Economy

More than any other city in the world, New York means business. For generations, New York's business community has been a vital engine of the national and global economy. Sadly, the entrepreneurial spirit that fuels this prosperity is being choked off by a punitive tax regime and an abusive regulatory environment. In a short-sighted attempt to increase tax revenues, this system has forced countless residents and businesses to migrate to more favorable economic climates, stifling economic expansion and, ironically, depressing tax revenues. This has left us with a less vibrant economy and a looming fiscal crisis.

New York State's business tax climate current ranks an abysmal 50th place and the outmigration rate of our citizens is the highest in the nation. This is a painful illustration that no matter how much people and businesses may want to live and work in New York, our current system inflicts a cost of living and doing business that is pushing would-be New Yorkers to the breaking point. Even hometown hero Spiderman has had to relocate to Cleveland for the filming of Spiderman 3 - the highest-budget movie ever made - citing the cost of filming in New York. The "Made in NY" tax credit aimed at attracting such projects (creating 10,000 jobs for New Yorkers annually) had expired, resulting in an enormous negative economic impact on New York due to Spidey's exodus alone.

Worse, this troubled fiscal trajectory is masked by the temporary effect of windfall tax revenues related to lofty real estate transactions. While unexpectedly high revenues have recently filled government coffers, forecasts call for runaway fiscal deficits if the system is left unchanged.

Instead, New York needs to adopt pro-growth fiscal and regulatory policies that encourage the entrepreneurship and innovation that typify New Yorkers. We are uniquely positioned to lead the nation not only in the traditional economic mainstays that have long characterized New York's prominence, but in any number of emerging fields, including biosciences, nanotechnology, and alternative energy research.

I am squarely focused on realigning New York's fiscal priorities away from a system that stifles growth in a short-term attempt to maximize the slice of the pie it seizes from the private sector to one that champions growth, innovation, and long-term prosperity.

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