1. United States
2. N.Y.
3. Letter

As a constituent from Queens, I am writing to urge you to sponsor and champion legislation that penalizes multi-billion-dollar corporations that externalize their labor costs onto New York taxpayers, while establishing a unified multi-state framework to protect our regional economy. Too many large employers maximize their profits by paying substandard wages and failing to provide healthcare, forcing their workers to rely on public safety nets like Medicaid and SNAP. This corporate reliance on public assistance directly increases public debt and deepens wealth inequality by shifting basic operational costs onto regular taxpayers. Fortunately, we have a clear blueprint next door. New Jersey enacted a landmark law requiring large corporations with 50 or more employees on Medicaid to pay an annual assessment to offset the state's public healthcare burdens. New York must adopt a similar corporate benefits penalty, but expand it to include workers relying on SNAP food assistance. Crucially, the legislation must mandate that 100% of these collected funds be strictly earmarked for Medicaid and SNAP budgets, ensuring these safety nets remain robust, fully funded, and accessible to every New Yorker who needs them. To secure this policy’s success, New York cannot act in isolation. We must proactively partner with neighboring states to form a Tri-State Regional Labor Compact. Establishing aligned, unified standards for corporate benefits penalties will prevent large employers from exploiting regulatory differences, threatening relocation, or playing our states against each other to avoid paying fair labor costs. True fiscal and social responsibility requires ending corporate welfare at the taxpayer's expense. I urge your office to bring New Jersey’s model to New York, strengthen it by including SNAP, and pioneer a regional strategy that protects our budget and our middle class. Thank you for your leadership and consideration.