Albany, NY — New York suffered a net loss of about 1.4 million residents to other states during the past decade. With those residents went businesses and jobs, perpetuating a cycle of loss for the Empire State.

“The State of our State is bleak at the dawn of 2022—this is obvious from the flow of moving trucks out of New York,” said Tim Hoefer, president and CEO of the Empire Center. “We are trapped in a cycle of loss that impacts every sector of our economy. New York is no longer a destination state; high taxes and over-regulation have, simply, made our neighbors desperate to leave.”

Ahead of Governor Hochul’s State of the State address, the Empire Center released a full report with policy recommendations intended to reverse the exodus. The report, Altered State: A Checklist for Change in New York State, includes policy changes in seven major policy areas: taxes, job creation, public sector employment, health care, energy, education, and government accountability.

“If we want to reverse this sad and dangerous trend—as I’m sure Governor Hochul wants to do—we must attack it at its source. That means acknowledging the problems and moving into the legislative session with an intention to spur more economic innovation and less burdensome bureaucracy by creating an altered state in New York.”

The Empire Center, based in Albany, is an independent, not-for-profit, non-partisan think tank dedicated to promoting policies that can make New York a better place to live, work and raise a family.