Thriving NY Wineries Prove State Can Boost Business Without Massive Public Subsidies

Today, we are applauding Governor Cuomo’s successful efforts to foster New York State’s thriving wineries using encouragement, smart policy and a very modest $8 million in marketing spending. We hope the governor is inspired by his success with wineries — and this is a real success — to rethink the state’s bloated and wasteful business subsidies, which now exceed over $4.5B a year. With wineries, craft beers, yogurt and possibly hemp, the governor has identified a winning formula for economic development that does not depend on the state giving enormous handouts to giant multi-national corporations in high risk deals that will cost taxpayers huge sums for each job promised. The governor says that the state’s wineries have a $4.8B annual economic impact. Consider the State’s return on investment for the wine industry compared to the $750m to build the Riverbend factory for Tesla/Solar City at a cost of $514,000 in public funds per job or $225m in state funds to Athenex for a pharmaceutical factory that will taxpayers $250,000 per job.