The Florida state budget is $117 billion while its population is 22.7 million, and the New York state budget is $254 billion while its population is 20 million.
New York has been running deficits, yet it is upping its budget by $17 billion, more than 7%, while inflation is under 3%. I would challenge anyone to defend the position that New York is better-run than Florida or other Republican-run states.
A new report released by the Citizens Budget Commission (CBC) points out that New York state spending has increased “four times the rate of inflation,” but the solution for New York and other Democrats is always to raise taxes on the “rich.” Isn’t it amazing that Democrats claim that people and businesses are greedy, but never that the government is greedy?
From a Newsmax article on the findings of the CBC report:
The report released by the Citizens Budget Commission (CBC) points out that state spending has been increasing ‘four times the rate of inflation and comes despite the looming threat of multibillion dollar federal funding cuts.’
It continues, nothing this:
There are also new taxes. They include a $1.4 billion payroll tax surcharge and another $10 billion of taxes on corporations and the wealthy.
[snip]
[I]n 2023, over 50% of the state’s income tax revenue came from only 2% of filers — 200 thousand out of 10 million.
Illegals are not supposed to receive Medicaid and other government subsidies, yet:
The biggest [revenue] chunk, $124 billion, will go to Medicaid.
Because New York broadly defines eligibility standards, at the present time there are approximately seven million people enrolled in Medicaid — 38% of the state’s population.
Of that total, an astounding 480 thousand are illegal immigrants.
We don’t know how many illegals receive Medicaid nationwide because states won’t give the Trump administration that information.
It is amazing how Democrats are so confused about budgets. They claim that extending Trump’s 2017 tax rate cuts cost over $3 trillion, when they don’t affect the budget at all. These tax rates brought in record revenue, and the government still overspent.
And, in New York, they pretend that extending rates on the wealthy will cover the increased spending:
To fund the planned disbursements, the ‘Temporary Income Tax and Surcharge’ law that’s foisted on New Yorkers making more than $2.1 million annually, was extended for the third time. That tax rakes in about $5 billion annually.
They also pretend that upping taxes on the wealthy and businesses won’t affect growth.
In New York, the poverty rate is 14.3%, which is higher than the national average, and has been rising. In New York City, the rate is 25%. Why hasn’t high government spending lowered poverty since the Democrats claim that’s one of their main goals?
Here are the eight highest tax states in the country:
- Hawaii: 13.9%
- New York: 13.6%
- Vermont: 11.5%
- California: 11%
- Maine: 10.6%
- New Jersey: 10.3%
- Illinois: 10.2%
- Rhode Island: 10.1%
The three states where people are moving out of the most are California, New York, and Illinois, but according to a left-wing think tank, the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, taxes have little relevance to why people move: “Tax-Related Migration Is Grossly Exaggerated: a Research Preview”. It is obvious that Democrats can find someone to spew forth their nonsense.
And New York City Democrats have a leading candidate for mayor who believes that the solution to unaffordability and poverty problems is to tax the “rich” more, and make more people dependent on the government. That has worked really well in Cuba, where after 65 years of communism, the average wage is up to $16 per month, and the highest wage is around $25 per month. But they get “free” health care and education. I wonder why so many want to come to the U.S and its vicious capitalism?
As Castro pretended he lived frugally and forced his residents to live under the thumb of a dictator, he amassed a fortune estimated to be worth $900 million. He must have been a good saver.
Democrats love a powerful government and taxing and regulating people to remain dependent on the government, while Trump wants to make the government smaller and allow people and businesses to keep more of the money they earn to save, spend, and invest the way they like.
The choice gets easier every day.
Image: Public domain.