NYS Must Take Immediate Action to Reverse Its Adverse Business Climate
A study commissioned to find out “what was driving New York State to the bottom of every major business category” was conducted by the Public Policy Institute of New York State, Inc. (PPINYS), an affiliate an affiliate of The Business Council of New York State, Inc. (BCNYS), in collaboration with the New York State Economic Development Council (NYSEDC). The “Blueprint for New York – Creating a Roadmap for Change represents the compilation of responses from one year of focus groups with over 500 business leaders and 40 associations across the state. The feedback confirmed the urgent need for the state to fix its business climate to “stop the economic freefall that is being documented day-after-day.” Some of the most disturbing trends that have developed over the last few decades are:
- Declining prime working age population of 9.6% between 2005 and 2025 in contrast to Texas seeing a growth of 32.5% during the same period. Although New York State’s total population has been stable over the past 20 years, the number of people aged 65 and older increased by over 1.3 million and now comprise almost 19.6%. In contrast, the population of children aged 19 and under decreased by 758,973 and the prime working age population declined by 799,633 people.
- Lower than the national average job growth rate — 7.3% over the past 10 years compared to 12% nationwide, with an even wider gap compared to the 24.9% and 20.3% job growth rates in Florida and Texas respectively.
- Growing cost of living due to significantly higher expenses for excessive taxes, energy, and housing which makes it difficult for workers to live near jobs and therefore limits workforce retention and drives workers and businesses out of state.
- “Through the roof” state and local regulations with over 300,000 regulations on the books, second to only California; and the over 24,000 new bills introduced in 2023-2024 leads the nation and is five times the national average and double the next closest state. The results of the study reconfirmed what former U.S. Senator George McGovern pointed out in his 1992 column — “A Politician’s Dream is a Businessman’s Nightmare,” on the realities of running a business. Although acknowledging that “regulations may be put in place to address a specific issue or safety concern, unintended economic outcomes resulting from many regulations often have a far more detrimental outcome on citizens in the state. Regulations can drive up costs and prices, limit the number of new business starts, and ultimately reduce the number of jobs available.
PPINYS’ report concludes that as a result of the state’s declining business climate, it has shifted from being the one time envy of most, to a “prime target for other states to recruit the businesses and talent needed to flourish.” Several recommendations have been suggested, PPINYS urging private and public sector leaders to work together and begin turning the situation around with the goal of improving “the predictability, clarity, speed, and cost of doing business in New York.