Governor Kathy Hochul is taking a victory lap and spiking the football throughout the state, crowing about the check you will soon be receiving in the mail signed off by the governor.
We have mixed feelings about this bravado.
On the one hand, it’s not her money. This is all part of the huge surplus that the state collected after the federal government infused New York and other states with unprecedented levels of aid during the pandemic. It was so much money that the state couldn’t possibly spend it all on pandemic-related matters, so they banked the money for a future date.
It’s not as though this surplus resulted from any type of fiscally responsible, cost-cutting measures implemented by the governor or the state legislature. In fact, the state budget increased by a remarkable 30% from 2019 ($175 Billion), the last year before the COVID outbreak and the recent budget 2024 ($230 Billion). It was free money that fell out of the trees, courtesy of the federal government. And, now. they’re taking credit for returning some of it in an envelope to be delivered to your mailbox soon.
On the other hand, at least they are taking some of that money and giving it back. There are some jurisdictions that are just hoarding that money for even greater spending or other extravagances.