Cuomo Offers Answers to State Problems: No Finger Pointing, No Punting, Very Little SALT

By Zainab Iqbal

 

Governor Andrew Cuomo spoke about state and local taxes, the importance of taking charge of the MTA – and not pointing accusing fingers – at an Association for a Better New York gathering at the Hilton Hotel on Thursday.

“This is a very difficult time for this state,” Cuomo said. “I’ve been in the state government, I’ve been in local government, I’ve been in the federal government for more years than I care to remember . . . But I’ve never seen the confluence of events that we’re dealing with now.”

A critical issue the state is dealing with today, he said, is mass transit and congestion. “Navigating New York is becoming unbearable,” he said.

Credit: Zainab Iqbal.

The first step to fixing everything? Someone needs to be in charge. “There must be a name and a face who can be held accountable and it must be an elected official,” he said.

“Bureaucracies do not manage themselves. They grow and they fester and the path of least resistance becomes the path most often taken,” Cuomo said. “So what do we do about the MTA? Someone has to be in charge. Nobody is in charge now. It’s all about finger-pointing.”

The big concern always, of course, is where the money will come from. How will the state pay?

Cuomo gave a few options, and among them were: President Trump will pay as “he has a lot of money, he’s nasty to NY, he should pay;” the rich should pay a lot; MTA rider fares should be raised 30 percent, the marijuana tax; tolls on out-of-state drivers; congestion pricing.

“We are at a point of crisis. And I’m not going to diminish the issue or camouflage it or sidestep it. It’s not who I am, it’s not who you elected, it’s not why I’m in this job,” he said. He then included some football analogies and said: “We can’t punt.”

“For decades, we punted this problem administration after administration. I am not going to be one those people who punted the problem,” he said. “When we are forced to punt, it is a clear sign of failure. And my friends, failure is not an option.”

Cuomo also spoke about was SALT, which refers to the State and Local Taxes. He said SALT can decimate the economy.

According to Cuomo, SALT is forcing people to leave the state. “You have political turmoil, you have political extremism on both sides of the aisle, and you have quality of life issues in NYC which are aggravating this already complex situation.”

Cuomo then touted his accomplishments: taxes are an all-time low since 1947; there are 8.2 million jobs; 3.9 percent unemployment, and a diversified economy.

“Amazon coming to Queens with 25,000 great jobs is a major economic plus for this state; the largest economic development program in the history of the state of NY,” he said. “That’s what Amazon is.”

He received a lot of applause by people who seemed to be huge fans of his and fans of Amazon taking over Long Island City.

“At this demanding time with this anxious public,” he said, “it’s not about what we did yesterday that matters. It’s today that counts.”

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