You know an election is coming up when lawmakers finally start doing a few things that voters want.  New York is no exception.  Kathy Hochul, the interim Governor who replaced disgraced Andrew Cuomo will be fighting an election battle on all fronts.  Several democrats are gunning for the job and several republicans think this might be the year to take advantage of the potential Red Wave heading this fall.  To that end, money must swap hands and New York is flush from federal Covid cash, as yet unspent. 

I love knowing that New York and California have troves of cash hidden under their beds in one of the largest wealth transfers from red states to blue states in modern history, all thanks to “Covid Relief.”  Therefore, Hochul and the New York legislature stepped behind doors to make the sausage, otherwise known as the budget.  With $220 BILLION to spend, how can Hochul grease the palms of her allies while placating an ever-increasing perception that New York is no place to call home.  The New York Times reports that bail reform was the biggest obstacle in grinding out the budget.

“The most contentious negotiations had nothing to do with money but with the governor’s push to include changes to the state’s bail laws in the budget discussions. It was a stumbling block that caused lawmakers to miss the April 1 deadline.

Under the agreement, Ms. Hochul, a moderate Democrat running for her first full term this year, managed to persuade a largely reluctant Democratic-led Legislature to enact changes to a 2019 bail law that barred judges from setting bail for defendants charged with less serious crimes.”

Of course, the idea that judges might use discretion in setting bail for criminals set one Assemblywoman’s hair on fire.  She ain’t fat, but she has a new diet plan to show off her woke credentials!

https://twitter.com/YourFakeIsNotP1/status/1511207064139407367

God speed Latrice.  I’m sure your hunger strike will get you a few interviews and some campaign donations.  Grifters gotta grift.  As I read the Daily Mail article the tweet above linked to, I’m not even sure what she’s trying to say here, as she rationalized her starvation plan.  Sounds like she’s gotta a bad case of Kamala Harris word-salad-itus: 

“It’s too dangerous for us to allow a judge to look at young people, predominantly from our communities to be able to say “You’re dangerous, and you’re not, so you need to be incarcerated, reprimanded and you don’t.”

Ummm, what?

Needless to say, I doubt Hochul is looking to Latrice Walker for advice.  Hochul is dealing with both the perception and reality that crime is a top priority for voters and she needs to stop the bleeding ASAP.  Still from the Daily Mail piece:

“Since then, they argue, crime rates have only increased – with the New York Times reporting that the number of people who were facing violent felony charges, were released to await trial and then were charged with committing another violent felony rose to 320 in the first quarter of 2021 – compared to 259 in 2020 and 160 in 2019.

New York City’s crime rate has spiked over the last few years. The New York City Police departments stats show that felony crime jumped almost 60 percent in February since the same time last year.”

Of course, crime isn’t the only issue the budget addresses.  There’s still plenty of pandering to do for left-leaning causes and a healthy dose of potential economic boondoggles thrown in for fun. 

The new budget allows for increasing wages for home care workers.  While great for PR, in general, mandatory wage increases always lead to continued inflationary woes elsewhere.

Then there’s a line item that I’m sure most voters will not see in the mainstream media, but I’m sure GOP candidates will latch onto like a bulldog with a bone.  The plan will widen (yes widen, which means there’s already spending approved previously) health care coverage for some undocumented immigrants.  Of course, I read that as illegal aliens. ‘Cause what New York citizens don’t want to give their hard-earned money to random border breakers when they are faced with choosing between bread or gasoline?  I mean, if New York City wants illegal aliens to vote, then of course we should pay for their health care too!

Then, according to The Times: 

“The governor clinched other top priorities, including a plan meant to overhaul the state’s troubled ethics commission, as well as $600 million in public money to help replace the Bills’ aging Highmark Stadium in the Buffalo suburbs, overcoming opposition from critics who denounced the subsidy as corporate welfare.”

To offset the corporate welfare look, Hochul made sure to open the door for universal childcare.  

“Though far from a universal system, the final package, Ms. Hochul said, includes a $7 billion dollar investment over four years that will help subsidize childcare for families who earn up to $83,000 for a family of four. The governor said it would reach more than half of the young people in the state.”

Needless to say, this will be a disaster in the long run.  Ever a progressive dream, taking our children hostage in the guise of government subsidized childcare will inevitably lead to higher than necessary costs as day cares realize that no one is tending the till.  The quality of day care will diminish, and taxpayers will be loath to get rid of a system that is neither efficient nor effective in the process.   Ahh yes.  In the progressive utopia, this concept will be ushered into a federal plan for all of us.  Good job New York.

Like I said previously, no good budget is created that doesn’t account for a little bit of palm greasing and grift.  Hochul made sure to get a big budget proposal for the construction of a new $1.4 billion stadium for her hometown of Buffalo!  If there’s one state who knows how to launder money via construction projects, it’s New York.

“Despite some opposition, lawmakers approved the deal Ms. Hochul reached with the Bills to steer $850 million — about $600 million in state funds and $250 million from Erie County — toward the construction of a new $1.4 billion stadium, the largest public subsidy for a stadium in N.F.L. history. She said on Thursday that the state would cover a large part of its share through funds from a settlement agreement with the Seneca Nation over disputed casino revenue.

Ms. Hochul, a Buffalo native, pitched the deal, which would also commit the state to over $250 million in capital and maintenance subsidies over 30 years, as a necessary investment to ensure the team remained in western New York, a move that is likely to help her with upstate voters this year.”

Yep, you know election time is upon us.  Donors need to see their pet projects funded.  Voters need to be appeased.  Critics gotta use the time to update their facebook pages and the politicians need to grandstand.  Take a look at the local press outlining Hochel’s proposal and the peddling of plans to keep her in office.

With a recent survey out suggests that 39% of New Yorkers are so fed up with high crime, high taxes and poor political management that they are planning to leave the state for good, it will be curious to see if the new budget plans will hurt or help the contender for her re-election bid.  I’d love to see a Republican in office, but I’m sure not gonna hold my breath.

Featured Image: “NO BAIL! SEND ‘EM TO JAIL!!” by eyewashdesign: A. Golden is marked with CC BY-NC-ND 2.0., cropped and modified