Previously Published in The Messenger
By Dean Murray
As the 2026 legislative session ended, New Yorkers were left asking a simple question, “Is my life here in New York becoming more affordable?”
Unfortunately, for most hardworking families, the answer is a resounding, “NO!”
While Democratic leaders in Albany celebrate the passage of a massive State budget, the reality facing everyday New Yorkers is starkly different. Families are struggling to afford groceries, housing, childcare, utilities, insurance, and countless other expenses. Young adults wonder if they will ever be able to purchase a home. Small businesses are fighting to stay open amid rising costs and burdensome regulations. Retirees on fixed incomes are watching their purchasing power shrink with every passing year. Yet despite all these challenges, Albany’s answer, once again, was to spend more!
This year’s budget totaled an astonishing $277 billion, which is approximately $23 billion more than last year’s budget. To put that into perspective, New York’s State budget is now more than double Florida’s budget, despite Florida having over 3 million more people than New York. Even more concerning is that Florida continues to attract residents and businesses, while New York continues to struggle with population loss and outward migration. New York doesn’t have a revenue problem; New York has a spending problem.
For years, taxpayers have been told that higher spending will solve our challenges. Yet as spending reaches record levels, affordability continues to deteriorate. The evidence is all around us. New York has the highest individual tax burden in the nation! We have the second-highest overall tax burden. Our property taxes rank among the highest in America. State regulations are among the most burdensome in the country. Electricity costs are surging. Health insurance premiums rank near the top nationally. Auto insurance costs are the highest in the country. Housing prices are through the roof and continue to reach historic levels. Every one of these costs lands directly on the shoulders of hardworking New Yorkers.
The affordability crisis is not an abstract policy debate; it is a daily reality. It affects the young family trying to buy their first home. It affects seniors deciding between medication and other necessities. It affects small business owners trying to make payroll. It affects working parents struggling to afford childcare.
Rent is up, mortgages are up, taxes are up, childcare costs are up, interest rates remain elevated, utility bills continue to rise, insurance premiums will only keep increasing – yet Albany continues to spend more while delivering little relief to those paying the bills.
One of the largest spending increases this year occurred within Medicaid and the Department of Health. Operational funding increased by approximately 16.1%. This continues a trend that has seen Medicaid spending in New York triple over the past fifteen years. Today, New York spends significantly more per Medicaid enrollee than nearly every other state in the nation.
At the same time, the federal Department of Justice is actively examining aspects of New York’s Medicaid program and has recently filed litigation involving allegations surrounding the CDPAP procurement process and transition. The fraud, waste, and abuse in this system are real. Regardless of where those investigations ultimately lead, taxpayers should expect greater accountability and oversight before Albany approves billions in additional spending. Good government requires transparency, efficiency, and fiscal responsibility. Unfortunately, those principles too often take a back seat to unchecked spending.
Bad policies can also drive costs through the roof. New York needs to look no further than the “green energy” mandates that have sent energy and utility costs soaring. While I have no problem with, and in fact, encourage, adding more clean, renewable energy sources to our energy portfolio, I do not support the elimination of clean, reliable energy sources like natural gas, simply because it falls under the category of “fossil fuel.” Forcing the elimination of our current energy sources, without having other safe, reliable energy sources in place, is creating an energy disaster and New Yorkers are paying the price. If you’re looking for a reason why New Yorkers pay 70% more than the national average for utilities, look no further than these green energy mandates that Albany Democrats love so much.
This year’s bloated budget also continues a troubling pattern of state bailouts for fiscally troubled municipalities. Once again, Long Island taxpayers are being asked to subsidize bad financial decisions made by local governments everywhere across New York, except Long Island. New York City was the largest culprit; however, bailout packages were also sent to Albany, Buffalo, Rochester, and others to provide “temporary relief.” The problem is that Albany never makes them address the underlying structural problems that created those fiscal challenges in the first place. New Yorkers deserve sustainable solutions, not endless bailouts!
Another concerning development is the continued adoption of policies that make New York less competitive economically. The recently enacted pied-a-terre tax sends precisely the wrong message to investors, entrepreneurs, and job creators. Wealthy individuals and business owners increasingly have options. When New York becomes more expensive and less welcoming, many simply choose to relocate elsewhere. Instead of continually looking for ways to take more money away from those who’ve worked hard and succeeded, wouldn’t it make more sense to put policies in place to help more people succeed?
Success breeds success. The more we help people thrive and succeed, the more successful people will want to come here and stay here. That will create more jobs and more opportunities, and yes, the state will actually take in more revenue by rewarding success than it would by punishing success and chasing successful people away. When they leave, the jobs, investments, charitable contributions, tax money, and economic activity often leave with them. We must stop the mass exodus of successful New Yorkers. After all, as the old saying goes, “it’s easier to get one dollar from a million people than it is to get a million dollars from one person.”
The unfortunate reality is that middle-class families are frequently left behind to absorb a greater share of the tax burden. This creates a dangerous cycle where rising costs encourage more people to leave, which in turn places additional pressure on those who remain.
The session also included policies limiting cooperation between law enforcement and federal immigration authorities. Public safety and affordability are often discussed separately, but they are deeply connected. Families considering where to live and businesses considering where to invest want communities that are both safe and affordable! Policies that undermine public confidence in public safety can further contribute to population loss and economic uncertainty.
The bottom line is this: we cannot spend our way out of this fiscal crisis. Instead, we need to roll up our sleeves and do the hard work that’s necessary to get us back on track and back to being the greatest state in the nation and the financial capital of the world.
Let’s start with these first few steps. First, we need to clean up the waste, fraud, and abuse that is costing us billions of dollars a year. Next, put in place realistic, smart, cost-efficient energy policies and do so within a realistic, smart, and cost-efficient time frame. Then, we need to stop punishing success and instead implement policies that encourage it.
Finally, support the good guys and stop coddling the bad guys. We must support law enforcement by giving them the tools they need to do their jobs and punish those who break the law instead of continuously letting them out to break the law again and again and again. New Yorkers deserve to know that their tax dollars are being spent wisely. They deserve to have a future in the state they love. They deserve to have a pathway to success, not obstacles. They deserve to feel safe and secure.
Bottom line: New Yorkers deserve better than what they got in this year’s budget.
Senator Dean Murray (R-East Patchogue) has represented the Third District in the New York State Senate since 2023 after having represented the Third Assembly District from 2010 to 2013 and again from 2015 to 2018.
The Third District contains Bellport, Blue Point, Brookhaven hamlet, Center Moriches, East Moriches, East Patchogue, Farmingville, Gordon Heights, Lake Grove, Manorville, Mastic, Mastic Beach, Medford, Moriches, North Bellport, North Patchogue, Patchogue, Shirley, South Haven, Upton, and Yaphank, as well as parts of Calverton, Centereach, Coram, Eastport, Holbrook, Holtsville, Lake Ronkonkoma, Middle Island, Ridge, Selden. The district also contains a small portion of Holbrook within the Town of Islip.
Senator Murray serves as Ranking Member on the committees on Commerce, Economic Development, and Small Business; Libraries; and Social Services. He also serves on the committees on Budget and Revenue; Codes; and Higher Education.
The Third District office is located at 90-B West Main Street in Patchogue and can be reached at 631-360-3356.