Governor Kathy Hochul, like her disgraced predecessor, has chosen to use the state budget to ram through last-minute policy changes that will have profound consequences for years to come. Over the objections of progressive Democrats, she has sought to weaken criminal justice reforms passed in 2019 and increase the use of cash bail. She has tried — and likely failed — to immediately extend a large tax break for real estate developers.

And she has now succeeded in getting a billion-dollar taxpayer subsidy for the billionaire owners of the Buffalo Bills.

The deal for a new stadium in Buffalo represents the largest taxpayer giveaway for a football stadium in American history. Hochul, a Buffalo-area native, announced the agreement with the Pegula family recently and touted it as a victory for New York and a way to keep a beloved football team from moving elsewhere. The Bills are central to Buffalo’s identity but do not offer much in the way of an economic boost for the city — at least for its vast working-class and poor population. Buffalo is one of the very poorest cities in America, with or without the Bills.