Michael Goodwin: Hochuls hollow words about affordability omit the damage shes done NY cant afford 4 more years of her

To believe Gov.Hochul’s tiresome claim that she’s committed to making New York more affordable, you also have to believe she actively opposed the policies driving up the cost of living during her tenure.Fat chance.In fact, her high-tax and big-spending regime means she can’t have it both ways.

A prime example are the record prices for heating, cooling and electricity that New Yorkers pay.No matter what she says now, Hochul has been a supporter of expensive green mandates and other impediments to increasing supply.These include opposing natural-gas extraction and transportation, and blocking upstate pipelines.Against that backdrop, Hochul cannot credibly claim the mess is not her fault and that she is committed to lowering household energy costs.The incoherence of her stance practically drowned out her Tuesday statement that acknowledges the exorbitant cost of energy in the Empire State, but tries to shift the blame to remote bogeymen.“As Washington Republicans keep driving up the cost of energy, gas and groceries, I’ll never stop working to help New Yorkers keep more money in their pockets,” she said.Oh, please.

The act is part of her plan to expand a rebate program and send checks of up to $500 to millions of state residents to offset household utility costs.She probably had to stifle giggles when she got to the part of the statement that has her saying “it’s just part of an ongoing, continuous effort to help New Yorkers realize that this is the best place to live and raise a family and have a business,” so “we’re helping do whatever we can.”This is the same governor who in 2022, during her first gubernatorial campaign, dismissed her Republican opponent and critics of the state’s exorbitant cost of living by telling them to “jump on a bus and head down to Florida where you belong!”Earlier this year, facing another election, she did a sloppy flip-flop as she complained that “our tax base has been eroded.”Her loopy solution was a s...