Albany, NY – In response to Governor Cuomo’s “Opportunity Agenda” speech, Karen Scharff, Executive Director of Citizen Action of New York, said:
Wall Street CEOs may be experiencing the rebounding economy that Governor Cuomo is talking about, but Citizen Action’s members and working families around the state are still searching for their opportunity for success. Unfortunately, Governor Cuomo’s so-called “Opportunity Agenda” seems to only have opportunities for his billionaire campaign donors to get even richer. It’s a missed opportunity to address the massive, growing inequality in our state.
When it comes to education in New York, Governor Cuomo is more focused on privatizing our public schools than making sure students and teachers have the resources they need to succeed. Education policy shouldn’t be determined by political score-settling. The education tax credit is nothing more than a giveaway of public money to his wealthy and well-connected funders.
Fixing the inequality in our schools is urgent. When you’re a kid, every year counts and the Governor’s failure to fully fund pre-K this year combined with his inadequate school aid puts New York’s students another year behind. The Governor’s rhetoric will not help them, nor will his charter school or teacher evaluation plans.
When you’re a minimum wage worker, every increase counts. But Governor Cuomo’s plan is another missed opportunity to give workers a chance at earning a living wage. Economies are healthiest when everyone is doing well. Until workers can earn a living wage, inequality will continue to grow and communities across our state will suffer.
If we really want a state that works for everyone, we need to end mass incarceration and fix our criminal justice system. Governor Cuomo’s plan to stop children from being tried and incarcerated as adults is a good step, but he also needs to give real answers to Capital Area Against Mass Incarceration and other activists who are demanding an end to the racial bias in our criminal justice system.
Governor Cuomo’s agenda caters to the wealthy interests who made huge political donations in last year’s elections, while struggling families are left without the opportunity for success.
During the address, Citizen Action of New York and the Alliance for Quality Education launched a new petition and social media effort calling on Governor Cuomo to prioritize investment in public education. The social media blast, centered around the hashtag #MissedOpportunity, reached more than 350,000 people.