Originally published August 31, 2022
https://queensjewishlink.com/index.php/opinion/7146-kathy-hochul-decides-who-is-a-real-new-yorker
Kathy Hochul is on the campaign trail, and she is deciding who qualifies as a “real New Yorker.” In her mind, New Yorkers are docile, sheepish people who wait in breadlines for handouts and are desperate for direction and instruction. Anyone who can’t go along with her vision should simply get out of New York.
She said at a campaign event for Democrat Pat Ryan, “And we are here to say that the era of Trump, and Zeldin and Molinaro, just jump on a bus and head down to Florida where you belong, ok? Get out of town. Because you do not represent our values. You are not New Yorkers.” Ryan, who was running against Marc Molanaro in a special election, won that seat, propelling Democrats’ hopes that 2022 will not be the Red Wave pundits have predicted for months.
Hochul believes that the “real New Yorkers” are happy with the way Democrats have been running the Empire State for the past four years, since they finally took the State Senate and solidified their hold on Albany. Abortion on Demand, No Cash Bail Law, and some of the most restrictive COVID lockdowns in the country are just a few of the radical, extremist policies that the Democrats have put in place.
Siena College conducted a poll gauging New Yorkers’ Life Satisfaction and compared the results from 2018, the last year that Republicans held some power in the state. “Today, 27% of New Yorkers are more satisfied with their life than they were a year ago while 33% are less satisfied and 39% are as satisfied today as they were a year ago according to a new Siena College (SCRI) poll of New Yorkers.” the Press Release states. “When SCRI last conducted this survey in 2018, 44% reported being more satisfied with their life while only 17% reported being less satisfied.”
The poll tested 11 different areas of life in New York: Financial condition, Residence/location, Work, Current health and vitality, Recreation, Family relationships, Life partner relationship, World direction, Friends and acquaintances, Community, and Religion/spiritual life. In every single category, New Yorkers are less satisfied now than they were in 2018. Keep in mind, 2018 was the middle of the Trump Presidency, when Republicans controlled both the House and the Senate, which was, according to Democrats, supposedly the worst period in American history. If anything, those totals should be markedly deflated, with a significant rise now that Democrats not only have control of Albany, but Washington as well. Instead, life under Democrats has caused satisfaction with areas like “Financial condition” to drop to 49.5% and “World direction” to 29.7%.
Democrats core voters – women, poor, young, and people of color – are all the hardest hit. “Women also expressed less satisfaction than men with their financial condition, their work, their health, their relationship with a life partner and the direction of the world.” the report claimed. Siena College Research Institute Director Don Levy elaborated, “18-34 have the lowest overall satisfaction with each successive age group expressing greater overall satisfaction. And it does seem that money makes you more satisfied as those earning $100K or more are more satisfied than those earning less than $50K in not only the financial condition category but in every other category as well.
“The racial satisfaction gap is striking. Overall satisfaction among blacks at 59 percent is the lowest of any racial or ethnic group. Interestingly, while overall satisfaction among Blacks is unchanged and lower than that of whites or Latinos, satisfaction among Blacks did increase on the condition of the world from 21% in 2018 to 32% today and Blacks expressed increasing satisfaction towards their finances, recreation, community, and their health,” Levy said.
Democrats have some momentum right now, with the anger over the Dobbs decision and legislative successes still fresh in people’s minds. Yet in the next two months until election day, voters won’t run to the polls based on abortion (as abortion in New York isn’t going anywhere), and the economic effects of policy like the Inflation Reduction Act and student loan forgiveness will start to be felt. Voters will look at their wallet – and at their leadership – and demand a change. Then Kathy Hochul will learn what “real New Yorkers” think of her.
