Opinion: Florida offers more than warmer weather!

Dear Editor,

A question recently posed from a former New Yorker now living in Florida; “Florida and New York have similar-sized populations so you would think the cost of state services would also be similar. However, this is not the case. The Florida budget is $88 billion while New York’s is $168 billion. I find the government-provided services in Florida to be excellent. Therefore, it is a mystery to me why New York spends 90 percent more money to provide the same services. Please clarify.”   

The response was rather simple and to point; “Waste, fraud and abuse. Everything else is detail.”

And so it is, which explains why the actively working or retired are moving and taking with them their income and the state’s tax revenue. As of this year, Florida has 1.5 million more residents than New York. For too many, the decision to relocate is made on affordability as in – it’s not on what you make, it’s what you get to keep.  

The cost of living in New York, whether working or retired, those staying are dealing with “what you don’t get to keep.” Governor Cuomo has continued to play politics with the state’s budget for the purpose of paving his way to the White House, a run he so obviously and actively has been campaigning for over the previous eight years. 

Rather than take his first two terms to rectify the economic problems with sound fiscal financial decisions and with investment on state and local infrastructure that goes to the heart of supporting businesses, schools and counties, he turned his agenda towards a national platform. 

Cuomo has habitually diverted resources to picking winners and losers with gamesmanship ploys, using resource assets derived from taxes and deflecting his incompetence to say New Yorkers permanently moved because of the warm weather in Florida.  

The sad fact is, for every person leaving New York State there are those who are picking up the tab of ever-higher taxes. We deserve better.

Sincerely,

Florence Alpert

Candor, N.Y.