KATHY HOCHUL HAS LOST HER MIND

As always, the content of this blog is a compendium of multiple media reports supplemented by my personal opinion, where indicated.

In my opinion, current empirical evidence indicates that NYS Governor Kathy Hochul has lost her mind. Recently she gave a speech in which she urged wealthy individuals who previously had relocated from NYS to other locales to return. In what universe does she think there is even a remote chance that will happen? If she honestly believes that, she is delusional. Did she forget that just a few years ago she gave a speech in which she basically told wealthy people and others who objected to her left-leaning policies and her cozying up to NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani that if they didn’t like it, they should “get out.” (Like the words from that old-time song, “Get on the bus, Gus.”)

That is just what many of them have done. Recently, NY State Senator Steve Rhoades disclosed the brutal statistic that “one [NY resident] leaves [the state] every 2 minutes and 23 seconds.” Think about that. Repub gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman sarcastically declared that “Hochul has finally discovered what New Yorkers already know. When you raise taxes, drive up the cost of living make it harder to do business, and try to destroy families’ savings people leave.” Moreover, he characterized Hochul’s pleas to the rich to return “the most honest moment of her administration.” In my view, if it’s not number one, it’s certainly in the top three.

Rich people are very astute. That’s how they became rich in the first place. They left primarily because of her governance. They were tired of the deteriorating quality of life, particularly in NYC. They were tired of the outrageously high cost of living, including rent, taxes, food and other necessities. They know that Hochul’s reputation is that she says one thing and then does the opposite, case in point, her congestion policy. Now they can see the handwriting on the wall. Despite her assertions to the contrary at some point, probably after the 2026 election she will give in to the lefties and raise taxes, and not just on the “wealthy.”

The lefties are becoming increasingly creative in ways to confiscate your money. For example, there has been talk of levying a “death tax” on a decedent’s wealth. By the way, in NYC how much annual income defines one as “wealthy?” Is it $100,000, $200,000, more? That sounds like a lot, but any NYC resident will tell you money doesn’t go very far when one factors in the high cost of living and punitive tax base. Now, having experienced the low or no-state taxes of Florida, Texas, Tennessee and other “red states” the rich have no intention of returning.

Furthermore, Hochul and Mamdani have formed a political partnership despite their ideological differences. As you may recall Hochul, in an attempt to unite the moderate and left-wing portions of the Dem Party in NYS, endorsed the socialist/communist/antisemitic Mamdani in his successful 2025 mayoral campaign. She was hopeful that he would support her in her re-election bid. He did, but he can always withdraw it or threaten to do so, and she knows it.

Hochul’s call for the rich former residents to return comes as she attempts to expand the state’s tax base in order to satisfy one of Mamdani’s primary demands that she raise tax rates. Blakeman derisively stated “Kathy Hochul finally discovered what New Yorkers already know. When you raise taxes, drive up the cost of living, make it harder to do business, and try to destroy families’ savings, people leave.” Barstool Sports Founder Dave Portnoy was not constrained by political niceties. He called it “unbelievable arrogance and hypocrisy” to ask wealthy New Yorkers to return home.

Mamdani has already become the dominant partner in the aforementioned alignment. It’s very unusual, if not unique, for a mayor to hold sway over a governor, but that’s how I see it. The left wing is very aggressive. Hochul is desperate to secure its support in her re-election campaign. She won a tight race in 2022, and she needs a united party behind her to win in 2026. As I indicated above already, she has been facing immense political pressure from the socialist wing to raise income and corporate taxes in order to pay for its planned extravagant spending programs, such as subsidizing bus rides and universal free childcare and healthcare. So far, she has resisted, but I expect her to cave eventually.

Conclusion

For New Yorkers the hits just keep on coming. It’s hard for me to feel sorry for them since they elected him. What did they expect would happen? They asked for it (socialism/communism), and they’re getting it.

Mamdani and his crew don’t have the foggiest notion of how to govern. I wouldn’t select them to run a lemonade stand much a large, complex city like NYC. Unless the adults manage to retake control, I fear that NYC, which has always been the crown jewel of the US, will inevitably deteriorate into a communist/socialist hellhole, i.e. an extremely unpleasant, filthy, squalid, miserable, chaotic, nightmarish place in which to live, work or even visit. If you think that is an extreme statement, just wait.