governor Andrew Cuomo.
Many of the new taxes in this year's budget include income taxes on those making more than $1 million per year. Langworthy said he is worried that the increase in taxes on that population will have a ripple effect on the tax base.
"Democrats fail to ever acknowledge the rule truth: That our state's tax base is highly dependent on high-income earners," Langworthy said. "We've already lost more than 1 million New Yorkers that we know of at this point under Andrew Cuomo's leadership. This budget will send even more New Yorkers fleeing to tax-friendly states. It's a recipe for total disaster, the likes of which New York cannot recover from."
Langworthy called for a "taxpayer revolt" in the form of electing republican governor to break up the one-party rule in Albany. The election for the next governor is in 2022 and Langworthy expects republicans to have a candidate by the fall.
