The MTA plans to boost tolls and subway fares by 5.5% to help close deficits but it’s also seeking $600 million of state funding for its 2023 operating budget, with that amount increasing to as much as $1.6 billion in 2026.
“The MTA has huge money issues that are going to have to be addressed that it is very possible the state might be more on the hook for,” DiNapoli said.
‘Woke’ Investments
In addition to serving as the state’s chief auditor and financial overseer, DiNapoli is the sole trustee of the $233 billion New York State Common Retirement Fund, the third largest US public pension.
DiNapoli has pledged to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions across the fund’s investments by 2040 and may divest from the riskiest oil and gas companies by 2025.
DiNapoli decried the mounting Republican backlash to environmental, social and governance investing practices.
“When the research shows that having a more diverse workplace and more diverse corporate boards contributes to profitability, that that’s somehow a ‘woke agenda,’” he said. “That’s crazy.”
When asked about big money managers like BlackRock Inc., which manages money for New York’s pension fund, DiNapoli said he’s spoken to Chief Executive Larry Fink and “expressed sympathy for what he’s going through.”
Fink is “caught in the middle, right? He’s getting it from the left, he’s getting it from the right,” he said. “Everything has become polarized, unfortunately, including the investment discussion.”
Meanwhile, Florida’s chief financial officer Jimmy Patronis said in an interview Wednesday that Fink only has himself to blame for the ESG backlash because he was so vocal about sustainable investing. BlackRock declined to comment.
“When Larry Fink goes and throws out this manifesto out there, he’s getting my attention,” Patronis said. “When you’re so outspoken on that type of a social agenda you’re gonna draw some fire. He really did it to himself,” Patronis said.
--With assistance from Saijel Kishan and Skylar Woodhouse.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.