John,

What do you do when families are hurting, bills are piling up, and groceries seem to cost more every single week? 

If you’re the Governor of New York, you fight like hell to put money back in people’s pockets. 

That’s exactly what I’ve done in my budget. I cut taxes for the middle class, expanded New York’s child tax credit, made school meals free for every student, and created New York’s first-ever Inflation Refund.

Every day, I hear from New Yorkers struggling to make ends meet — a young family stretching every dollar for groceries, a senior making the impossible choice between paying for medicine or the heating bill, a teacher working nights just to make the rent. 

This is personal to me. 

I grew up watching my mom make spam sandwiches to feed our family of eight. And as a young mom, I remember sitting at my kitchen table looking at the growing stack of bills, driving to discount warehouses, and hoping one cart of groceries would last a month. 

Those memories stay with you. 

So when I say your family is my fight, I mean it. I’ve lived it and know what you’re going through.

That’s why I made affordability the cornerstone of my new State Budget. I vowed to pass a sweeping affordability agenda with one simple goal: Putting money back in your pockets. 

I proposed something no New York Governor has ever done before: An Inflation Refund. Up to $400 for families and up to $200 for individuals. And we got it done.

Thanks to our budget, 8.2 million New York households will get Inflation Refunds this fall.

Beginning in October, checks will be mailed directly to eligible New Yorkers. There’s no application or signing up – if you qualify, you’ll get your check automatically. No red tape, no hoops to jump through, just money directly back in your pocket.

This is for the people who make New York work. We see you. We value you. And we’re putting money back in your pocket. 

Our Inflation Refund is just one piece of my comprehensive affordability agenda. I’m cutting taxes for the middle class to their lowest level in 70 years. I’m expanding New York’s child tax credit to up to $1,000 per child. I’m making school meals free for every student in New York, saving families around $1,600 per year. 

And it doesn’t stop there. Because I’ll never stop fighting to make New York safer and more affordable.

Ever Upward, 

Gov. Kathy Hochul 

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