Governor Cuomo’s pandemic leadership, the subject of his bestselling book, has consisted of fake theater, like falsely claiming to manufacture hand sanitizer in prisons to compete with Purell, and policies that had horrific consequences, like forcing nursing homes to accept coronavirus patients.
Chalk this one up to more fake theater.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo had one overriding message Tuesday as he delivered his annual budget address from New York’s state Capitol: If Washington doesn’t send New York $15 billion as part of a pandemic relief package, he’ll have no choice but to slash public payrolls, cut services and raise taxes on the rich.
The, “Buy My Book or I’ll Shoot This Dog” strategy is really something.
Why should even a Democrat-run D.C. want to send New York $15 billion? No reason. But, as usual, Cuomo is looking to shift blame for his failures onto someone else. Washington D.C. is a popular target.
Cuomo already made the best argument against his own tax hikes.
Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo reports that New York state income tax revenue last year came up short by a projected $2.3 billion. Cuomo partially blames the departure of wealthy residents from his high-tax state in the wake of federal tax reform, which put a limit on the amount of state and local taxes that can be deducted on federal income tax forms.
When New York, already expensive, put an even higher tax burden on residents, some New Yorkers who could afford to leave did so. In Cuomo’s memorable phrase on Monday: “Tax the rich. Tax the rich. Tax the rich. We did that. God forbid the rich leave.”
The rich have already been leaving due to the pandemic and the lockdowns. Raising taxes would only further hollow out the tax base. Cuomo knows that because he already said it.
“New York paid a bill for Covid that no state in the nation paid for and it’s not even close in many ways,”Cuomo said. “The remaining cost is $15 billion.”
New Yorkers paid the bill. And Cuomo was the one sending the bill.
At least a third of the state’s death toll took place in nursing homes. Cuomo mismanaged the pandemic from the very beginning and lied to New Yorkers. When the second surge came around, he and the New York Post tried to blame it on Orthodox Jews.
Maybe Cuomo can sue himself for that $15 billion. Nah. He’d rather sue American taxpayers.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo said on Tuesday that he will sue the federal government if New York State doesn’t get what he considers to be our “fair share” in the next federal stimulus package.
He might want to focus on the lawsuits against his terrible administration.
Our Wicked Lady is one of 70 bars and restaurants named as plaintiffs in the complaint filed in federal court against Gov. Andrew Cuomo. The venues, many of which are located in north Brooklyn, allege that the state’s ever-changing restrictions for indoor and outdoor dining violate their civil rights.
The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of New York, argues that the restrictions violate the Federal Civil Rights Act, as well as the Due Process and Equal Protection clauses of the 5th and 14th Amendments. It also challenges the state’s concept of a “non-essential” business — restaurants and bars are included, but only for takeout and delivery — arguing that the designation is arbitrary and unconstitutional.
The lawsuit also alleges that the guidelines for indoor and outdoor dining — which have changed many times over the course of the past 10 months — are a “Kafkaesque nightmare” that have compounded the hardship many of these venues face.
Don’t worry. Cuomo promises that everything will be fine once he gets that $15 billion.
A radio host asked Cuomo late Tuesday about the backup plan to the backup if Congress doesn’t come through with anything in time.
“Don’t even think about it. I don’t want to even think about that possibility,” Cuomo said.
Plan B. Sell more of those posters touting his leadership. At $14.50 a pop, he only needs to sell a little over a billion of them. Come on guys, everyone buy three.
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