Liberal New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) was asked a fairly simple question Thursday morning: Is the flight of wealthy residents and businesses still a problem?
Her answer took a detour through Donald Trump, Abraham Lincoln, the federal tax code, COVID, and Palm Beach before arriving at three words that did not answer it: “But I’m here.”
During an appearance on “Good Day New York,” Hochul was confronted with the latest Citizens Budget Commission report on wealthy residents leaving the state. The host also cited an $8 billion state bailout of New York City in the current budget and a projected $10 billion deficit before asking how New York planned to reverse the trend.
The exchange began with the host laying out the problem:
Kathy Hochul is grilled by NYC media on report of businesses and wealthy individuals fleeing the city.
— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) July 15, 2026
Hochul counters that the data is from 2022. The host wants to know if it's really any better now.
Hochul doesn't answer, then pivots to blaming Trump and Covid.
Host finally… pic.twitter.com/aIBrkWngiX
“Their latest report basically said wealthy individuals are moving out, families are moving out, and single filers are coming in. People who really can’t afford New York City are coming here. You had to bail out New York City $8 billion this budget. They’re saying they see a $10 billion budget deficit. What do you think? How do we stop this?”
Hochul’s first response was to blame the data.
“Well, first of all, the data that came out is from 2022.”
The host immediately followed up, asking whether the situation had improved, again pointing to the $8 billion New York City budget rescue.
Hochul said the exodus could be traced to the 2017 federal cap on the state and local tax deduction. She argued that the change made New York more expensive and contributed to residents and businesses leaving the state.
"All of a sudden, everybody in New York paid higher taxes because we used to, since Abraham Lincoln was president, they started the tax code. You never were double taxed. They changed that, so states like New York, you lost that deduction. So it got more expensive to be here just with the signing of that law, 2017, 2019."
Then came COVID.
“Those were the years when people started the outmigration of businesses and individuals. And then what happens in 2020? [New York] gets slammed with the pandemic. So people who maybe had a vacation home or a temporary home in Palm Beach said, ‘I’m moving my whole family here.’”
Trump and the pandemic received most of the airtime. Hochul’s own tax and spending policies received none.
The host eventually interrupted the history lesson with the question Hochul had avoided: “You don’t think that’s a problem now?”
Hochul answered: “But I’m here. I am today. I am doing what I can to stop that.”
Being physically present in the television studio was never in dispute.
Hochul did not identify anything she had done to reverse the trend. She did not say whether wealthy residents had stopped leaving after 2022. She offered no policy change that would make New York more competitive with Florida, Texas, or the other states attracting its former taxpayers.
The interview came three days after RedState detailed the Citizens Budget Commission findings. The study found that New York's share of America's millionaires had dropped sharply since 2010, producing a nearly $11 billion shortfall in revenue from high earners, a separate and larger figure than the $8 billion city bailout Hochul's budget already absorbed.
New York’s reliance on wealthy taxpayers makes their departure particularly expensive. The state can lose relatively few households and still lose billions of dollars in taxable income.
Read More: The Shocking Cost of New York’s ‘Tax the Rich’ Experiment Has Finally Been Exposed
Texas Now Rolling Out Red Carpet for Businesses Fleeing New York
The host summarized the demographic shift in even starker terms. Wealthy individuals and families are leaving, while single filers with less money are arriving. New York is losing people capable of carrying its enormous tax burden while adding residents more likely to require expensive public services.
Hochul blamed Congress for limiting the federal deduction available to residents of high-tax states. Congress did write the cap. Albany still writes New York’s tax rates, spending plans, and budgets.
The governor has also had years since the pandemic to offer a different approach. Instead, New Yorkers continue to hear demands for more spending, higher taxes on top earners, and new ways to squeeze revenue from the shrinking group expected to pay for it all.
Hochul said she is here. Many of the taxpayers New York depends on are not.
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