Albany, NY — In response to Governor Andrew Cuomo’s State of the State address, Executive Director of Citizen Action of New York Karen Scharff issued the following statement:
“Many of Governor Cuomo’s proposals sound promising, but success can only be measured by results, not words. The Governor’s record of deal-making and compromise–too often at the expense of low-income communities of color–leaves us waiting to see how the budget will improve the lives of poor and working people in New York.
“We need the Governor to propose and fight for a budget that puts the needs of our families and our communities before wealthy campaign donors and CEOs. That means delivering on the $4.2 billion in Foundation Aid owed to our public schools, expanding access to child care, ending the school-to-prison pipeline, enacting comprehensive criminal justice reform, protecting immigrants, supporting the transition to 100% clean energy, guaranteeing $15/hour for all workers, and protecting our health care system and human services.
“We can fund these investments by making the wealthy pay their fair share, including closing the carried interest loophole once and for all and making corporate polluters pay for the damage they’re doing to our environment. Large corporations and wealthy CEOs should not be exempt from paying their fair share in taxes.
“Comprehensive reform of our criminal justice system is absolutely critical to the lives of so many families across the state. We’re glad that Governor Cuomo is prioritizing these issues and hope to work with him and our allies to make sure that the reforms enacted meet the needs of those who are directly impacted.
“Governor Cuomo owes it to New Yorkers to address the underlying problem in our democracy: excessive influence of big money interests. The Governor has made repeated promises about public campaign financing and voting reform. It’s time to get this done. For a healthy, thriving democracy, we need to make sure the voice of every New Yorker is heard.
“Today, people came to Albany from across the state to demand housing justice. Earlier this week Citizen Action members were in front of the Governor’s mansion calling for education and environmental justice. Over the next few weeks New Yorkers will be in Albany demanding a budget that addresses the needs of poor and working families in our state. Thousands of New Yorkers are standing up and speaking out. Our hope is that the Governor listens to them and not his wealthy donors.”
###