In New York, we seem to have fallen victim to a superficial choice: grow the economy or prioritize equity. If you support business, the thinking goes, you must be anti-worker or anti-populist. On the other hand, any effort to regulate businesses means you must be anti-jobs.
These are neat narratives — but governing isn’t kabuki theater, and demonizing job creators won’t help solve serious problems. Nor will ignoring the needs of workers.
Here’s the truth: growth and fairness aren’t competing goals — in the long run, they depend on each other. Without growth, it is working and poor people who suffer the most. They are among the first to be laid off when the economy cools, the most likely to be unable to find housing they can afford, and the most dependent on a social safety net that requires a strong tax base to fund.
This isn’t ideological. It’s just math — and it’s a set of equations that are behind good work that’s already happening across New York State.
Over the past 4½ years, Gov. Hochul’s administration has made some of the biggest economic development bets in history. The push to bring semiconductor manufacturing to New York has attracted tens of billions of dollars in private investment, including Micron’s planned megafab in Central New York. These aren’t abstract wins — they’re real projects expected to support tens of thousands of accessible, middle class jobs in parts of our state that have been left out and left behind.
What’s notable isn’t just the scale. It’s how these deals are structured. They’re tied to job creation, to wages, to long-term commitments in the communities where they land. And they’re paired with workforce training — apprenticeship and education programs designed to help New Yorkers actually access those jobs.
That’s not crony capitalism. It’s a plan for shared prosperity and holding our partners’ feet to the fire. And we haven’t made the choice to build our economy at the expense of protecting workers. We’re doing both.
Under Hochul, the state has tied the minimum wage to inflation, so pay keeps up with costs. It has enacted the nation’s first paid prenatal leave policy, giving expectant mothers the ability to get care without losing income. And it has put real money into workforce training programs that connect people to jobs in growing industries.
You see the same approach in other equally important ways. The state has invested in making it easier for companies to build and expand — preparing sites, upgrading infrastructure, and helping communities compete for jobs. At the same time, it’s made large amounts of capital available to small businesses so they can hire and grow locally.
We are pushing alongside our colleagues in New York City to increase housing supply — through proposals to build more near transit, investments that support new development, and incentives for localities to actually say “yes” to growth. The idea is straightforward: if you want a stronger economy, you need private builders to create more places where workers can afford to live.
We face real challenges. Job growth has slowed in many industries. The cost of doing business is too high. Housing remains too expensive. Too many families feel squeezed. We must prepare workers and our children for rapid changes being brought by AI. These issues demand thoughtful leaders who are willing to work with New Yorkers of differing perspectives.
The question now is whether we wallow in a debate that missed the point to begin with — or lean in and work together to find durable solutions.
Katz is deputy secretary for economic development & workforce for Gov. Hochul.