DiNapoli Addresses Economic Growth Concerns

MONTGOMERY – All the signs of a healthy economy are present in the Mid-Hudson Valley, state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said on Friday.  He told members of the Orange County Chamber of Commerce in Montgomery that employment is up, unemployment is down, sales tax revenues have increased and home sales have shown growth.

In Orange County, the comptroller said signs of positive economic activity include the City of Middletown’s $10 million Downtown Revitalization Initiative grant, the soon-to-be constructed Amy’s Kitchen facility and anticipated development of a Legoland theme park, both in the Town of Goshen.

DiNapoli’s big concern, though, is what is happening in Washington, in particular the effort to repeal and replace Obamacare, which he said is a real threat to New Yorkers.

Under the current structure of healthcare, New York has leveraged billions of dollars in new healthcare money coming to the state, he said.

“When they talked about the 23 million or so Americans that would lose healthcare coverage if Obamacare was done away with, two million of them were New Yorkers,” DiNapoli said.

“And you know what happens if someone doesn’t have healthcare coverage. They end up using the hospital emergency room as their doctor’s office, showing up later and sicker and costing more money,” he said. “If they can’t afford to pay for it, someone pays for it. It comes out of the charity pools, sometimes supported by tax; sometimes it comes out of the other health insurance premiums that everyone pays to cover it.”

DiNapoli stated that both the House and Senate Republican tax plans are profoundly bad deals for New York. “Cutting or eliminating state and local tax deductions will hurt many New York taxpayers. Both plans would also revise the rules for municipal bonds in ways that could drive up state and local costs for essential infrastructure investments.

“These tax schemes are coupled with broader budget proposals that cut billions of dollars in funding for health care and other essential services. At the end of the day, the approach taken by both the House and Senate will hurt the very people Washington claims to be helping,” DiNapoli said.

While this year’s state budget preparation was relatively easy, DiNapoli said experts predict a “tougher budget cycle” next year.