Betsy McCaughey: Cuomo scandals' silver lining – here's the one bit of good news for New Yorkers
The Empire State is tops in only one thing now – population loss
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}It’s unlikely that New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo will call it quits, despite rising calls for him to resign. But it’s almost a certainty that he can’t run for a fourth term.
If something as horrible as 15,000 needless nursing home deaths can possibly have a silver lining, it’s that the Cuomo era is abruptly ending, and New Yorkers might possibly be shaken into a realistic assessment of their own state government.
Cuomo started out as a promising governor in 2011, but by 2014, as the Democratic party moved leftward and gained increasing control of the state legislature, Cuomo began caving into the loony left’s pro-crime, anti-growth agenda.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}NEW YORK POST EDITORIAL BOARD: ANDREW CUOMO BLAMED THE POST — BUT HE WAS THE LIAR AND A FRAUD
He banned fracking and blocked new natural gas pipelines, killing a key source of employment upstate. He signed on to so-called "bail reform," which means releasing alleged perps just hours after their arrest with no cash bail requirements, even for gun crimes and violent crimes.
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The Empire State is tops in only one thing now – population loss. More people flee New York each year than any other state. More than 1.4 million have left since 2010. They escape for better jobs and a lower cost of living in other parts of the nation. New York ranks rock bottom – number 50 out of all the states – in economic growth prospects, according to the American Legislative Exchange Council, a think tank.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}You’d never know the state’s prospects are so dismal, listening to the media. Cuomo was hailed as a national star, an image burnished by CNN, Hollywood and his own book proclaiming his leadership skills. That image is now in tatters.
Evidence is mounting that he lied and covered up the number of elderly who died in nursing homes during the pandemic. On top of that, five women are accusing him of sexual harassment, and more will likely follow.
New York’s next governor must come from outside the Albany establishment and think outside the box.
Cuomo’s sudden fall is a windfall for New Yorkers. Of course, left-wing pols are already lining up to vie for the top spot in 2022. In the lead, no doubt, is Attorney General Letitia James. A.G. stands for "aspiring governor."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}But even with the state’s over 2-to-1 Democratic voter registration advantage, New Yorkers don’t have to opt for far-left policies that have forced the state into decline. They need to demand better, from a moderate Democrat or a Republican candidate for governor. Blue states like Massachusetts and Maryland have elected Republican governors and witnessed first-hand the advantage of avoiding one-party government. New York could too.
Voters need to choose a governor who, regardless of party, will commit to the following:
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Plug the state’s huge budget hole by cutting spending, not raising taxes. New York already has among the highest marginal corporate tax rates and marginal income tax rates in the U.S. Yet leftist legislators like Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie are eyeing more tax hikes. They must foolishly think taxpayers cannot flee the state, taking the tax base with them.
Rescue upstate New York. The 50 counties north of New York City’s suburbs need relief from costly regulations that have driven up insurance and energy costs and driven out businesses. They need relief from unaffordable minimum wage laws, anti-fossil fuel regulations and workers’ compensation requirements.
End the pandemic lockdown now. New York City’s unemployment rate is over 11%, nearly double the national average. Why? Cuomo’s unreasonable pandemic constraints. Even Sunday, when Cuomo surrendered some of his emergency powers to the state legislature and agreed to allow restaurants in most of the state to operate at 75% capacity, he left New York City area restaurants stuck at 35% capacity, where it is impossible to make money. State lawmakers went along with this, showing no leadership.
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That’s a sign that New York’s next governor must come from outside the Albany establishment and think outside the box. Now that the Cuomo mystique has vanished in scandal, and the actual plight of the state is no longer cloaked in the governor’s soaring rhetoric and Emmy-winning performances, voters should make a practical choice.
Discard the woke ideology and elect a governor committed to economic growth. Then New Yorkers will stop voting with their feet to leave the state. Imagine. New York could one day deserve the name Empire State again.
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