By Heather Mulligan
Affordability has become one of the defining issues facing New York. Lawmakers have focused on it repeatedly during the past two legislative sessions while New Yorkers struggle every day to balance household budgets. Families continue to face rising housing costs, higher utility bills, increasing insurance premiums, and a growing list of everyday expenses that seem to rise faster than their paychecks. Businesses, especially small employers, are feeling many of the same pressures as they work to manage higher operating costs while keeping prices competitive.
The challenge for Albany is straightforward: How do we make New York more affordable?
Too often, the answer has been to shift costs from one group to another. A new tax on a particular industry, a new fee on a select group of businesses, or another mandate placed on employers. While these proposals may be politically attractive, they are based on a flawed assumption that businesses can simply absorb these costs without consequence. In reality, costs rarely stay contained. Instead, increased costs of doing business lead to higher prices for consumers, less investment, fewer job opportunities, and ultimately a higher cost of living for everyone.
There is a better way.
If New York is serious about affordability, it must focus on the fundamentals of economic growth. That means making it easier to build, invest, create and expand.
Take housing, for example. New York's housing affordability challenge is a supply problem. In many parts of the state, demand continues to outpace the availability of affordable housing. Subsidies and assistance programs may offer temporary relief, but they do little to address the underlying issue.
The long-term solution is to build more housing by streamlining permitting processes, reducing unnecessary regulatory hurdles, and creating an environment where developers can respond to demand and deliver the housing New Yorkers need.
The same principle applies to business growth.
Starting and operating a business in New York remains more difficult and expensive than it should be. Entrepreneurs often face layers of regulations, lengthy approval timelines and compliance requirements that consume valuable time and resources before they ever open their doors.
Every unnecessary barrier discourages investment and slows economic activity. When businesses struggle to grow, communities lose opportunities for job creation, economic development and long-term prosperity.
Access to capital is another critical piece of the affordability puzzle.
New York's innovators, manufacturers, small businesses and emerging industries need investment to expand, hire and compete. Policymakers should focus on encouraging investment and removing barriers to capital access, rather than creating uncertainty that drives investment elsewhere. When businesses invest, productivity rises, innovation booms and wages grow, all of which contribute to a more affordable economy over time.
None of these solutions are particularly easy. Regulatory reform rarely generates headlines, and streamlining approvals and modernizing permitting processes can be complicated. Expanding housing supply takes time. Creating a more competitive business climate requires a sustained and meaningful commitment from policymakers and a willingness to tackle long-standing challenges.
But these are the kinds of structural reforms that produce lasting results.
The alternative, a steady reliance on new taxes, fees and mandates, creates a cycle that is increasingly difficult to sustain. Businesses pass along costs and investment becomes harder to attract. Economic growth slows and the tax base shrinks.
New Yorkers deserve a more durable solution.
True affordability comes from expanding opportunity, increasing supply, growing the economy and making it easier for businesses and individuals to invest in their future. If we want a more affordable New York, we need to spend less time shifting costs around the system and more time removing the barriers that prevent growth in the first place.
This may be the harder path politically, but it is the only path that delivers lasting results.
This commentary originally appeared in U.S. News.
