{"id":100570,"date":"2026-01-14T22:39:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-14T22:39:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/100570\/"},"modified":"2026-01-14T22:39:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T22:39:07","slug":"hochul-critics-warn-ny-cant-afford-state-of-the-state-affordability-promises-including-universal-childcare","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/100570\/","title":{"rendered":"Hochul critics warn NY can’t afford ‘State of the State’ affordability promises — including universal childcare"},"content":{"rendered":"

Can Kath afford affordability?<\/p>\n

Gov. Kathy Hochul\u2019s\u00a0play-it-safe \u201cState of the State\u201d<\/a>\u00a0speech on Tuesday could be the prelude to yet another record-high budget for New York as critics from across the political spectrum cast doubt on her promise of \u201caffordability\u201d without raising taxes.<\/p>\n

Hochul will unveil her proposed state budget on Jan. 20 amid lingering questions over how she\u2019ll pay for her plan, especially with $4.5 billion promised for the first wave of her promised universal childcare<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Gov. Kathy Hochul faces doubts she can deliver her universal childcare program without raising taxes in the future. Gabriella Bass for NY Post<\/p>\n

Progressives, led by socialist Big Apple Mayor Zohran Mamdani, argued after Hochul\u2019s speech that soaking the rich is the only way to keep the ambitious childcare plan funded.<\/p>\n

And conservative critics such as Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, the likely GOP nominee in this year\u2019s gubernatorial election, warned that Hochul\u2019s promises risk bursting the state\u2019s swollen budget balloon.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnless she makes serious changes in her spending and unless she has serious programs that will create economic development, lower taxes, lower regulation so businesses can do business, I think we\u2019re heading for very, very cloudy and dark times with respect to our budget in New York State,\u201d Blakeman said during a Wednesday event in Albany.<\/p>\n

Bruce Blakeman, the GOP\u2019s likely gubernatorial nominee, warned Hochul\u2019s plans could lead to \u201cdark times\u201d for New York. Dennis A. Clark for NY Post<\/p>\n

The state\u2019s budget has inched up 23% since Hochul took office in 2021, hitting a record-breaking $254 billion last fiscal year.<\/p>\n

Watchdogs have cautioned that the Empire State faces massive potential federal funding cuts from President Trump\u2019s adversarial administration, in addition to a budget gap that\u2019ll reach $12.6 billion by the 2029 fiscal year.<\/p>\n

Fiscal fears have only risen since Hochul allied herself with Mamdani, whose promises of universal childcare and free buses hinge on $10 billion \u2014 largely from the state.<\/p>\n

Hochul has been happy to hitch herself to Mamdani\u2019s popular bandwagon, but without committing to his progressive supporters\u2019 cries to \u201ctax the rich\u201d as a way to pay for a list of proposed handouts.<\/p>\n

Hochul\u2019s \u201cState of the State\u201d speech embraced affordability. Angus Mordant for NY Post<\/p>\n

Andrew Rein, the president of the Citizens Budget Commission, praised Hochul for holding the line on not raising taxes in order to keep New York competitive. But he warned she faces a tricky balance in the next budget.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe massive structural budget gap and growing federal cuts makes the road ahead rocky,\u201d he said in a statement. \u201cThe State should choose forward-looking actions so it does not self-inflict a fiscal reckoning requiring future cuts to services New Yorkers need.\u201d<\/p>\n

The agenda outlined by Hochul is also drawing fire from some lefties who felt the governor didn\u2019t go far enough.<\/p>\n

Hochul has aligned herself with Mayor Zohran Mamdani, but still faces doubts from his progressive fans. Gabriella Bass for NY Post<\/p>\n

Hochul\u2019s estranged Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado, who is running to her left in the Democratic primary, railed that New Yorkers are clamoring for a longtime liberal wish list<\/a> of policies, including single-payer healthcare and banning ICE.<\/p>\n

He also argued that Hochul\u2019s childcare plan is \u201cincomplete and unfunded\u201d without raising taxes on the rich or corporations.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now the plan doesn\u2019t even have funding outside of two years,\u201d he said Monday before embarking on a \u201cState of the People\u201d listening tour.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s $1.7 billion in the first year. I think the annual cost of a real child care plan for the state would be about $12 to $15 billion per year. You\u2019ve got to, first of all, sit down and think about where the money is going to come from.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite the governor\u2019s alliance with Mamdani, other progressives hinted that they\u2019d be happy to tell Hochul to take a hike if she doesn\u2019t tax the rich to fund childcare and fight federal cuts to health insurance and SNAP food benefits.<\/p>\n

\u201cGovernor Hochul has a choice: tax the rich, or let our neighbors go hungry. Tax the rich, or let hospitals close. Tax the rich, or let New York\u2019s children get sicker,\u201d the liberal group Invest In Our New York railed in a statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cGovernor Hochul, tax the rich, or get out of the way.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Can Kath afford affordability? Gov. Kathy Hochul\u2019s\u00a0play-it-safe \u201cState of the State\u201d\u00a0speech on Tuesday could be the prelude to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":100571,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[1626,426,57,9,11,10,49,51,50,4281,43015,58,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-100570","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-bruce-blakeman","9":"tag-kathy-hochul","10":"tag-metro","11":"tag-new-york","12":"tag-new-york-headlines","13":"tag-new-york-news","14":"tag-new-york-state","15":"tag-new-york-state-headlines","16":"tag-new-york-state-news","17":"tag-state-budget","18":"tag-state-of-the-state","19":"tag-us-news","20":"tag-zohran-mamdani"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100570","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=100570"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100570\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/100571"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=100570"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=100570"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=100570"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}