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Hochul: lack of money means budget cuts are coming to New York

A new report from the state budget office says the coronavirus pandemic could cost New York almost a quarter-trillion dollars.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — While the state looks ahead to opening up, it's also dealing with the huge economic impact.

A new report from the state budget office says it could cost New York almost a quarter-trillion dollars, and it predicts that without federal help, the recession it causes would be worse and longer than the 2008 financial crisis.

So that means cuts are coming, something Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul talked about Sunday morning on WBEN.

"The last thing we want to do is to raise taxes on people that are struggling, so that has not been discussed," she said. "But we have to talk about how we will manage what we have coming in.

"But the answer for all of this is for the federal government to do what the governor talked to the president about in the White House, and that is for the federal government to give $500 billion in the next relief bill. We would have liked to see it this week, but they didn't do it; $500 billion to go to the states that are hardest-hit and help us get money back to the states and localities that are starving for money."

Hochul says there's "literally no money" coming into the state right now because of the breaks they've given people on taxes so they can deal with their own financial hardships.

"Let's start talking about getting our hospitals up and running in a way that is safe for people to come in," Hochul said. "It is important for public health, but it is also important for the economy. There are so many jobs hinging on our public health institutions, our hospitals." 

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