‘LEADING THE WAY’
Gov. Cuomo delivers part one of his 2021 State of the State address
ALBANY, N.Y. » Gov. Andrew Cuomo gave his 2021 State of the State address to New Yorkers Monday morning. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the governor spoke to a virtual crowd from the War Room on the second floor of the Capitol.
In addition to the different setting, the initial address is a four-part series in which Cuomo will outline his priorities for the state moving forward.
Chief among Cuomo’s listed priorities are:
• Defeat COVID-19
• Vaccinate New Yorkers
• Manage short term economic crisis
• Invest in the future
• Transition to green energy
• Understand long term effects of COVID-19
• Address systemic injustice
Dominating the speech was the ongoing battle against the raging COVID-19 pandemic.
“There are moments in life that can change a person fundamentally - sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse. Likewise, there are episodes in history that transform society and COVID is one of those moments,” Cuomo remarked.
To that end, the governor cautioned against “COVID fatigue,” encouraging New Yorkers to forge ahead.
“COVID fatigue is not an option until COVID itself is fatigued,” Cuomo said.
“We must defeat the enemy. If we tire before the enemy tires, we lose the war. It’s that simple. We must slow down the spread to keep our COVID numbers down,” Cuomo added on attempting to mitigate the virus
However, conversely, the governor did not appear ready or willing to invoke any shutdown measures similar to those instituted last spring.
“We simply cannot stay closed until the vaccine hits critical mass,” Cuomo stated.
“The cost is too high. We will have nothing. left to open,” Cuomo continued.
“We must reopen the economy, but we must do it smartly and safely,” Cuomo added.
In attempting to ramp up efforts against the pandemic, Cuomo announced the formation of the New York State Public Health Corps. According to the governor, 1,000 Health Corps
Fellows would serve for one year, in a joint partnership with Northwell Health and Cornell University. The corps would assist in scaling up vaccination efforts as well as responding to other public health emergencies.
“We will also empower and educate New York’s citizens to be prepared for the next public health crisis,” Cuomo said,
“Too many New Yorkers felt anxious because they were uninformed and untrained to handle this new emergency. We will develop a citizen public health training program designed by Cornell, offered online and free, to educate and certify tens of thousands of citizens all across the state who will then be better prepared to help themselves, their families and co-workers and will be trained and ready to volunteer to help their community in the next public health emergency,” Cuomo continued.
“Our goal is to train and certify 100,000 New York health emergency volunteers,” Cuomo added.
In addition to preparedness efforts, Cuomo touted a proposed Medical Supplies Act, to ensure that hospitals have supplies needed to protect their patients and workers. The Act would also prioritize domestic manufacturing and buying of American-made PPE and medical supplies.
The governor also called to expand access to Telehealth.
To that end, Cuomo also spoke to some of what he calls societal injustices exposed even more by the pandemic.
“COVID has laid bare the inequities in our society. It has showed low tide in America and exposed the ugliness,” Cuomo stated.
“True justice, racial justice, social justice, economic justice, must be New York’s banner to carry in America’s post- COVID reconstruction,” Cuomo added.
On the economic front, Cuomo proposed a rapid testing network as a tool to help reopen and support businesses.
New York state, faced a $6 billion deficit prior to the pandemic. According to the governor, that state budget deficit has since ballooned to $15 billion. Cuomo once again railed against Washington and other states for not paying their fair share and thus being subsidized by New York taxpayers.
“For too long, New York has been asked to unfairly subsidize the federal government. As the federal government’s number one donor, New York already leads the nation in sending more money to Washington than it gets back in return,” Cuomo remarked.
“On top of that, Washington has relentlessly abused this state, providing the lowest Medicaid reimbursement rate in the nation, starving infrastructure funding, and curtailing the State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction, which raised New Yorkers’ taxes and starved New York of $30 billion over three years. After all of this, New York cannot also afford to pay the bill for the federal government’s incompetence,” Cuomo added.
In an effort to find new revenue sources, Cuomo lent his support to initiatives such as legalizing adult recreational use of marijuana and enabling online sports betting.
According to the governor, cannabis legalization will create more than 60,000 new jobs, spurring $ 3.5 billion in economic activity and generating more than $300 million in tax revenue when fully implemented. Additionally, Cuomo hopes to recoup the estimated 20% sports wagering tax revenue from New Yorkers who are betting online in New Jersey.
Additionally, Cuomo encouraged New Yorkers to remain resolute and “New York tough.”
“There is an indomitable power in our New York credo - the strength of one people - Black, white, brown, Asian, upstate, downstate, straight and gay all pulling in one direction. It is unbeatable, undeniable, and undebatable. We say it on our state seal in 3 simple words: E Pluribus Unum. Out of many, one,” Cuomo stated.
“And we know the direction we are headed, we are headed up, it is our state motto, Excelsior, ever upwards,” Cuomo added.