While President Donald Trump laid out his vision for America and the accomplishments of his first State of The Union, his home state of New York remains hostile to him and the nation's burgeoning success story.
Welcome to the "People’s Republic of New York," the least free state in the union. Where the wave of positive financial news crests and falls before it reaches the shore.
According to the Cato Institute, the biggest reason it ranked New York behind 49 other states is its back-breaking tax burden, one that is twice the average state, with more pain to come should the state fail to conform to President Trump’s federal tax reform.
The Tax Foundation ranks New York next to last for its state business tax climate at a time when businesses are looking to re-invest in America. Companies like Amazon.com, who most likely turned down all bids from the Empire State over a combination of a lack of competitive tax breaks and the green pastures or pro-business environs elsewhere made greener by President Trump.
New York is also one of, if not the worst state for regulations. Overlapping state, county and local law suffocates individuals and small businesses. One need only to look at the list of licenses and permits as well as the accompanying administrative rules, policies, boards and bureaucracy in New York City to become quickly infuriated.
But, amazingly, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo thinks that New Yorkers like the tax-and-spend "nanny state" dystopia, calling it a "choice" states make. Part of it has to be resistance of President Trump for the sake of resistance. But in reality, why wouldn’t he?
New Yorkers continues to vote Democratic (Trump lost the state by over 20 points), perpetually hoping that the definition of insanity doesn’t apply to them and that the state will suddenly lower taxes, becoming more welcoming to business.
Unfortunately, it does apply.
It doesn’t help matters that the state and local Republican parties are the proverbially "circular firing squad," renting their party line to Democrats to the detriment of grassroots party-building. By doing this, they fail to establish an alternative vision for the state. The latest blunder is its failure to unify behind a gubernatorial candidate. In comparison, Gov. Cuomo has amassed an near-insurmountable war chest and is already looking towards 2020.
These failures notwithstanding, history has shown that the most common way to unseat a New York politician is not an election, but a prosecution. Even now, Gov. Cuomo’s "right hand man" is on trial for corruption that would play politically if the state GOP gets their collective act together.
It’s no secret that New York politicians are ethically challenged. Since 2000, 44 legislators have done the "perp walk." New York is the home of Anthony "Carlos Danger" Weiner. It is the home of Elliot "Client No. 9" Spitzer. New York is also the home of William Boyland, a former state politician who was convicted for soliciting dirty money from an undercover agent in order to pay for his attorney’s fee who got an acquittal of his previous corruption charge.
No, we did not make that up. Look it up.
So while the optimism of Trump’s mission to "Make America Great Again" was on full display for the nation and the world, you can be sure that the sour pusses seen when cameras panned to Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and others seated on the left mirrored the majority of households all over the Empire State.
Gene Berardelli is a street-smart trial attorney who, through his time as the Law Chair of the Republican Party in Brooklyn, New York, has developed a solid reputation as an election attorney successfully representing conservative candidates.
Russell Gallo is a security expert and combat veteran who attained the rank of First Sergeant in the New York Army National Guard, earning a Combat Action Badge in Iraq. Together, they host Behind Enemy Lines Radio, a national award-winning radio show and podcast broadcasting out of "The People's Republic of" New York that airs weekly on AM and FM radio stations as part of the Talk America Radio network. To read more of their reports — Click Here Now.
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