Albany, NY – Reacting to Governor Cuomo’s State of the State Address, Karen Scharff, Executive Director of Citizen Action of New York, said:
More and more working families are struggling to make ends meet. It’s because the separation between the very rich and the rest of us is wider than ever before, and won’t stop growing until we stop it. No one living in Wall Street’s home state should be living in poverty.
Raising the minimum wage for all New Yorkers is a strong start toward a more just economy. 3.2 million New Yorkers will get a raise under Governor Cuomo’s proposal, injecting $15 billion into our state’s economy. Paid Family Leave will allow for workers to take care of their loved ones without having to sacrifice their paycheck. We thank Governor Cuomo for pushing these policies that build prosperity from within our communities and will lead to a stronger economy for everyone.
Albany can’t ignore its pervasive culture of corruption any longer. It’s time to address the legal bribery that happens every day at the Capitol. It’s time to change the system. Small donor matching is the only way to ensure that elected officials are putting voters before big donors. A comprehensive approach to reform, like the Governor proposed, centered around public campaign finance, is the only way to restore public trust and restore democracy.
While these policies that have immediate impacts are essential, we must also look to our future. Unfortunately Governor Cuomo has, once again, failed to address the severe underfunding of our public schools. Every year that New York State ignores the public school funding crisis, millions of children miss their opportunity for success. We applaud Governor Cuomo’s investment in community schools and pre-K, but too many students will be left behind due to his failure to fully fund foundation aid. Students of color and low-income students are hit the hardest. We cannot successfully fight inequality without full school funding.
Governor Cuomo could easily address this funding gap, and raise even more money to invest in families and infrastructure, creating jobs and combating climate change by raising taxes on the Wall Street bankers and CEOs who are responsible for the growing wealth divide that is holding our economy back and keeping families in poverty. Business of all sizes will thrive when we have a vibrant economy that’s rooted in communities. That’s the kind of economic development we should be focused on, not more tax cuts for CEO campaign contributors.
We look forward to working with Governor Cuomo and the Legislature to combat the wealth imbalance that’s holding so many families back, and build a New York State that works for everyone.
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