Where is Concern Over Start-Up New York?

June 27, 2016
As a reporter, I questioned the state’s Start-Up New York program from the beginning. Start-Up New York promised to create thousands of jobs by allowing businesses to pay no state or local taxes for 10 years. Employees also would not have to pay income taxes. I questioned the fairness of such a program and whether it would actually create jobs.
It turned out this giveaway to businesses, some of whom would have located here anyway, only created 76 jobs in 2014. Meanwhile, the state spent more than $200 million advertising the program. To make matters worse, the agency overseeing the program, Empire State Development, has not released its report on how many jobs Start-Up created in 2015. That report was due April 1.
My opponent, who enthusiastically supported Start-Up New York’s creation, gave lip service to concerns late last year, well after it was clear the program is a disaster. My opponent has not introduced any legislation to fix or halt Start-Up New York. The assembly economic development committee, on which my opponent sits, made no mention of any concern about Start-Up New York in its annual report for 2015. By not pressing this issue, my opponent is quietly endorsing the status quo.
Meantime, Rochester has the slowest-growing economy in the nation. Twenty-five thousand people left the area in the last five years. Forty thousand fewer people are in the local labor force compared to the late 1990s. We must rethink our approach to economic development, finding policies that make New York friendlier for businesses and families.


http://rachelforassembly.com/2016/06...tart-new-york/