New York State continues to have the worst income inequality and some of the highest child poverty rates in the nation, yet we also have the resources to solve these problems. In 2025, Gov. Hochul and the legislature have the opportunity to pass a transformative package of policies that would slash child poverty and pay for it by fairly taxing the richest corporations and individuals.

Three years ago, New York State set a goal to cut child poverty in half. Now the Child Poverty Reduction Advisory Council – which was created to help reach that goal – is about to issue their recommendations. They found that increasing the child tax credit, creating a state housing voucher program, raising public assistance benefits, and expanding food assistance access can cut child poverty by 50 percent.

But just knowing how to solve a problem doesn’t mean our elected officials will actually take action. It’s up to all of us to make sure New York follows through on its commitment and implements these policies to lift more than a quarter million kids and their families out of poverty.

The first step is getting Gov. Hochul to include this anti-poverty program in her Executive Budget Proposal. Some people are going to argue that this plan is too expensive. The Urban Institute estimates it will cost about $9 billion. That sounds like a lot – until you realize that the proposals from the Invest in Our NY Coalition to modestly raise taxes on the richest individuals and corporations would raise more than 5 times that amount!

We know how to end child poverty, and we have the resources to do it. Let’s make sure New York doesn’t backtrack on its goal. Instead, let’s make cutting child poverty in half a bold first step to ending poverty in our state. Join the Labor-Religion Coalition, the Kairos Center, and the NYS Poor People’s Campaign on November 14 at 7pm for a virtual rally as we launch our organizing efforts to win these changes.