New York's Budget Ignores Concerns of Working People, Provides Relief for Yacht Owners

New York lawmakers didn’t raise the minimum wage, but their new budget does provide tax-relief for luxury yacht owners.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo praised the new $142 million budget after it was agreed upon Sunday night, but by Monday an interesting tidbit had been discovered: a proposal to only impose sales tax on the first $230,000 of an individual’s boat. Predictably, local Republicans have insisted that the modification will create jobs. Senate Republican Leader Dean Skelos told reporters, “It makes New York State more competitive,” but did not answer when someone asked a follow-up inquiring what states New York was losing yacht jobs to.

The new yacht rules are even more infuriating when put into context. Cuomo’s budget offers very little relief to low-income residents or those concerned with issues of inequality: he took a minimum wage hike off the table, dropped The Dream Act from the budget, nixed an education tax credit, passed over property tax relief, and ditched any attempt at campaign finance reform. The New York Times observed that, “A lot of important items were missing from the deal, apparently — and disappointingly — put off for another day.”