🏛️ JSA2026 Budget Reform Plan: Fixing What Albany Broke

Objective

To expose the failures of Governor Hochul’s FY2026 budget and present a bold, fiscally grounded, people-first alternative that reflects the values of a real commonwealth. This post outlines where the current proposal falls short and how JSA2026 will build a state budget that actually works for working New Yorkers.

🔍 What’s Wrong with Hochul’s FY2026 Budget

1. Outyear Budget Gaps Ignored
   Projected deficits rise from $6.5B (FY27) to $11B (FY29) — and Hochul offers no structural fixes.
2. One-Time Inflation Refund Gimmicks
   $3B in short-term refunds, no plan to combat rising costs at the root.
3. Medicaid Is Ballooning, No Reforms
   Medicaid exceeds $105B — no cost caps, no efficiency incentives, no fraud crackdown.
4. Still Dependent on High-Income Tax Extensions
   Albany banking on wealthy residents staying in NY while raising their taxes to cover middle-class relief.
5. Overreliance on Reserves & PTET Timing Tricks
   Kicking the can with budget rollovers and temporary credits instead of confronting the revenue gap.
6. Acknowledges Risks, But Takes No Action
   Inflation, labor shortages, tariffs, immigration, and climate costs are all admitted — but there’s no budgetary response.
7. Commercial Real Estate Collapse Not Addressed
   Office vacancy and real estate defaults threaten NYC’s tax base — and there’s no backup plan.
8. No Adjustments to Population Loss or Labor Decline
   Workforce growth projected at just 0.7% — no retention or attraction strategy exists.

✅ The JSA2026 Budget Plan: Real Fixes, Not Fantasy

1. Freeze and Phase Down Top-End Spending Growth

• Cap Medicaid increases at 3% annually unless offset by fraud recovery or managed care performance.
• Pause automatic education aid hikes in districts with shrinking enrollment.

2. Redirect Refund Gimmicks Into Permanent Cost Relief

• End inflation refund giveaways.
• Replace with permanent utility tax rollback and a capped fuel surcharge.

3. Tax Reform That Rewards Working Families

• Phase out the PTET gimmick by 2028.
• Flatten tax brackets and eliminate carveouts that favor politically connected industries.

4. Build the Commonwealth Reserve

• Codify a 5% revenue holdback into law.
• Prohibit emergency use of rainy-day funds to patch recurring expenses.

5. Launch Operation Efficiency

• Cut administrative overhead by 10% across all agencies within 3 years.
• Merge or eliminate overlapping state agencies and roles.

6. Reclaim Dormant State Assets

• Lease or redevelop empty jails, unused office buildings, and surplus school properties under Operation Ghost Town.
• Redirect revenue to affordable housing, mental health, and infrastructure priorities.

7. Empower Local Tax Autonomy Through SEZs & LEZs

• Special Empowerment Zones allow localities to raise or lower certain taxes based on performance metrics.
• School Empowerment Zones (SEZs) pilot local control of education funding and accountability.

8. Create a Budget Risk Dashboard

• Launch a public-facing dashboard that tracks inflation, labor trends, real estate health, and tax revenues in real time.
• Let voters see what Albany politicians hide.

⚠️ Why It Matters

• NY’s structural deficit isn’t a projection — it’s an inevitability without reform.
• One-time tricks, federal bailout habits, and agency waste have replaced responsible governance.
• When debt explodes and services shrink, taxpayers pay the price — in dollars and dignity.
• Only JSA2026 has a real plan for long-term stability grounded in local power and fiscal truth.

🔚 Conclusion

The FY2026 budget is a glittering shell hiding structural rot. JSA2026 offers the only alternative built on restraint, reality, and results. We don’t need more bailouts — we need a better blueprint.

🗽 I’m not a good candidate. I’m the right one.
📍 https://jsa2026.com
☎️ (516) 586-0660
✉️ jaysarnold@icloud.com

#JSA2026 #BudgetReform #FixTheGaps #NoMoreGimmicks #FiscalTruth #CommonwealthEconomics #NYDeservesBETTR