Democrat New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday that New York had spent decades “bailing out” other states without getting anything in return, as he pleaded for more federal government relief to state and local governments during the coronavirus pandemic.
Cuomo claimed New York has been “bailing out” other states for years with its federal tax contribution.
“It’s not the time to be saying, ‘Well, you put in a dollar more than I did, or I put in $5 more than you did.’ … But if you want to go to who’s getting bailed out and who paid what, nobody would be bailing out New York state,” Cuomo said during his daily briefing on Monday.
“If you want to look at who gives, we are the No. 1 giver — no one puts more money into the pot,” Cuomo continued.
The New York Democrat said the state had paid $161 billion more than it got in federal spending since 2015, and for every dollar the state gives to the federal government it gets 91 cents in return.
Cuomo’s remarks come after President Donald Trump tweeted a question asking why the American taxpayers should be “bailing out poorly run states”:
Why should the people and taxpayers of America be bailing out poorly run states (like Illinois, as example) and cities, in all cases Democrat run and managed, when most of the other states are not looking for bailout help? I am open to discussing anything, but just asking?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 27, 2020
“Why should the people and taxpayers of America be bailing out poorly run states (like Illinois, as example) and cities, in all cases Democrat-run and managed, when most of the other states are not looking for bailout help? I am open to discussing anything, but just asking?” Trump tweeted.
Cuomo later said New York is the number one donor state, while states such as New Jersey, California, Connecticut, and Massachusetts were similar donor states facing budget concerns.
He added that the taker states included states such as Kentucky, and those states in the southeastern part of the U.S.
Cuomo also criticized the latest $484 billion coronavirus relief bill for supporting small businesses instead of local governments.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said states should file for bankruptcy instead of having governors beg for more money from the federal government as a handout to deal with their deficits.
“I mean, we all represent states. We all have governors regardless of party who would love to have free money,” McConnell said Wednesday on the Hugh Hewitt Show.
Cuomo blasted McConnell’s bankruptcy idea as “one of the really dumb ideas of all time”:
One of the really dumb ideas of all time just came from Sen. Mitch McConnell.
His suggestion to let states go bankrupt makes no sense.
He says he doesn't want a "Blue State Bailout."
15,000 people died — this is not the time for politics.
— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) April 23, 2020
“Kentucky TAKES $148 billion more from the federal pot than they put in,” Cuomo tweeted last week. “But we don’t deserve help now because the 15,000 people who died here were predominately [sic] democrats?”
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