Thursday, October 1, 2026
Waste in government doesn’t stay on paper. It drips through budgets, spreads through layers of bureaucracy, and ultimately lands on the kitchen table of every working family. It’s the leaky roof you can’t ignore and the faucet left running in a home already struggling to stay afloat. In New York, that leak has become a flood.
This year, New York’s state budget will approach $270 billion — a 62 percent increase since one-party Democratic rule came to Albany in 2019. That’s an extra $5,000 per year for every man, woman and child in the state. While all concede that affordability is a massive problem, Gov. Kathy Hochul and Albany Democrats continue to hold New York families’ heads under water — and the water’s getting deeper every day.
While the Democrats debate how much more to tax, spend and give away to cover the socialist agenda of New York City’s new mayor, the most urgent question is being ignored: Where is the fiscal discipline?
Medicaid spending has surged to $120 billion, nearly 45 percent of the entire state budget. A recent study by the Empire Center found that Medicaid rolls contain as many as 3 million New Yorkers who don’t qualify, costing taxpayers $20 billion annually. An audit by the state comptroller found that taxpayers spent another $1.2 billion on Medicaid for non-residents, raising serious questions about eligibility, oversight and improper payments. Hochul’s response? Crickets.
The MTA continues to provide substandard service while its capital debt load is expected to double to $88 billion by 2034. Operating deficits continue to climb. While refusing calls for a forensic audit, Hochul and Albany Democrats search for the latest gimmick — like congestion pricing — to put a Band-Aid on the gaping wound of fiscal mismanagement and abuse.
These are not isolated incidents. They are a “check engine” light that Albany Democrats simply ignore and just keep driving. Meanwhile, New Yorkers are paying the price. New York ranks No. 1 in overall tax burden and No. 4 in cost of living. Forbes ranks the state’s business climate the second worst in America, and the Tax Foundation ranked New York dead last in tax competitiveness for the third straight year.
Nearly 300,000 regulations drive up the cost of housing, energy and doing business. One New Yorker leaves the state every 2 minutes and 23 seconds. Those aren’t just statistics — they’re a signal that the American Dream is no longer affordable here due to Albany’s failed leadership.
Young families are priced out of homeownership. Small-business owners struggle to survive. Retirees watch costs rise faster than fixed incomes can keep up. From housing to auto insurance to health care and child care, the cost of living continues to climb at rates far higher than the national average.
Yet Albany under one-party rule continues to act as if government spending has no consequences. But that money comes from somewhere — the father working two jobs, the mother taking on extra shifts, the young adult trying to get started, the small-business owner working to stay afloat.
Solutions exist. In February I introduced legislation to deliver the largest tax cut in state history, eliminating income tax on the first $50,000 for individuals and $100,000 for couples, reducing middle-class rates to 4 percent, and capping the top rate at 5 percent below the millionaire threshold. This plan would give up to $5,000 a year back to working families — not as a one-time rebate, but as lasting, meaningful relief — while forcing fiscal discipline by making Albany abide by the same spending cap it imposes on schools and municipalities.
But tax relief alone isn’t enough. We must fix the system that creates the burden.
That’s why I’ve supported efforts to strengthen oversight and accountability by reforming Medicaid audit standards, requiring eligibility verification, auditing the MTA and mandating independent reviews of state-funded programs. I’ve co-sponsored legislation to strengthen Medicaid payment integrity through routine verification, targeted audits and safeguards to ensure that payments are accurate and transparent. I’ve worked with stakeholders to crack down on SNAP fraud and modernize benefit systems so they serve those truly in need.
These reforms aren’t radical. They are responsible, and should be bipartisan. You don’t fix a leaking roof by repainting the ceiling — you fix the leak.
Until Albany confronts that reality, the cycle will continue: higher taxes, higher costs, fewer opportunities and more families leaving.
Steve Rhoads represents the 5th State Senate District.
