
The city and state's fiscal pain just got real —and it was all so avoidable
The Citizens Budget Commission is flagging both the city and state's massive budgets, slamming them as 'unaffordable and unprepared' in light of federal funding cuts and a possible economic slowdown down the road.
With passage of President Donald Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which aims to (slightly) curb the growth of federal outlays, including aid to New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul is directing state agencies to cut $750 million from their budgets.
When folks gripe, she'll just point her finger at Trump. Convenient, no? But about reckless and dishonest as can be.
And she'll still have to find another $3 billion — and that's assuming no further cuts from Washington in the short term and an economy that remains robust.
Plus, the long-term structural gap, CBC says, is now a monstrous $22 billion.
It was all sadly predictable, but Hochul and state lawmakers nonetheless decided to blithely run up the tab — to a whopping quarter of a trillion dollars–plus — figuring they can blame the GOP when they have to make cuts or raise taxes.
Take health care: Lawmakers boosted spending on it by 17%, even as the Empire Center's Bill Hammond predicted federal Medicaid cuts would shift over $3.3 billion in costs to the state.
In April, budget expert E.J. McMahon slapped Hochul and the Legislature for 'whistling in the dark' instead of anticipating likely changes to the state's 'nearly out-of-control Medicaid program.'
Now the gov's budget director won't rule out raising taxes, even though Hochul vowed she wouldn't.
The CBC instead urges to keep her promise and instead shred her $2 billion 'inflation reduction checks' (i.e., reelection bribes), for starters.
The group also called out the city's $116 billion spendapalooza and hit both Albany and City Hall for not squirreling away enough reserves.
Whoever become mayor in November, it noted, will have to fill a $6 billon to $8 billion budget gap in just 16 days of taking office.
It also ripped mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani's planned tax hikes to cover his ludicrous plans for $10 billion in new outlays. He'd be setting a record for irresponsibility.
New Yorkers are now sure to be hit with some pain, whether it's spending cuts or tax hikes.
The pols will try to shift blame, of course, but the public wouldn't be in this mess if their leaders had acted like adults from the start.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
a few seconds ago
- Yahoo
Scottish policing will be ‘seriously affected' by Trump visit, says police body
Policing across Scotland will be 'seriously affected' by the visit of US President Donald Trump, the head of a police body has said. Mr Trump is expected to touch down in Scotland on Friday ahead of a four-day stay at his golf clubs in South Ayrshire and Aberdeenshire. The president – whose mother was born on the Isle of Lewis before emigrating to America – will meet with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer during the visit, as well as Scottish First Minister John Swinney. The policing operation required to handle both the visit and any protests that may spring up as a result of it will be huge, with Police Scotland seeking officers from other areas of the UK for support. Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland on Wednesday, David Kennedy, the general secretary of the Scottish Police Federation – the body which represents rank-and-file police officers – said: 'Anyone who says it won't affect it (policing in Scotland), I can't believe that's the case. 'It will affect it. 'You may be waiting in the past for so many hours for a police officer to arrive, that could double now, you may be waiting for more time for them to arrive. 'Obviously, emergency calls will take priority, but it will affect communities in Scotland. 'We've been asking long and weary to have more police officers in our communities in Scotland and all this does is take them away from that at this time.' Asked if the quality of policing will be impacted by the visit, Mr Kennedy added: 'It will be seriously affected, it has to be. 'There's not enough police officers for it not to be affected.' Concerns have also been raised about the cost of the policing operation, with officers likely to cancel rest days to ensure adequate staffing. But speaking to the PA news agency on Tuesday, Mr Swinney said talks are ongoing between Police Scotland and the Scottish and UK governments on funding, asserting that policing in Scotland will not be put in a 'detrimental position' as a result. Mr Kennedy also reiterated calls from Assistant Chief Constable Emma Bond for those seeking to protest to do so peacefully. 'All I would ask is for protesters to remember the police officers that are there to protect them, make sure that any protests are safe and are free from violence, that is all the police officers want. 'We are used to policing protests in this country, we do it very well, and I hope the protesters realise that police officers in Scotland are friendly and we just want people and the public to be safe.'
Yahoo
a few seconds ago
- Yahoo
Gold loses lustre as US-Japan deal curbs safe-haven demand
Gold (GC=F) Gold prices were lower in early European trading, as safe-haven demand took a hit after US president Donald Trump announced a trade deal with Japan ahead of an impending tariff deadline. Gold futures were down 0.3% to $3,434.50 per ounce, at the time of writing, while spot gold was muted at $3,422.89 per ounce. Trump struck a trade deal with Japan that lowers tariffs on car imports and saves Tokyo from punishing new levies on other goods in exchange for a $550bn (£406.5bn) package of US-bound investment and loans. The deal includes reduced 15% tariffs for car exports to the US, down from the previous 25%. Read more: FTSE 100 LIVE: Stocks surge as Trump strikes trade deals with Japan, the Philippines and Indonesia "If further trade deals are signed ahead of 1 August, this could further boost general risk appetite and reduce the demand for gold," CM Trade chief market analyst Tim Waterer said. "But if the USD remains pressured this will keep a return to $3,500 a viable near-term prospect for the precious metal." Oil (BZ=F, CL=F) Oil prices were lower this Wednesday morning, making it the fourth consecutive session of losses for crude, although the US tariff deal with Japan improved global trade sentiment and limited further sliding. Brent (BZ=F) crude futures slipped 0.1% to trade at $68.49 per barrel, at the time of writing, while West Texas Intermediate (CL=F) futures retreated 0.2% to $65.20 a barrel. "The slide of the past three sessions appears to have abated but I don't expect much of an upward impetus from news of the US-Japan trade deal as the hurdles and delays being reported in talks with the EU and China will remain a drag on sentiment," Vandana Hari, founder of oil market analysis provider Vanda Insights, told Reuters. Read more: Which Mag 7 stocks will be the top performers this earnings season? Separately, US crude and gasoline stocks fell last week, market sources said, citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Tuesday. Distillate stocks rose by 3.48 million barrels, they added. "This will offer some relief to the middle distillate market, which has been looking increasingly tight," ING analysts wrote in a note, adding that low crude inventories will offer some support to prices even as a large surplus is expected to hit the market later in the year. Pound (GBPUSD=X, GBPEUR=X) The pound was steady against the dollar, up 0.1% to trade at $1.3546, with fear of tax rises in the autumn capping further gains. The latest UK government borrowing figures has increased concerns over tax hikes in the autumn as well as unsettling the bond market which has hit the pound in global markets. "That GBP risk premium is partly because of the euro's idiosyncratic strength (due to its appeal as a reserve currency) but may also embed some UK budget concerns. Those were fuelled further this morning as the UK unveiled larger borrowing for June than expected by the UK fiscal watchdog," analysts at ING wrote. Stocks: Create your watchlist and portfolio Capital Economics UK economist Alex Kerr, said: 'The government's U-turns on spending cuts and potential upward revisions to the OBR's borrowing forecasts means the chancellor will probably need to raise £15-25bn at the autumn budget to maintain the £9.9bn of headroom against her fiscal mandate.' The US dollar index ( which measures the greenback against a basket of six currencies, was muted at 97.40. Elsewhere in currencies, the pound pushed higher against the euro. Sterling was up 0.2% against the single currency to trade at €1.1538 at the time of writing. In equities, the FTSE 100 (^FTSE) hit a new record high of 9,057.61 this morning. For more details, on market movements check our live coverage here.


Bloomberg
a few seconds ago
- Bloomberg
The More Deals Trump Gets, The More Confidence Markets Gain
The world's investors are enjoying a confidence boost after months of uncertainty as President Donald Trump finally starts signing trade deals. Global stocks extended a record and risk-sensitive currencies strengthened after a trade agreement with Japan contained lower tariffs than Trump had threatened earlier this month. The big picture takeaway seems to be a light at the end of a negotiating tunnel that will further fuel investor optimism that the worst of their fears on trade are behind them.