Albany, NY – The federal government has “abused” and “victimized” New York for the past four years and financially at it for its repeated “theft” from the state, Governor Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday.
Cuomo, who spoke before a crowd of Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol, said he viewed New Yorkers as “crime victims” and called for the state’s “property stolen from Washington” to be returned.
“They were unethical. They were political, ”he said. “They took money out of this state and sent it to the republican states as a purely political exercise.”
But there is reason to be optimistic, noted Cuomo.
“That was a function of the Senate and the President and both are gone,” he said.
Cuomo spoke as Tuesday’s two Senate runoff elections put Democrats in control of the chamber. Combined with Joe Biden’s inauguration as president later this month, New York’s financial picture is improving, Cuomo said.
He said he expected the federal government to do the right thing and help New York.
Cuomo offered a list of ways Washington has mistreated the state. These include changes in tax law that cost New Yorkers billions, a lack of help during the Covid-19 pandemic, abandoned infrastructure projects, and a low Medicaid reimbursement rate.
He said the state routinely sends more tax revenue to the federal government than it gets back.
The Georgia wins mean New York Senator Charles Schumer will be the majority leader. Cuomo said the situation is encouraging to New York and has prompted him to rewrite his speech on the state of the state, scheduled for next week.
He said he expected New York to close a multi-billion dollar budget deficit on its own, but he now believes federal help will come.
“We have a lot of pain that needs to be compensated,” he said. “We have small businesses that need credit to open up again. We have restaurants that need refinancing. “
New York continues to plan steps to grow its own revenue.
Cuomo said today he will press again to legalize marijuana use this year. The program is expected to generate $ 300 million a year in tax revenue when fully implemented and will provide licenses and assistance to minority entrepreneurs affected by the war on drugs, according to Cuomo’s office.
Cuomo also said he would support legalizing online and mobile sports betting in New York this year.
Robert Mujica, director of the state budget, said New York wanted to run the new betting program like the lottery, with most of the revenue going to the state, not the casinos.
When the betting plan becomes law, the state will issue a call for proposals for an operator to run the program. The operator must partner with one of the state’s existing licensed casinos.
Mujica said mobile sports betting will generate tax revenue of $ 500 million annually once it is operational.
Cuomo has not yet released any further details on either proposal.
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