Young people plan to bolt from the state

Editorial from the Daily News:

Here are facts that should be tattooed on the forehead of every elected official in Albany: One out of four adult New Yorkers - including one out of three below the age of 30 - plans to flee the state in the next five years.

So found a NY1/YNN-Marist poll, which also asked why people are itching to leave - and discovered, of course, that it's the economy, stupid.

The most cited factors for flight were New York's notorious cost of living, its highest-in-the-nation tax burden and its chronic shortage of jobs. All of which are the work of state leaders.

Keep in mind that this dismal survey was taken well after the approval of Gov. Cuomo's heralded first budget, which cut spending, avoided tax hikes and got done on time. On the basis of that one accomplishment, some legislators seem to think they've done enough reforming for the year. New Yorkers obviously disagree - and rightly so.

Cuomo's spending plan succeeded mainly in stopping the bleeding. What he and the Legislature must now tackle is the harder work of lowering the cost of living, easing the tax burden and spurring job creation.

Capping property taxes - one of the key proposals that Cuomo is currently barnstorming for - is an obvious and much-needed step in the right direction.

So, too, is getting a handle on the skyrocketing cost of government retirement benefits - by enrolling new hires in a 401(k)-style pension system and sharing health costs.

Other musts include shedding excess bureaucracy, deep-sixing frivolous or ineffective programs, controlling Medicaid outlays and rolling back costly and unnecessary mandates.

Then, maybe, people will want to live and work in New York again. Otherwise, they'll vote with their moving vans.