The following appeared on Monday, January 22, 2024, in the Blank Slate Media newspaper chain and on its website, theisland360.com:

In his first annual State of the State address to the Legislature on January 7, 1975, Governor Hugh Carey said, “In the very simplest of terms, this government and we as a people have been living far beyond our means.”

He went on to say that “now the times of Plenty, the Days of Wine and Roses, are over. We were in the lead car of the roller coaster going up and we are in the lead car coming down. So, we must first recognize the immediate burdens we inherit. There is responsibility enough to go around for all. But if we would master our fate, we must first acknowledge our condition.”

Carey went on to master the fate of New York and saved the state from insolvency and the City of New York and the Urban Development Corporation from bankruptcy.

Fifty years later, the question is will Gov. Hochul have the mettle, like Carey, to say, “the days of wine and roses are over” and to master the fate of the state by bringing government spending in line with reality?

In her January 8 State of the State address, Hochul appeared to acknowledge the state’s deteriorating fiscal and social conditions.

Unlike previous years, she did not promise huge increases in spending to placate every left-wing interest group. She even made this admission: “I can actually understand why some people feel the sun is setting on the Empire State.”

The governor noted that tens of thousands have been exiting New York to live in states that happen to have lower taxes, cheaper housing and better job opportunities.

To curb the outflow, Hochul promised to protect taxpayers’ “hard-earned money from politicians who want to raise your taxes.”

That’s an incredible statement from a governor who has surrendered time and again to tax-and-spend legislators.

Next, the governor conceded that the crime issue is real and not merely a talking point of her 2022 Republican opponent, Lee Zeldin.

“Safety at the grocery store, the synagogue, the subway,” Hochul said, “is always top of the mind.” Thieves who “brazenly tear items off shelves and menace employees,” she admitted, “are not only driving many out of business [but] these attacks are nothing less than a breakdown in the social order.”

Hochul added, “I say: no more! The chaos must end…Let’s back our businesses and workers with the full force of the law and punish those who think they can break the rules with impunity.”

My goodness. The tough-talking Hochul sounds like a MAGA Republican.

But will she follow through by fighting to repeal the lax bail and discovery laws that permit offenders to continue roaming the streets? That remains to be seen.

One subject she failed to address—the sanctuary city crisis. In New York City, Mayor Eric Adams has spent over $2.5 billion this past year to service migrants. And he projects spending more than $11 billion during the next two fiscal years. Such spending is not sustainable. The city’s declining tax base cannot absorb these costs without dramatic cuts in essential services.

To manage this glaring omission, the governor’s damage control squad said the issue would be dealt with in the state budget that was subsequently released January 16.

The $233 billion proposed budget increases spending by a modest $3.7 billion. Despite projected deficits over the next three years totaling $15 billion, there are no spending cuts. The governor could not find one dime of wasteful spending.

As for migrant aid, the city will receive $2.4 billion. Focusing on the issue, Hochul rightly noted “companies won’t do business in New York if there are thousands of people sleeping on the streets or the quality of life is dramatically impacted because the city is forced to cut essential services. We must support the City of New York in this moment to avoid these disastrous effects and to protect our economy and state revenues in the short-term and the long-term as well.”

Defending her budget, Hochul said, “we can’t spend like there’s no tomorrow because tomorrow always comes.”

That’s all well and good. However, Hochul’s real test will be whether she restrains radical legislators who have called for a $40 billion tax increase to fund their spending schemes.

I hope she has the mettle to do so.