In response to Governor Hochul’s State of the State address and policy book, Empire Center experts issued the following reactions:

“There was a big mismatch between Governor Hochul’s emphasis on affordability and the substance of the speech. State government can improve affordability by making it less costly to provide goods and services and by fostering a better business climate. But the governor didn’t lay out a plan for either. It took New York almost four years to recover its job losses from COVID, and Albany’s self-inflicted obstacles were to blame. The redistribution strategy laid out by Governor Hochul today is a plan to make elected officials feel better about the problems they’re still refusing to confront.”

—Ken Girardin, research director

“For all of her talk about affordability, the governor made almost no mention of skyrocketing health-care costs that are a growing burden for every consumer, employer and taxpayer in the state. New Yorkers pay some of the highest insurance premiums in the U.S., largely because of excessive taxation and regulation by Albany. They also face spiraling costs for the state-run Medicaid system, which is riddled with waste and corruption. Meanwhile, too many of their hospitals score near the bottom for quality of care. While her proposals to strengthen mental health care were welcome, Hochul’s larger health-care agenda was glaringly incomplete.”

—Bill Hammond, senior fellow

“A governor interested in affordability ought to be interested in how New Yorkers can pay to live here without government handouts. But this year Governor Hochul barely paid lip service to the barriers Albany places on New Yorkers entering the workforce. And Hochul’s commitment to greater government transparency could not warrant a passing mention this year despite her promises when she took office.”

—Cam Macdonald, adjunct fellow