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When New Yorkers were recently surveyed about their top concerns for state lawmakers, the number one issue was affordability: housing and rent, child care, groceries, health care, transportation — just paying for the basics of life.
It’s understandable and it’s real; almost everyone has been hit by record inflation after the pandemic.
What many folks haven’t realized is that a major aspect of these rising prices is corporate greed: “greedflation” by huge, powerful, and profitable corporations accounts for over half of increased costs for consumers.
That’s one reason why there’s a class of New Yorkers who have no problem affording the basics, the extras, the luxuries, and the extravagances: the billionaires and millionaires of Wall Street who are enjoying bigger bonuses, greater wealth, and extraordinary profits at the corporations they own or control.
And that’s why you should reject the fearmongering from their paid lobbyists who say that the most important thing state government can do is take care of rich people who work in the finance and securities industries.
New York is the most economically unequal state in the country: the average income of the bottom 99% is $49,617, while the average income of the top 1% is $2.2 million.
And New York is home to the highest concentration of extreme wealth in the nation. Over 28,000 tax filers hoard wealth in excess of $30 million, over 15,000 tax filers hoard wealth in excess of $100 million and 130 billionaires hoard over $666 billion.
The ultra-rich in New York State collectively hold $6.7 trillion in wealth – they’re not hurting. The rest of us are.
- Over two and a half million New Yorkers are living in poverty. In Syracuse, Rochester, and Buffalo, one in four people lived in poverty, in 2021.
- Over 100,000 New Yorkers are homeless every night in New York City. A record 1 in 9 New York City public school students were homeless last year.
- Rent across the state — from Manhattan to Syracuse — is too damn high for millions of New Yorkers.
Meanwhile, Black and brown working-class families and everyday workers making $32,000 to $65,000 a year — are leaving the state in droves in search of a more affordable life. It’s no wonder we’re losing nurses, home health care workers, small business owners, and child care providers — the people who keep this state running.
Extreme inequality, extreme poverty, and extreme wealth are getting worse because of government policies that serve as a “wealth pump,” driving all the benefits of a growing economy higher and higher up to a tiny minority of billionaires and multimillionaires.
It’s good that Albany lawmakers want to take things in a different direction.
In 2021, New York reformed our tax laws so millionaires and big corporations paid more in taxes, generating $10 billion in new public funds to invest in our communities. That paid for emergency rental assistance, aid to public schools, unemployment benefits for “excluded workers” and a $1 billion fund to support small businesses — things that made our state and economy more balanced and more fair.
The billionaires and millionaires didn’t leave — we got more of both. The modest tax hikes on the wealthiest were effective and popular.
Now, the State Senate and Assembly aim to repeat that success, taxing only the ultra-rich to invest in affordability for all.
They’ve put forward a package that will help the vast majority of New Yorkers: affordable housing construction, direct aid to individuals struggling without homes, funding for child care, public education, and healthcare, and new tax credits for working families to help them make ends meet.
A recent poll showed that three out of four New Yorkers support an agenda like this. It’s really popular, it’s good economic policy, and — in an election year — it’s really good politics.
If Governor Hochul and New York Democrats want to win elections this year, they must deliver on affordability and fairness. As President Biden has demonstrated, insisting on tax fairness is a crucial component of this effort.
Albany should reject the corporate lobbyists’ sales pitch — taking care of the rich isn’t the most important priority right now.
Governor Hochul should work with legislative leaders, unions, community groups, and our faith communities to pass policies that will boost affordability for millions statewide. That’s how to create a real “shared commitment to the success of New York” — make it work for everyone, not just the wealthy and well-connected.
Michael Kink and Charles Khan are the executive director and deputy director of the Strong Economy For All Coalition, and are members of the steering committee of the Invest in Our New York campaign.
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Michael Kink, Charles Khan , 2024-04-11 12:03:03
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