NEW YORK

AFFORDABILITY CRISIS
REPORT
Onondaga County Edition

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RECLAIM
NEW YORK
RECLAIM NEW YORK NEW YORK AFFORDABILITY CRISIS REPORT RECLAIM NEW YORK
INTRODUCTION
New York: the words once rang with promise. Come here to make
your fortune, start a business, and build a family and a life...
That promise has disintegrated under the weight
of layers of government and bureaucracy and
their impact on every aspect of daily life. New
Yorkers are struggling every day to keep their
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS heads above the economic waterline. Theyre
Reclaim New York would like to thank J. Scott Moody, Brandon Muir, Doug Kellogg, Tom dragged down by high taxes, poor job climate,
Basile, John Byrne, Nickolaus Anzalone, Candice DiLavore, Phillip Nguyen, and scholars and politicians that feed a government mired in
at the US Census Bureau, the Tax Foundation, the Heritage Foundation, the Manhattan failed policy and too often corruption.
Institute, the Empire Center, the Office of the New York State Comptroller, and the Institute Put simply, all this drag has New Yorkers caught
of Economic Affairs for their contributions and feedback on this report. in an Affordability Crisis. It affects people
Additionally, the following resources were helpful in the drafting of this report: quickfacts. upstate and down, in settings urban, suburban,
census.gov, factfinder.census.gov, calculator.net, experian.com, myFICO.com, osc. and rural. Its the product of a punishing
state.ny.us, seethroughny.net, bls.gov, nyserda.ny.gov, nyc.gov, ehealthinsurance.com, personal tax regime, and bad regulatory policies
verizonwiresless.com, digitaltrends.com, optimum.com, gasbuddy.com, eia.gov, ttb.gov, tax. that drive up the cost of basic necessities from
ny.gov, discus.org, and the Kaiser Foundation. groceries to gas to electricity and its driving
New Yorkers away in droves.
More than 1.8 million people
have left since 2000 for states
with friendlier economic
climates and clearer visions
for the future more than any
other state in the nation.
This crisis means New Yorkers at nearly every
income level cant save.
When the high cost of living means you struggle
to save for your future, theres no reason to stay,
especially when it takes more than a decade for
an average-earning family to amass just the
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NEW YORK AFFORDABILITY CRISIS REPORT
down payment on a home. Given that the state
hits homeowners with the highest effective
property tax rate in the nation, at a total of
$26 billion, it makes many consider leaving.
With this innovative and comprehensive report,
Reclaim New York shines a light on what the
Affordability Crisis means for all New Yorkers.
Reclaim New York has calculated the Wake-Up
Costs for various localities and income levels
by combining the total tax burden with essential
living costs to examine how much or how little
of your income remains after taxes and basic
expenses. In short, how much do you pay just
to wake-up here? For many New Yorkers, their
leftover income can be as low as two-percent.
Some are underwater. Most are struggling to
save for the future.
The purpose of this report is twofold: to
inform, and to arm citizens with the information
necessary to improve the states conditions.
Reclaims breakthrough modeling techniques
provide clear, easy-to-understand data points.
The results presented should outrage anyone
concerned about the future of New York and its
citizens.
We deserve better.
We have to demand better.
Lets Reclaim New York.
RECLAIM NEW YORK NEW YORK AFFORDABILITY CRISIS REPORT RECLAIM NEW YORK NEW YORK AFFORDABILITY CRISIS REPORT

WHATS YOUR WAKE-UP COST?
Total Tax Burden (TTB) + Basic Living Expenses = Wake-Up Costs
Total Tax Burden = Income Tax + Property Tax + Sales Tax + Excise Tax
To analyze how the Affordability Crisis energy, transportation, insurance, food, and
challenges the daily lives of New Yorkers, we housing costs. The following sections explain
asked a simple question: What does it cost to each of these in greater detail, including which
wake up each morning? After paying your taxes expenses consume the greatest portions of
and paying for basic living expenses, how much income.
money do you actually have left to save for your
The chart below itemizes Wake-Up Costs for a
future?
family of four earning the Median Household
Wake-Up Costs have two major components: Income (MHI) of $43,638 in Onondaga. The
Total Tax Burden (TTB) and Basic Living stark Whats Left figure speaks volumes.
Expenses. TTB is the total amount paid in This family has little left to tackle additional
income, property, sales, and excise taxes. expenses such as childcare, debt, and are
Basic Living Expenses consist of vital life unable to save for college or retirement. We
necessities that households need to maintain examine the taxes and living expenses that
a basic standard of living, including: utilities, create these challenges in the following chart.
MEDIAN INCOME IN Onondaga Monthly Annually
Married, Two Dependents (Under 17), Renter $3,636 $43,638
INCOME TAX $279 $3,351
Wake-Up Cost Annual Expenditures
INCOME TAX
Income taxes account for the largest share of
ones TTB, between 50 to 75-percent of any
total tax bill and 20 to 40-percent of all income
earned. New Yorkers pay both federal and state
income taxes. Residents of New York City and
Yonkers are hit again by city income taxes.
These rates translate to the second-highest
income tax burden in the United States. The
Tax Foundation cites California as the only
state in the country with a higher total income
tax burden. Its not progressive, its oppressive.
This high tax rate squeezes all income levels,
impacting residents ability to achieve financial
stability.
Whether youre single and just starting out
or you have a family and a more established
career, the federal and state governments
combined take one-quarter or more of your
income.
PROPERTY TAX
Property taxes are the second-largest slice
of your TTB. In New York, these are local
As government becomes increasingly inefficient,
opaque, and less accountable to voters, we have
to ask: are we getting good return on our tax
dollars? Reclaims study shows that the answer
to a large extent depends on where you live.
Property taxes, according to the models, can
represent 4 to 25-percent of your tax bill. If this
amount isnt scary enough, most homeowners
in New York, who eventually pay off their
home, will essentially pay for it three times.
Over the life of a thirty-year mortgage, a
home owner will pay for the house once in
principal, a second time in property taxes,
and a third time in interest on the home
loan.
Foreclosures and For Sale signs are among
the most visible effects of these steep property
tax rates. These bills hit taxpayers hard, but the
real damage they inflict is much harder to see.
They depress home values, and deter first-time
buyers otherwise capable of affording a home.
Many counties are sadly overrun with examples
of fixed-income retirees who have paid for their
houses but cannot afford the property taxes still
being levied on them.

PROPERTY TAX $221 $2,653 taxes levied by the county, city, town, village,
SALES TAX $179 $2,152 school district, and other special districts SALES TAX
EXCISE TAX $37 $448 (fire, library, police, etc). The revenue funds The third-largest component of TTB is sales
essential functions like public schools, local taxes. These hit New Yorkers on a daily basis
MORTGAGE/RENT $754 $9,042
police, and municipal offices. But they also a few extra cents on bottled water, a bigger-
FOOD $485 $5,823 support unfunded mandated spending, such ticket charge on a tablet bought through
TRANSPORTATION $708 $8,495 as the states bloated Medicaid program or Amazon. In New York, a four-percent state
sky-rocketing legacy costs for former state sales tax is combined with a county tax and
ENERGY $142 $1,707
employees, levied by Albany on county and local in some cases with a special district tax on
WATER $38 $454 governments. goods. This means roughly half of these dollars
HEALTH INSURANCE $433 $5,190 go back to New York State, with the other half
RENTERS INSURANCE $18 $210 heading to the county.
CELL PHONE $154 $1,850 Unfortunately, New Yorkers have come to view
TELEPHONE/INTERNET/CABLE $91 $1,089 this tax as simply the cost of buying lunch
and, more broadly, of doing business. This study
TOTAL EXPENDITURES: $3,539 $42,464 examines that cost and shows just how much a
few percentage points can mean to your bottom
They start with $43,638. New York costs them $42,464. line.
Is it really worth ending the year with just $1,174?

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RECLAIM NEW YORK
Reclaims innovative model is powered by data
from the US Census Bureau and the Bureau of
Labor Statistics annual, nationwide Consumer
Expenditure Survey. We use the latter numbers
to project the consumption habits of New
Yorkers at multiple income levels across
multiple locations. We incorporated this data
into our model and then cross-referenced it with
goods deemed taxable by New York State
government. Butter, cheese, bread, and other
staples are exempt, most others are taxed.
EXCISE TAXES
Excise Taxes have a unique and
disproportionately burdensome effect on its
citizens. Excise taxes are a hidden cost, passed
on to the consumer. They dont appear on any
receipt; most consumers dont even know they
exist. Unfortunately, both the federal and state
government make sure they do more than just
exist.
Their reach is broad: in New York, they add to
the cost of everything from fishing equipment
to airline flights to gasoline. Going to the ball
game? Be prepared to pay the Stadium Tax,
the Soda Tax, a Beer Tax, and parking taxes
to name a few. The list goes on all in the
name of feeding New Yorks already bloated
government.
Take gasoline: on average, excise tax
accounts for 17-percent of your total fuel bill,
making New York the second most expensive
state in the nation to fill up your car.
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NEW YORK AFFORDABILITY CRISIS REPORT
BASIC LIVING EXPENSES
The Total Tax Burden costs citizens between
30 and 50-percent of their annual income, but
it gets compounded by the high cost of living
New Yorkers face as a result of their high-tax
climate. For instance, your grocery store needs
to comply with an endless maze of New York-
specific taxes and regulations. These costs
are eventually passed onto families, and thats
why basic living expenses consume between
40 to 95-percent of income. No matter what
state you happen to live in, youll need to pay
for transportation, housing, and 21st century
necessities like cell phone service. But in New
York, all these things cost far more because of
overreaching government.
Taxes, regulations, and bad policy have driven
up the cost of everything in New York. New
Yorkers and business owners pay two-
hundred different types of taxes and
are subject to more than two-thousand
regulations that drive up the cost of living
and business. Government may try to justify
these policies as protecting consumers,
workers, or the environment. Yet, many turn out
to protect the financial interests of government
first and foremost.
Thus far weve used a family renting
inOnondaga as an example of the impact of
the Affordability Crisis. In the following sections
we will show how New Yorks high-tax climate
affects families across the county.
RECLAIM NEW YORK
CENTRAL NEW YORK
Despite being bordered by beautiful lakes,
and scenic evergreens; the picture is not so
idyllic for many who live full-time in Central and
Northern New York. Like much of Upstate,
families in this region are struggling with low-
income, scarce job opportunities, a high cost of
living, and high taxes. All of which are worsened
by Albanys labyrinth of business regulations,
taxes, and unfunded mandates that strain local
governments, and scare away many would-be
business owners.
Residents also feel that, despite the high
tax climate, theyre getting little in return for
their tax dollars and are often overlooked by
ONONDAGA COUNTY
Onondaga County has a Median Household
Income (MHI) of $55,092, and a population of
approximately 468,304. Despite having some
large employers in the region, spanning from the
medical industry to agriculture, the county still
struggles to maintain private sector growth, and
thus residents are leaving. From 2010 to 2016,
Onondaga had a net loss of 7,451 people.
Generally, the Affordability Crisis is
characterized by high taxes, and regulations
that drive up the cost of living, and of doing
NEW YORK AFFORDABILITY CRISIS REPORT
Albany. This is not unfounded. For example, the
strangling cost of New Yorks Medicaid program
is passed to county governments, or the slow
clean-up of toxic drinking water.
A few decades ago, many Upstate communities
had larger populations, and ample work. Once
buzzing with factories and fruitful agricultural
businesses, the region is now littered with
boarded-up factories and empty store-fronts.
Now, small businesses are struggling to turn a
profit, families cant secure savings, and local
governments are cracking under the weight of
Albanys unfunded mandates.
business. The exact effect of these factors
differs slightly from county to county. Here, the
cost of government has become so burdensome
that the City of Syracuse and Onondaga County
Governments are proposing to consolidate
services to save taxpayers $9 and $33 million.
To understand how the government policies
effect families on a detailed level, Reclaim New
York has put together this dynamic study. Keep
in mind how the financial stories of the example
families, in the following sections, tie back to
macro trends that you see, and hear in the
news.
RECLAIM NEW YORK NEW YORK AFFORDABILITY CRISIS REPORT RECLAIM NEW YORK NEW YORK AFFORDABILITY CRISIS REPORT

City of Syracuse family will have only 3-percent of their income to Village of Camillus
spare. Retirement? Their kids education? Major Wake-Up Costs at $70,245 per Year in Camillus
Wake-Up Costs at $47,219 per Year in Syracuse home renovations? Likely out of the question. A family of four earning a median income of
2% $70,245 who owns their home in Camillus Income Taxes
Income Taxes A recent college graduate earning $48,707 will pay $22,238 (or 32-percent) in taxes and $10,421 | 15%
4% 12 % 15 %
9% $4,239 | 9% and renting in Syracuse will pay $42,672 in $45,192 (or 64-percent) in living expenses. 4% Property Taxes
5 %
Property Taxes Wake-Up Costs. In total, 31-percent of their Their total Wake-Up Costs amount to $67,429 1% $8,511 | 12%
1% 4%
$2,077 | 4% income goes to taxes while 56-percent goes to which consumes nearly all their income. With Sales Taxes
Sales Taxes basic living expenses. That leaves them with a Median
$2,816 left-over at the end of the year, they Household Income $2,706 | 4%
Median
Household Income $2,327 | 5% total of $503 each month for personal savings, have little left to save, or take a vacation. Owner Excise Taxes
Renter Excise Taxes retirement, and student loan payments. The Married $600 | 1%
Married 2 Dependents
2 Dependents
$496 | 1% left-over amount may seem quite high, but most The story is similar for a single renter earning Basic Expenses
Basic Expenses graduates carry significant amounts of student $30,000 per year. Theyll pay 32-percent of $45,192 | 64%
$36,979 | 78% their income in taxes, and 59-percent for basic
debt. In some cases, monthly debt payments 64% Whats Left
78 % Whats Left equate to an entire rent check. New Yorks cost living expenses. With about $200 left each $2,816 | 4%
$1,102 | 2% month, its unlikely theyll be able to get ahead,
of living, and loans, puts them at a significant
disadvantage, especially when considering that or ever save enough to buy a home one day.
A family of four earning the median income in other similarly populated states take-home
Wake-Up Costs at $30,000 per Year in Camillus
of $47,219 who rents their home in Syracuse, pay will be significantly higher thanks to lower
taxes. Wake-Up Cost is the Income Taxes
will pay $9,139 (or 19-percent) in taxes and $5,936 | 20%
price one pays just $$ 20 %
$36,979 (or 78-percent) in living expenses. 3% 8%
Wake-Up Costs at $48,707 per Year in Syracuse to wake up in a given Property Taxes
Their total Wake-Up Costs amount to $46,117, locality. This does not 1% $2,507 | 8%
which consumes nearly all their income. This Income Taxes
9 %
include debt. The average Sales Taxes
family is living hand-to-mouth, and are unable 4% 24 % $11,555 | 24%
national credit card debt Median
$899 | 3%
Household Income
to save. If an emergency arises, a family in this 3% Property Taxes per household is $6,600. However, when Renter Excise Taxes
situation will face significant hardship trying to 0
% $2,143 | 4%
looking at households that use credit Single $224 | 1%
make ends meet. 12% Sales Taxes cards, the average credit card debt is Basic Expenses
Recent Graduate $1,596 | 3%
$15,699. Given the cost of living in New $17,625| 59%
Wake-Up Costs at $94,438 per Year in Syracuse Renter
Excise Taxes York, it may come as no surprise that
Single
$241 | 0% 59% Whats Left
Income Taxes people amass more debt and generally $2,809 | 9%
18% $16,666 | 18% Basic Expenses take longer to pay it down.
3% 10% Property Taxes
$27,137 | 56%
1% 4% $9,347 | 10% 56% Whats Left
$6,035 | 12%
Sales Taxes
Double Median
Household Income $3,299 | 3%
Owner Excise Taxes
Married $748 | 1% The average student debt for graduates
2 Dependents
of four-year colleges in New York State
Basic Expenses
$60,903 | 64% is approximately $32,200. The statewide
Whats Left
delinquency rate where student debt
64% payments are ninety or more days late
$3,439 | 4%
is 12.5-percent. Its no wonder why many
millennials are cohabitating, moving to other
A similar sized household that earns $94,438 states, or returning to their parents house.
will still struggle to save. Annually, the family
will be taxed $30,060 (or, 32-percent), and will
spend roughly $60,903 (or, 64-percent) on
basic living expenses. At the end of the year, the

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RECLAIM NEW YORK NEW YORK AFFORDABILITY CRISIS REPORT RECLAIM NEW YORK NEW YORK AFFORDABILITY CRISIS REPORT

Village of Solvay Wake-Up Costs at $30,000 per Year in Solvay CONCLUSION

In the Village of Solvay, the effect of New Yorks Income Taxes The snapshot Reclaim New York has provided in this comprehensive Affordability Crisis
$5,936 | 20%
tax environment is just as striking. For a family 20 % Report illustrates how New Yorkers, regardless of income or familial status, struggle to save
3% 10% Property Taxes
of four who own their home, and earn the MHI
1
% due to the crushing cost of government, and its impact on the cost of living.
$2,969 | 10%
of $49,431, their Wake-Up Costs will consume 11%
Sales Taxes Knowledge is power, and informed citizens are the lifeblood of democratic, open government.
98-percent of their income. This means the Median
Household Income $880 | 3% This report is designed to equip citizens with the knowledge they need to begin engaging in their
family has little to no savings for emergencies,
Renter Excise Taxes communities. Reclaim believes that if people understand how much they pay just to wake-up
let alone leisure and entertainment. Single $223 | 1% here, theyll be better prepared to question, and challenge the status quo. A status quo marked by
Basic Expenses overreaching government, faulty political promises, corruption, and one of Americas most complicated,
$16,635 | 55% burdensome tax codes.
Wake-Up Costs at $49,431 per Year in Solvay
55% Whats Left
Income Taxes $3,357 | 11% Using a range of primary source data, this report quantifies wake-up costs in various communities
2% $4,871 | 10% across the state. Understanding how much we pay to which government, and calculating your own
12% 10%
5% Property Taxes wake-up costs at NYCalculator.org, will allow you to then start a conversation with your neighbors, and
1% $6,015 | 12% representatives.
Sales Taxes
Median
$2,264 | 5%
Yes, all states require revenue to function, but:
Household Income
Owner Excise Taxes Are New Yorkers getting value for what they put into the system?
Married $479 | 1%
2 Dependents Is the money being used for what politicians say?
Basic Expenses
$34,586 | 70% Will the government be able to reduce poverty, encourage small business growth, or help the
70 % Whats Left middle class without lowering taxes, or regulations?
$1,215 | 2%
When we learn how our government crushes our families, keeps the youth running in place, leaves
seniors with an uncertain financial future, and stops even those earning double the local median
A single renter earning $30,000 annually will income from building up real savings; we begin to realize that the game is rigged against all New
end each month with only $150 to spare for Yorkers. We also realize serious change is vital.
leisure, savings, or debt. A sad reality when
This report is the first step to building a stronger New York for millions who struggle to live here. We
$3.33 of every $10 earned is sent to the
encourage each of you to engage us in a deeper conversation. Reclaim New York can help you define
government, and another
what the next step is for you, and your community. The key is that we understand the issues and work
$5.50 goes to the likes of rent, health together to move New York forward.
insurance, electricity, and other basic living
necessities. At this income, life is hard but
especially so in New York where everythings For questions and inquiries regarding this report, please contact:
more expensive.
Info@ReclaimNewYork.org
646-781-7800

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