The recently unveiled executive budget proposal should be no surprise to anyone who has lived in New York state in the last decade. Spending is looking again to be record-setting, and the $216 billion proposal on the table would represent the largest in the history of the state if passed as it stands. As history has shown, that number could very well go up depending on the budget negotiations of a legislative majority that has shown zero interest in fiscal prudence. 

Gov. Kathy Hochul’s proposal ignores a self-imposed 2 percent spending cap the state had been previously operating under. It is also more than twice the spending plan proposed in Florida, which has more residents than New York, and is approaching California’s $286 billion plan. Keep in mind, California has almost twice as many people living there than New York.

Texas, which has close to 10 million more residents and crafts its spending plan over a two-year period, is proposing only $248 billion. What does this all add up to? Simply put, New York should not be in the same class of spending as a state with double its population and one that prepares its spending over a period twice as long. The New York governor’s proposed numbers are cartoonish. 

The budget proposal before the New York Legislature does, though, rightfully include investments in the health-care workforce, education, and infrastructure. These are useful and necessary especially considering there are significant sums of money from the federal government included. However, this budget offers no direct answer to the worst inflation in four decades since accelerated income-tax cuts will not go into effect until 2023. New Yorkers need relief now. Taxpayers need protection now.

Families across the state know they cannot simply throw unlimited sums of money at every issue under the sun and expect a favorable outcome. I hope the final product provides more restraint and protection for New Yorkers than the liberal majorities have demonstrated in recent years. Case in point, last year’s executive budget started at $196 billion, and by the time progressives in the legislature were done, taxpayers were asked to write a $212 billion check.

The fact remains, the cost of living here is unbearable, the business climate is toxic, and our taxes and regulations are burdensome. This state budget does not address any of these issues with direct action. It does not take a degree in finance to see the trajectory we are on is unsustainable.        

William (Will) A. Barclay, Republican, is the New York Assembly minority leader and represents the 120th New York Assembly District, which encompasses most of Oswego County, including the cities of Oswego and Fulton, as well as the town of Lysander in Onondaga County and town of Ellisburg in Jefferson County. 

We Americans share a common faith in democracy as the best and most-just system of governance. We treasure government “of the people, by the people and for the people.” With the founders, we believe that governments derive their authority from the consent of the governed.

For generations, we have seen the United States as the world’s champion of democracy. We challenge and criticize authoritarian regimes and cheer the spread of democratic movements. We defend human rights and promote international cooperation.

There are troubling signs, however, that the light of our democracy no longer shines as brightly as it once did. A recent report by Freedom House said democracy was “under siege” and worldwide freedom had declined for 15 straight years. Surveys last year in Europe and Asia found most people thought American democracy was once a good example to follow, but no longer. 

What can we do to strengthen democracy and restore its appeal? I believe we are most effective and convincing when we demonstrate that our system can govern, that it can solve big problems — in short, when we show that democracy works.

This happens when we recognize the need for social and political change in our own country and pursue it. When we work to secure a free press and freedom of conscience. When we participate in elections and agree to abide by their results, whether we win or lose. When we oppose efforts to erect barriers to democracy or dismantle it, at home or abroad. When we make clear that democracy is not negotiable but that it is bedrock to our system.

Our example shines forth when we are in the front of the line standing for justice, the rule of law, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, and freedom of religion. When we promote democracy, consistently and without reservation, as the best way to peacefully resolve problems.

It may not be surprising that surveys found a lack of faith in American democracy in the months after a mob stormed the U.S. Capitol, trying to overturn the 2020 election. Our deeply polarized politics and the partisan dysfunction in Washington do not inspire confidence in our system.

President Joe Biden is right when he says preserving and strengthening the role of democracy is the defining challenge of our time. The U.S. must be the global leader in championing democracy, and commit to this fight to determine the direction the world takes in the decades ahead.

All of this requires constant effort. Democracy is not a given; it’s not static but dynamic, always aborning, in Woodrow Wilson’s phrase, and it always needs defending. American democracy remains a work in progress. In Biden’s words, defending it requires an ongoing struggle to live up to our highest ideals.

In foreign affairs, the U.S. must counter authoritarianism, fight corruption, support human rights, and encourage accountability. We shouldn’t do this arrogantly, insisting that we always know best, but we should lead by example and encourage those seeking freedom and democracy.

At home, we need to promote civic engagement and put democratic participation at the center of our public life. We need to protect our elections and make it easier, not harder, to vote. Our commitment to democracy should shine through in all that we say and do.

Obviously, we will not always agree. When we don’t, we should rely on democratic means to settle our differences and help define, over time, the course of generations to come. We believe democracy is the best system of governing. We should always promote our core values, even as we try to live up to them and constantly strive to do better at fulfilling our ideals.

Lee Hamilton, 90, is a senior advisor for the Indiana University (IU) Center on Representative Government, distinguished scholar at IU Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies, and professor of practice at the IU O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. Hamilton, a Democrat, was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for 34 years (1965-1999), representing a district in south central Indiana.