From Senator Michael H. Ranzenhofer, 61st Senate District:
A recent report confirmed what far too many Western New York families already know; New York State is one of the most expensive states for childcare in the nation. According to the report, childcare costs the average family in New York State over $14,000 annually for a single child.
Unfortunately, childcare is only one example of New York’s affordability crisis. In addition to childcare, NY is one of the most expensive states to retire in and has some of the highest property taxes, income tax rates, and energy costs.
Equally troubling is that despite paying tremendous costs, our services and infrastructure regularly scores in the middle or bottom of the pack nationally.
Regrettably, the 2019 legislative session only made matters worse.
New and higher taxes, cuts to cost-saving programs and new mandates that will increase food and energy prices will not help Western New York families. If you own a home, have a child, are retired, use electricity, or eat, it will now be more expensive to live in New York.
Making New York State more affordable is one of my top priorities and now more than ever we need to embrace my Affordability Agenda.
The Affordability Agenda lowers taxes for the middle class, cuts energy taxes, and provides for real mandate and regulatory reforms to ensure that these measures are sustainable.
In addition, I am sponsoring legislation to make child care more affordable (S4458) and to cap property taxes for seniors (S4579). Seniors should not be forced out of the homes they own due to annual property tax increases. It is critical to accomplish this by reforming our government, not simply shifting the tax burden.
I will continue to do all I can to support policies that help hard working Western New Yorkers. We will never reach our full economic potential if we continue to have some of the highest taxes and most burdensome regulations in the nation.
