Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner’s plan to aid low-income schools in New York state by raising taxes would do more harm than good if the proposal moves forward in its current form.

Miner called on state lawmakers Monday to increase taxes by 1 percent for New York residents whose income exceeds $665,000 in order to raise funding for public schools in impoverished cities, including Syracuse, in an op-ed letter to The Albany Times-Union.

Within the letter, Miner cited Syracuse’s dismal poverty levels to demonstrate the economic inequity facing the region and argued that the additional tax would generate $2.3 billion a year for these schools, according to the Fiscal Policy Institute.

Though seemingly reasonable at face value, the weakest element of Miner’s letter is its failure to acknowledge the realistic aftermath that may follow the implementation of legislation of this kind. To source high-income earners as the primary solution to address widespread economic gaps — but leave significant questions without answer — is an insubstantial start for an issue that should be of high importance for Miner, considering Syracuse’s fiscal and educational standing.

Miner’s optimistic take lacks relevant information and a counterargument to address the observed trend that raising taxes for New York’s wealthiest gives way to fuel the alarming rates of those already leaving the state entirely. According to the United Van Lines’ Annual National Movers Study, released earlier this month, 65 percent of the moves to and from New York were outbound — the second most popular of any outbound state behind New Jersey.

Because this tendency plays a ripple-effect role in the job market, concentrations of poverty and other related facets, its coinciding repercussions should have been acknowledged by Miner in her message to the public. This is especially important when potential outcomes that would stem from Miner’s proposal may cause lasting damage to the New York state economy, as it has consistently done in the past, and should be acknowledged by Miner in all policy discussions.

There are experts to find solutions to the current economic situation plaguing Syracuse and regions throughout New York state, and there are local leaders to promote them. But Miner’s plan, as presented in the letter, needs to consider the integral role of wealthy business owners in New York state, and should work to preserve them and the jobs they create, rather than leading a push, though indirectly, for them to move.

It is easy to endorse education as a value that everyone can get behind. But it takes a comprehensive plan of action to answer the key questions, maintain support and ensure the proposal will come to fruition without disrupting an economy that is already fragile.

Simply put, Miner’s plan to address the lapse at the intersection of economic and educational inequities in the most impoverished regions of New York state as presented in her Jan. 25 letter are easily said. But, until the specifics of the initiative are fully developed, better left undone.

Published on January 27, 2016 at 12:56 am

Contact: opinion@dailyorange.com