For the second time in two years, President Donald Trump has urged upstate New York residents to, “go to another state where they can get a great job.” This might seem like an outlandish claim at first, but Trump is right.

New York City’s economy is booming, while the rest of the state seems to have been left behind.

“Upstate New York is suffering from becoming older and losing population. It’s part of a larger rust belt phenomenon that stretches from Utica to Detroit,” said Stuart Rosenthal, an economics professor at Syracuse University. “The question is: Do we want to direct government support to cities like Syracuse, Buffalo and Cleveland, or do we want to allow individuals to follow the jobs?”

Over the past 20 years, New York has had the largest net migration loss in the country, with the biggest effects visible in upstate New York. In a 2015 report, State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said that New York City gained two out of three statewide jobs.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s (D) answer to this question has been clear. He’s claimed to have invested more money into upstate New York than any governor ever. But what the state needs is a tax cut on manufacturing, not more investments into the region.

“You don’t need to make some of those investments if you have good policy. Get rid of the state tax on manufacturing,” said Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon on Cuomo’s economic interventions.

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Residents living in New York don’t benefit from high state taxes. This region needs a government that will empower new business growth — it doesn’t need a wasteful and overbearing central planner.

McMahon said that republican losses in the state legislature has contributed to a decline in upstate New York’s influence at the state level.

“The problem that you have now is upstate’s voice is gone, so even if the governor wants to pass policy, he doesn’t have a partner anymore,” McMahon said.

Trump’s comments have rubbed many people in New York the wrong way, and that’s understandable. Trump is a lifelong New York City resident who knows next to nothing about upstate New York or its people — but that’s the point.

Until the New York State Government loosens its financial grip on upstate New York and fosters a pro-business environment, area residents would be foolish to dismiss Trump’s comments.

Michael Furnari is a sophomore broadcast and digital journalism major in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. His column appears bi-weekly. He can be reached at mpfurnar@syr.edu

Published on February 24, 2019 at 11:25 pm