ALBANY – As the Big Apple and other parts of New York state continue to clean-up in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, attention is also now being shifted to what impact the superstorm will have on the state’s economy and finances.
According to an article in today’s Buffalo News, the storm is expected to drive a hole into the state’s budget, just as its economy experiences a shaky rebound amid relatively high unemployment. State officials already are concerned about possible fiscal parallels between this week’s storm and the 9/11 terrorist attacks of 2001, which caused the state’s economy to nose dive. Back then, officials predicted the state would lose over $5 billion in tax revenue over a two-year period.
Governor Andrew Cuomo says lawmakers still don’t know how bad it is this time around, but added that whatever it is, it’s not going to be good. Officials in the State Comptroller’s Office and Cuomo’s Budget Division said they are still conducting an assessment of possible impact to the state’s economy and finances.
Early estimates of the economic impact of Hurricane Sandy across all the affected East Coast states are between $30 billion and $50 billion, according to Colorado-based IHS Global Insight, whose clients on economic forecasts include New York State.
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