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Thankfully the election is over, and we have a brief reprieve from the nonsense and dishonesty that dominates our politics.
OK, just kidding.
Based on the campaign rhetoric one would think New York had the best economy in the country while leading the nation in unicorns and freebies for people who did not earn it in our "generous welfare system". If not for Trump, Iran's Mullahs would forget their 1400-year-old Quranic requirement to destroy everything non-Islamic, and the Chinese would respect Taiwan's independence. Meanwhile those who oppose "forever wars" fully support keeping the Ukraine war going forever.
Senate candidates in Florida and Michigan entertained us with song and dance routines because nothing demonstrates economic and foreign policy expertise like a good hip-hop routine. Our politics is now indistinguishable from "Dancing with the Stars".
Missing from the New York debate was the ridiculous cost of running New York state, where our 2025 operating budget was $7,230 per person, compared to only $3,697 for Ohio and $3,855 for Pennsylvania. We also have an accumulated debt of $37,000 per person. Will illegals pay their fair share? How about welfare recipients?
Election results demonstrated that New Yorkers are proud of having the most unaffordable and economically non-competitive state in the country.
But wait! There's more...
Medicaid Mandate: New York is still the only state that requires counties to subsidize Medicaid costs, and our state-mandated Medicaid benefits are the most obscenely generous in the nation. We pay for everybody sent here by the state. 43% of our property taxes In Chautauqua County 43% pay for it. We also lost $Billions to Medicaid
fraud under Kathy Hochul's watch, and she did nothing to stop it. This problem won't get better. Reserve your U-Haul.
Energy Policy: In spite of the UN IPCC's admission that "Climate Disaster" isn't happening – and having already wasted $79 Billion for useless Green Energy – Albany continues to force taxpayers to subsidize additional $Billions for this profound waste.
To save New York we would have to repeal the CLCPA (Climate) legislation and allow our energy future to be designed by people who actually know what they are doing - rather than by the Millionaire/Billionaire class that runs Hochul's Climate Action Council.
New York voted for more of it. Reserve your U-Haul.
Parasitic Welfare State: New York's welfare state is destroying our economy and our people - putting us on the same death spiral as England, France, and Germany. Yet Albany keeps forcing taxpayers to reward those who refuse to pull their own weight.
A simple fix would be to adjust New York's Welfare and Medicaid benefits so that they do not exceed the average of the other 49 states. But this election showed that New Yorkers love being robbed. So you can either "cut [Hochul] a check", or grab that U-Haul.
Corrupt Education System: New York spends $40,000 per year per student on public education - more than double the $18,000 average for the US. Yet our students finish well below average in the US (NEAP) and rank dead last in the industrialized world in math and science (PISA). We are being ripped off by the Public Education monopoly, and nobody seems to care except a few parents who are preparing to leave.
We should stop rewarding public schools (and colleges) for their incompetence and create a competitive education system by providing a voucher (say $20,000) to each student and let parents pick from any school they choose - public or private. That's still $2000 more than the average in the US. Let parents decide - not bureaucrats.
But don't expect "Education Justice" anytime soon in New York. We just voted to stay in the third world of education. Parents - escape with your kids while you can. Grab a U-Haul.
Handouts to illegals: Illegal aliens cost US taxpayers hundreds of $Billions (net) each year for medical, education, and living expenses, not to mention the intangible costs of increased crime. Even when illegals work (contrary to law), many still receive Medicaid, food subsidies, and other freebies thanks to corrupt bureaucrats and politicians. Illegals suppress wages and take jobs from other Americans who remain unemployed, costing taxpayers even more.
Last year Governor Hochul ripped off NY taxpayers for $8 billion to subsidize illegals. But don't expect Taxpayer Justice anytime soon. New Yorkers voted to keep the scam going. Reserve your U-Haul. Hochul needs your house for illegals.
Moratorium on Data Centers: With careful respect to the wording, Hochul placed a one-year moratorium in the "building" of Data Centers. That doesn't mean they are not being planned. It's happening. What happens after one year?
The moratorium was merely a convenient political tool. Reserve your U-Haul.
Enable Law Enforcement: This needs no explanation. We are all at risk from dangerous people released onto the streets just to satisfy a lunatic political ideology.
But New Yorkers obviously like being crime victims. We voted to keep it that way.
Nothing has changed. Grab that U-Haul.
Michael Dee is a Silver Creek resident. Scott Axelson is a Jamestown resident.