Hank Aaron still holds the record in career runs batted in (RBIs). An RBI is when a batter makes a play that results in another player scoring a run.
In 23 seasons, Hank Aaron had 2,297 RBIs. Although Lee Zeldin did not win the gubernatorial election, he scored the political equivalent of an RBI with four Congressional Seats Batted In (CBIs).
According to the Albany Times Union, Zeldin moved all 62 counties in New York in favor of the Republican Party from the 2020 presidential election to the 2022 gubernatorial election.
As of December 5th, 434 out of 435 seats have been decided. The Republicans already have a narrow majority of 221 House seats.
With a strong candidate at the top of their ticket, the Republicans had four congressional pickups in New York. This could make the difference in a workable Republican majority.
A simple Republican majority of 218 members in the House could fall apart due to an untimely death or opportunists that aren’t serious about governing.
The problem is that New York State is still going to decline if we keep the same failed policies. The best place to measure this decline is in the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), in the U.S. Department of Labor.
They have job numbers for every month in New York State since 1976.
The number of jobs in New York State increased from 6,896,742 jobs in December 1976 to a peak of 9,546,194 jobs in December 2019. That means the number of jobs in New York State increased by 38% from 1976 to 2019.
In the same period, the number of jobs increased nationwide by nearly 89% from 80,448,000 in December 1976 to 151,789,000 in December 2019.
New York State grew at a slower pace due to high taxes, a poor business climate, a sharp decline in manufacturing jobs and the economic stagnation of Upstate New York.
Highest Taxes and A Horrible Business Climate
In April 2022, CNBC reported that New Yorkers had the highest tax burden in the country as a percentage of personal income. According to the Tax Foundation, New York was ranked 49th in business climate. It was second only to New Jersey.
New York was ranked 50th with the highest individual taxes, 49th in property taxes, and 43rd in sales taxes. The only relative bright spot was that New York was ranked 24th in corporate taxes in 2022.
Decline in Manufacturing
In percentage terms, manufacturing and construction has declined considerably in the last century. In 1910, manufacturing (32.4%) and construction (9.1%) employed 41.5% of America’s workforce. By 2015, only 13.2 percent of people worked in manufacturing (8.7%) and construction (4.5%).
The number of manufacturing jobs in the United States peaked in June 1979 at 19.553 million. By June 2019, manufacturing had declined by 35% from its peak.
While the nation has suffered, the fall of manufacturing in New York State was far worse. In January 1990, New York State had 1,011,900 manufacturing jobs out of a total of 8,355,512 jobs.
The number of manufacturing jobs in New York State declined by more than half over the next 30 years to 436,400 jobs by January 2020. After a considerable drop during COVID, the number of manufacturing jobs has rebounded to 419,400 jobs by August 2022.
Upstate New York
In January 1990, the labor force for the Greater Rochester area was 529,390 people with 506,028 people employed. For over 30 years, I have lived in this area.
The labor force peaked in July 1997 at 579,568 people. The number of employed also peaked in July 1997 with 556,256 people employed.
By August 2022, the labor force was slightly less than 1990 levels at 525,250 people and 505,496 people were employed. The unemployment rate was 3.8% because thousands of people had left the area.
The number of jobs in the Greater Buffalo area also declined from 541,559 jobs in January 1990 to 527,408 jobs by August 2022. The Syracuse metropolitan area declined from 315,106 jobs in January 1990 to 300,052 jobs by August 2022.
From 1990 to 2022, jobs in the Greater Buffalo area peaked in July 1990 (574,725 jobs). Coincidentally, the number of jobs in Syracuse also peaked in July 1990 (331,385 jobs).
How does Upstate compare with the rest of New York State and the country?
Rochester, Buffalo and Syracuse had fewer jobs in August 2022 than January 1990. From January 1990 to August 2022, the number of jobs in New York State increased by almost 9% and almost 40% nationwide.
From April 2020 to July 2021, 365,000 people left New York State.
If Albany’s politicians don’t change the state’s failed policies, New York will continue to decline.
Robert Zapesochny is a researcher and writer whose work focuses on foreign affairs, national security and presidential history. He has been published in numerous outlets, including The American Spectator, the Washington Times, and The American Conservative. When he's not writing, Robert works for a medical research company in New York. Read Robert Zapesochny's Reports — More Here.
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