Governor Kathy Hochul plans to invest almost half a billion dollars in the state’s horse-racing industry, which has declined for years.
The proposed budget would be used to renovate the Belmont Park race track on Long Island.
The Governor says taxpayers would be reimbursed with interest in 20 years, but little evidence supports this claim.
Experts interviewed by the New York Focus believe that the Governor’s forecast for a renaissance in the horse-racing industry is “mostly bogus.”
Attendance at New York racetracks has plummeted from over 11 million fans 40 years ago to a little over 2 million today, with tax revenue from the tracks falling from hundreds of millions to around $10 million.
Despite this decline, the public still supports the tracks with $200 million annually.
The horse-racing industry’s decline is evident, and investing in it appears to be more of a bid to win votes than a sound financial decision.
Hochul’s recent proposal to expand the yearly film and television tax credit from $420 million to $700 million may also be motivated by a desire to win donations and face time with celebrities rather than a genuine need to support the industry.
The free market would have inevitably executed the horse-racing industry.
The state should not insult the public by pretending that it will reap a windfall by burning more taxpayer cash on this money pit.
The Empire State is facing a dire budget future, and if it wants to turn the economy around, it needs to prioritize broad tax reductions over special-interest giveaways.
Albany is burning public money to keep the NYRA alive, and this latest “investment” is unlikely to change that fact.
»Governor Kathy Hochul plans to invest half a billion dollars in state’s horse-racing industry«
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