Analysis: Hochul Makes Cost-of-Living Cornerstone of 2025 Agenda

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul presented her agenda for the year in her annual State of the State address in Albany on Tuesday, touting middle-class tax cuts and rebates in the form of direct checks, while pledging to assign police to patrol subway cars overnight in New York City.

Hochul’s address came after a tough election year for the Democratic Party across the country and an unusually strong showing for President-elect Donald Trump throughout the state, though Democrats managed to flip some congressional seats in New York. Republican inroads seemed largely tied to one thing: the economy.

Governor Hochul has insisted that election results are not influencing her agenda, but she is focusing on cost-of-living concerns as the central theme of her 2025 plan.

From the New York Public News Network, WAMC News Director Ian Pickus breaks down the speech with Radio Catskill’s Jason Dole.

Image: Governor Kathy Hochul delivers the 2025 State of the State Address in Albany. (Mike Groll/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul)