Several economic experts have criticized New York Governor Kathy Hochul’s “inflation refunds” that she plans to distribute to eligible New Yorkers as part of her 2025 State of the Union initiative.
Hochul last week proposed $3 billion in direct payments to about half of the Empire State’s 19 million residents. It would be $300 for single taxpayers earning up to $150,000 a year and $500 for joint taxpayers earning twice that amount.
“Due to inflation, New York City has generated unprecedented revenue through sales tax, and now we are returning that cash to middle-class families,” Hochul said in a statement announcing the proposal. .
But some economists and economic experts, such as Andy Puzder, said the move was simply “redistribution.” [money] That way people will vote for them. ”
Republicans throw out Hochul’s inflation refund as ‘bribes to get New Yorkers like her’
Former Hardee’s/Carls Jr. executive Andy Puzder speaks in Maryland. (Reuters)
Puzder, the former CEO of CKE Restaurants, the parent company of Hardee’s & Carl’s Jr., said, “If you really want to help people and your sales tax is over, We just need to reduce taxes,” he added. “It’s not hard math,” he added.
Puzder, an economics lecturer and senior public policy fellow at Pepperdine University, was considered for secretary of labor during the first Trump administration.
Through his work with CKE Restaurants, Puzder helped the then-struggling Hardee’s increase its average franchise sales from $715,000 in 2001 to more than $1 million a decade later.
He said the U.S. economy is in trouble because of similar policies pushed by Hochul and other tax-and-spend Democrats, and that President Biden’s American Rescue Plan was the spark for nationwide inflation in the first place. He added that it was set on fire.
“If we cut taxes, fewer people will leave the state,” he added, as New York state further reduces the number of House seats and electoral votes based on population in the decennial census.
Puzder cited former President Bill Clinton’s Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers warning the Biden administration that similar benefits would fuel inflation in 2021, and several senior Democrats said such benefits from the government He pointed out that he had warned his country’s leaders against “refunds.”
Hochul sparks bipartisan anger over restarting congestion pricing as Democrats worry President Trump will block it
Then-Rep. Dave Blatt, R-Va., at the White House. (Reuters)
Former Rep. Dave Blatt (R-Va.), an economist and current vice president of Liberty University in Lynchburg, cited Nobel Prize winner Milton Friedman’s argument that inflation is a monetary phenomenon.
So for Hochul, he said the better solution to inflation is in Manhattan, not Albany.
“Inflation is related to how much money the Fed prints. If she wants to give money back to people from the government, that’s fine, but one of the Fed’s chief desks is in New York. She’s in an important position in New York in that she’s put in a position where, if you want to solve inflation, you should go to the Federal Reserve. ”
He added that providing $500 to families is a “small, symbolic move against huge hidden taxes,” given real inflation has been estimated at 22% over the past four years. He pointed out that in 2020 purchasing power, $500 is only worth $390.
Blatt calls for such a “refund” because Republicans essentially have the right to warn the public to “eat your spinach” while having to “compete with Santa Claus” handing out presents. He added that Democratic trends consistently put Republicans at a political disadvantage.
Economist E. J. Antoni agreed that refunds themselves cause inflation, saying that excessive government spending was what caused the United States to experience inflation in the first place.
“So this idea of adding more government spending is essentially just creating a feedback loop,” Antoni said.
“I’m not saying New York is the only state that causes inflation. Inflation is caused by the federal government, because the federal government can’t create money, it can print money out of thin air. But “At the same time, by the way, you’re still talking about raising the cost of living for New Yorkers in other ways,” he said.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Then Lieutenant. Gov. Kathy Hochul looks at then-Gov. Mr. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York. (AP)
“The additional government spending will have to be paid for somehow.”
Mr Antoni added that payments to these people could “snowball”, resulting in the need to raise taxes to fund the benefits.
Antoni also said Hochul’s proposal is different from then-President Donald Trump’s coronavirus-era checks, the latter of which will help people “get by” amid stay-at-home orders and closures of various employment sectors. This is because the proposal was made at a time when people were in need of “money to save money.”
“If the issue is that people need to reduce their cost of living, the best thing to do is simply reduce taxes rather than take new payments from the government,” he said.
Fox News Digital also reached out to the left-leaning Brookings Institution for a more diverse perspective on Hochul’s move.
FOX News Digital also reached out to Hochul’s office for comment, but did not receive a response by press time.
Charles Creitz is a reporter for Fox News Digital.
He joined Fox News in 2013 as a writer and production assistant.
Charles covers media, politics and culture for Fox News Digital.
Charles is a Pennsylvania native and graduate of Temple University with a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism. Story tips can be sent to charles.creitz@fox.com.
Source link
