State needs a better business environment

Forget the fairy tale notion of manufacturing a "new economy" comprised of unsustainable, heavily subsidized jobs. If this is New York's chosen route, you might as well drive the nail in the coffin of the financial future of New Yorkers who will pay more tax to subsidize industry that hasn't found a way to sustain itself, while simultaneously fueling New York's undying thirst for tax revenue, which only promotes a darker business climate for the successful operations still here.

A healthy business that can stand alone and costs our taxpayers nothing will choose to pay less tax to stand all alone in another state. Exactly like the person who decides to live 9 percent better off in Florida. It's a growing trend and will continue until the last drop of tax blood has come out of this stone we call New York. For those of us left behind, strap in for the tax roller coaster of a lifetime.

New York needs to focus on designing a "new environment," one with low income taxes, low property taxes and lower taxes on energy costs to compete against the offerings from other states. This will catalyze the creation of sustainable jobs in New York by the private sector in all viable industries. Forget about, "bringing jobs back to New York." Those jobs are gone forever and not coming back unless it actually gets worse there than it is in New York.

How wisely you put your money to work comes down to how hard it was to earn. If you scrimped and saved up $20,000 after working two jobs for 10 years and invested this hard-earned cash into a new venture, you would first seriously consider what you risked losing and second see it through to success or die trying. You lose everything if you fail. The ability of government to spend your money isn't painful work; it's just a decision and, their paycheck doesn't get smaller if it is a bad one. The giant financial debacle our state is going to see is the best medicine for the denial of our ridiculous spending addiction that put us here in the first place.

Create an all around better financial climate for all. When this happens, sustainable business and people will invest in their future in New York, and through careful decision and hard work, they will see their dreams through to success because in the unsubsidized, real world there is zero reward for failure. Through the process of getting a grip on reality, New York will eventually get back on track.

Ryan D. Demick

Morristown