Inside today’s Daily Journal…

New York City will go first.

The city’s annual budget is now $120.8 billion. That’s larger than the budget of the entire state of Florida, which has nearly three times the population. New York City’s budget is larger than the next 10 biggest American city governments combined.

The city government spends more than $14,000 for every man, woman, and child who lives within the five boroughs.

The city now faces projected budget gaps of $10.4 billion in FY2027, $13.2 billion in FY2028, and $12.4 billion in FY2029.

The response from city leadership? Not cuts. Not reform.

Their answer: A proposed tax on second homes worth $5 million or more – projected to raise $500 million a year, which would cover roughly 3.8% of the looming gap.

It is the fiscal equivalent of bailing out the Titanic with a coffee mug – while also making it clear that wealthy, successful people are no longer welcome in the city.

What do communist do when their plans fail? Blame (and tax) the rich. But even with a budget that’s almost comically bloated, New York’s government still can’t even deliver the basic services that it has promised.

Take schools.

The New York City Department of Education’s budget for FY2026 is $44.6 billion – the largest single-agency budget of any city government in the United States.

When the Citizens Budget Commission calculates fully loaded per-pupil costs – including transportation, pensions, debt service, and central administration – the figure reaches approximately $42,168 per student.

That’s more than most people pay to go to college!

And what are the students getting for their tax dollars? Only 29% of NYC eighth graders are at or above proficiency in math. Only 45% of third graders are proficient in reading.

Does that sound like the kind of school system you’d want your kids to attend?

How is that possible? How can they spend so much money and get nothing for it?