Previously Published in The Messenger
Governor Kathy Hochul (D-Hamburg) this week unveiled her massive $260 billion Executive Budget for FY2026.
Not only did Hochul appear out-of-touch and desperate to please all ends of the political spectrum – a near-impossible task today – but her spending package is the largest in state history.
Where does all of this money come from, and how does Hochul expect to foot the bill when the state continues to hemorrhage population and while Hochul, as well as New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D-Astoria), are pledging to fund ambitious social programs that will cost New Yorkers an arm and a leg that they already don’t have?
Even Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Williamsbridge), not a shy progressive, expressed reservations on how to fulfill the price tags. However, we expect him to fall in line come negotiations.
This is now Hochul’s fifth budget fight and her last before the 2026 election. Each year, the Legislature blew past the deadline, requiring more stopgaps to continue funding essential parts of the State government until a deal can be struck.
The problem is, Hochul gave away her bargaining power and her executive firmness in 2023, when Legislature Democrats signed themselves pay raises, making them the most well-compensated state legislators in the country. Not only did Hochul sign it right before Christmas that year, she asked for nothing in return.
Surprise, surprise, the progressives who hold the Legislature hostage did not want to come to the table on repealing the most harmful aspects of bail reform that year. Hochul, to her credit, held up the fight, but eventually had to cave amidst the two-month long government shutdown.
A similar showdown ensued in 2024 when Hochul pitched a plan to reform State aid to school districts. While we understand the need for balancing the scales, especially as many school districts continue to shrink, it was a fight that didn’t need picking, especially when it was essentially a foregone conclusion that both sides of the aisle would rally in lockstep to protest it.
Hochul isn’t used to getting her way. It’s not that politics is about getting one’s way, but when you’re an executive, that element can’t be written off. It’s not about strong-arming and bullying; it’s about firmness and negotiating power. Hochul has neither.
We still fault her for her continuation of the sanctuary state and city policies that have exacerbated resources and promulgated a price tag of upwards of $5 billion over the last few years. While we fundamentally agree with adding police funding, Hochul wants to spend $77 million on increased NYPD subway patrols.
That’s fine, although that’s $77 million that could be spent elsewhere if Hochul had better leveraged her authority to roll back poor criminal justice reform that’s plagued the state for the better part of a decade now. New York City will do what New York City does, and they get what they vote for, but this is an issue that could have been solved in Albany a few years ago.
Then again, Hochul can’t be too at fault for the progressives’ pathologically altruistic dogma, creating an “unstoppable force meets and immovable object” scenario – although Hochul has proven that she is, indeed, movable.
Finally, Hochul and company continually fault shifting federal policy and funding as the main culprit. While it certainly does change the math, New York, an economic powerhouse and essentially the gateway to the U.S. for most of the world, shouldn’t be in the disrepair that it’s in.
We’re not arguing it’s not a complicated state to govern, but it’s not exactly short on a tax base and economic opportunities. Hochul trying to stand up to President Trump (R-FL) also doesn’t accomplish anything, and her latest flip-flop on “no tax on tips” doesn’t play well for her long-term credibility. We had figured that the budget couldn’t balloon any more than it has, but yet again, Albany never fails to not disappoint…