What passes for good news in New York State, after the Democrats took over control of the state Senate, via the New York Daily News:
even though his party controls the entire state Legislature and the governor's mansion, the mayor is not likely to get what has been one of his top priorities since taking office—an increase on taxes for the wealthy to help fund needed subway repairs.
The Senate Democrats, knowing that tax hikes don't go over well in the suburbs and upstate, where they won seats to claim the majority, have said they are not looking to raise taxes.
"We understand how sensitive the tax environment is in New York State, especially after this devastating tax bill that the Trump administration passed," Senate Democratic Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins told the Daily News Wednesday. "I'm a suburban legislator who is quite aware of the tax burden people already have. We're not trying to find new ways to increase the burden."
Note the framing effect. Two options are effectively presented in this passage: "an increase on taxes" or "not trying to find new ways to increase the burden." There's also a third option: lowering taxes to make New York more competitive with neighboring, lower-tax states such as Massachusetts. That tax-cutting option, though, is so far remote from the New York political conversation, unfortunately, that all Stewart-Cousins needs to do is say she's for preserving the status quo, and she gets cheered for reassuring nervous business owners. I'm not saying she doesn't deserve a cheer, but the whole episode tells something about the state of the Empire State's politics these days.