In her attempt to be snappy, Hochul exposed a major problem that has gripped our state since the dawn of the Cuomo-Hochul era: New Yorkers are leaving, and they’re taking their tax dollars with them.

Hochul should be doing everything she can to encourage people to come to New York, not to leave. But she’s hasn’t. And her record $220 billion budget suggests she has no interest in ever letting taxpayers off a heavy hook.

New York City residents pay the highest combined state and local personal income tax rate in the nation. Those high taxes and other factors have led to a mass exodus of jobs and job creators. The Big Apple has yet to recover its pre-pandemic employment levels — coming in roughly 300,000 jobs below the February 2020 mark as of July. Two-plus years of pandemic-induced remote work have only accelerated the trend of New Yorkers seeking better and/or cheaper opportunities elsewhere.

A more cynical person might think this has been the strategy all along: Make it uncomfortable for your political foes in New York and they’ll leave. But it’s not just Republicans leaving — despite the governor’s command. New Yorkers from across the political spectrum are united by, and running from, a common enemy: the taxman.