BUFFALO, N.Y. — According to some Buffalo financial advisors, New York state has taken a serious economic hit over the course of the pandemic. They say that with the right policy changes, we can overcome it.

What You Need To Know

  • Some Buffalo financial advisors say New York state has taken a serious economic hit over the course of the pandemic

  • Michael Lomas, of The Financial Guys, says this is because of the government’s response to COVID-19

  • He says that we have a major labor shortage

“As a business owner, who wants to take a risk? Open up another restaurant? Open up another nail salon?” asked Michael Lomas, co-president of The Financial Guys. "It’s just not happening and they’re seeing that in the economic numbers."

He says that the economic hit in New York state was due to the response to COVID-19.

“Because of the way the government reacted in the state of Florida, they didn’t do that," Lomas said. "They didn’t sneak into restaurants. In fact, the governor in the state of Florida said that you can’t do that. If they’re doing something wrong with their food. If they’re doing something wrong and selling liquor on the side, you can fine them. But you can’t go in and shut them down."

He explains that when it comes to economic activity, we’re looking for people to take risks, however, residents are shying away from doing that in New York state. According to Lomas, almost 2.3 million people out of 18 million in the state are on permanent welfare, with another 900,000 on unemployment.

“We have massive welfare benefits and unemployment benefits in this state," Lomas said. "We have a labor shortage. When I drive into my office in Buffalo, New York every day, I see ‘Help Wanted’ signs everywhere. The problem is we cannot get the labor. Even if I did want to take a risk to open a restaurant, I now can’t find people to work."

He says that he believes New York state is going to recover very slowly. Lomas has some thoughts on what needs to be done to speed up this process.

“I would be cutting welfare in half," he said. "I would be forcing these people out into the workforce because they are desperately needed. We are completely broke in this state. I would start supporting lowering the taxes."