Gina Arena
Harckham and Arena Exchange Views at LWV Debate
By Dan Murphy
New Yorkers had to work approximately 682 million hours to raise enough state tax revenue just to cover the cost of migrant housing to date. In fact, the total annual state personal income tax yield from more than 328,000 New Yorkers would be required to foot the bill for the $2.3 billion spent on New York migrant housing thus far. That’s more people than live in the entire 40th Senate District, State Senate candidate Gina Arena today noted. New York is now seeking an additional 14,000 hotel rooms.
Ms. Arena, who opposes Sanctuary State policies, made these back-of-a-napkin calculations to offer a reality check of just how much tax revenue New York is spending on the self-inflicted migrant crisis. Ms. Arena noted that funding for migrant services comes from multiple sources so there’s no simple apples-to-apples calculation, but with all tax dollars being fungible, these calculations roughly capture how many hours New Yorkers need to work to raise $2.3 billion in state personal income tax revenue. The figure was calculated based on a $7,000 average annual state income tax bill and a 40-hour work week (40 hours per week multiplied by 52 weeks equals 2,080 work hours per year per worker. $2.3 billion divided by $7,000 equals 328,571 individual taxpayers. 328,000 taxpayers multiplied by 2,080 annual work hours comes to 682 million work hours. The average New York State Senate district has around 320,000 people. A lower average annual tax payment would require even more taxpayers to cover costs.)
“New York desperately needs a reality check,” Ms. Arena, a longtime advocate for children and families, said. “When the annual state income tax revenue from an entire state senate district isn’t enough to cover a portion of migrant housing costs, something is seriously wrong with this state. It’s time to wake up to what we’re doing to taxpayers.”
Ms. Arena, who has children with disabilities, has argued throughout her campaign that the State Legislature has forgotten its priorities: “New Yorkers have enormous hearts,” she said, “but we have real needs of our own. Our road infrastructure is a mess, special needs families aren’t getting enough help, senior centers need rebuilding, and vital school projects go unfunded. At the same time, our taxes are through the roof; healthcare, energy, and insurance costs are some of the most expensive in the nation, and the price of everyday goods remains stubbornly high. To New York progressives this is just another $2.3 billion, but for hundreds of thousands of hardworking New Yorkers it’s the fruit of their annual labor squandered.”
Arena and her opponent, State Senator Pete Harckham recently participated in a League of Women Voters debate held at New Castle Town Hall. And the topic of paying for migrants was discussed.
“I’m very concerned about the $2.5 Billion spent towards illegal immigration. We have New Yorkers who are suffering, and we are not spending even close to that amount on them. We need to get rid of our sanctuary status and help those New Yorkers suffering.
Harckham answered the same question saying, “Where was the outrage when republican governors were illegally sending tens of thousands of people to New York? Where was the outrage when Republicans in the House refused to provide funding to care for people coming into our municipalities?
“Where was the outrage when house republicans refused to pass a bi-partisan plan to solve the immigration problem? As a person of faith, when we have people living in our community, we should take care of them. This problem is completely generated by a broken federal system,” said Harckham.
The debate can be viewed online at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jP56cYZYaBY
