[](/sites/default/files/uploads/2014/06/andrew-cuomo-52f255cf3ee20010.jpg)Considering that New Yorkers who make more than $250,000 pay more than 50% in taxes – and that New York ranks at the very bottom on the “Small Business Survival Index” it is outrageous that the Democratic Governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, proudly accepted – and aggressively pursued – the endorsement of the extreme leftist Working Families Party (WFP). The WFP is pro-big taxes and anti-business.
The Tax Foundation, a non-partisan Washington, D.C tax research group ranked New York State as the worst place in the nation for establishing a business based on taxes – should New York’s governor be aggressively courting the endorsement of an organization devoted to even higher taxes and anti-business policies?
Clearly Cuomo will now be devoted to an even more radical “progressive agenda,” and remain devoted to, as WFP puts it on their website, “[A world] where all of us, no matter where we come from, can find a good job, get healthcare when we need it, afford a home, send our kids to good schools, and have a secure retirement.“) This “progressive agenda” is code-word for increased taxes – and will result in more jobs moving out of New York.
As one who was born and raised in New York City and has lifted himself up by the bootstraps to the point where I today employ over 100 people at my PR agency, it is scary to think that extremists are influencing political offices throughout this State.
An expanded sick-leave law, like the one which recently passed in the NYC City Council penalizes entrepreneurs who start their own businesses. Small-business owners don’t get paid if they don’t go to work, so why should restaurants, which pay workers by the hour, need to pay double for shifts that need to be covered because someone doesn’t show up? Does the boss get paid if he doesn’t show up?
Even before this endorsement, one should note that the latest report from the Tax Foundation notes that 2014 marked the third consecutive year that New York had the highest tax burden in the nation. New York ranks as the highest taxed state in America. New Yorkers spend 12.6% of their per capita income on state and local taxes, the highest percentage of any state in the nation. And New York ranks 50th in the Tax Foundation’s State Business Tax Climate Index. The Index compares the states in five areas of taxation that impact business: corporate taxes, individual income taxes, sales taxes, unemployment insurance taxes, and taxes on property, including residential and commercial property.
New York has become the Must-Leave State – Census Bureau estimates show that 104,470 more people moved out of New York than moved into it during the 12 months ending July 1. This comes off a decade where more than 1.6 million New Yorkers moved out of state between 2000 and 2010. Will higher taxes and the very difficult life-style lure more people to New York?
A few months ago, Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo said “Right-to-life, pro-assault weapons, anti-gay — if that’s who they are, they have no place in the state of New York because that’s not who New Yorkers are.“ Pretend he said “Pro-choice, anti-self defense, homosexuals – if that’s who they are, they have no place in the state of New York because that’s not who New Yorkers are” — and imagine the uproar that would occur.
Far too often, liberals only are tolerant when it comes to their own. Pursuing a radical path – and radical endorsements – leave many traditional New Yorkers alienated.
After Cuomo said what he said only a few months ago, he “corrects” that by pursuing such a radical endorsement? This lurch towards extremism to satisfy the far left is terrible. Governor Cuomo does not do anyone in New York State a favor by pandering to extremists.
New York is a very difficult place to live – with high taxes, high pressure and many other difficulties. As a born and bred New Yorker, an entrepreneur who works very hard it is shameful that capitalism is seemingly a bad word in New York.
The old Frank Sinatra song “New York, New York,” with its lyrics “If I can make it there, I can make it anywhere,” may not have envisioned the leftist Working Families Party (WFP) with such a strong grip on Governor Cuomo.
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