New York’s Cuomo Running Out of Time to Make Hard Budget Choices

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has a $31 billion budget gap and few available options for closing it as tax revenue shrinks in the pandemic-bruised economy.

Despite pleas from Cuomo (D) and other governors, the lame-duck Congress hasn’t produced an agreement on assistance to the states, and there’s no guarantee anything will be worked out before President-elect Joe Biden takes office on Jan. 20.

An aid package is essential to give states some breathing room, Cuomo said Monday. “It’s oxygen,” he said.

“You can’t say to 50 states, ‘Go bankrupt,’ without saying to the nation, ‘Go bankrupt,’” he said. ...