With State Senate in Dem Hands, Cuomo Sees the Light on Legal Pot
*By Carlo Versano*
Sensing the shifting political winds, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is reportedly planning to introduce a "green new deal" that would legalize recreational pot as part of the inaugural speech he will [deliver](https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/ny-pol-cuomo-budget-state-of-state-addresses-20181209-story.html) from Ellis Island on New Year's Day.
Michael Gianaris, a New York state senator from Queens and member of the new Democratic majority in Albany, told Cheddar that "the time has come" for the Empire State to move forward on pot legalization.
"It's something that people are doing anyway," he said, arguing that the tax revenue generated from pot sales could help act as a form of "recompense" for minority communities adversely affected by decades of Draconian drug laws.
Will Bredderman of Crain's New York Business has been [covering](https://www.crainsnewyork.com/politics/cuomo-reveal-green-new-deal-marijuana-states-2019-agenda) Cuomo's changing attitudes on marijuana, which the governor called a "gateway drug" just last year.
Now, with the state senate in the hands of Democrats after being controlled by Republicans more or less uninterrupted since the 1970s, liberal groups see this as the moment to chalk up a "fairly easy win" on an issue held dear to many progressives, according to Bredderman.
If New York legalizes marijuana for recreational use, experts believe it could bring in somewhere between $200 million and $700 million a year. That sounds like a lot, but think of it like this: the plan to modernize New York City's failing subway system calls for $40 *billion* in funding.
"It's really not that much money," Bredderman said. The bigger gain would be in jobs created and income tax generated ー from growing facilities to retail dispensaries. "That has potential to be quite large."
There's also what Bredderman called the "spin-off effects" from taking pot off the black market and easing enforcement of low-level marijuana offenses, which some state DAs have already committed to doing.
For Cuomo, the real win would be in the realm of politics, especially after the primary, in which he easily dispatched challenger Cynthia Nixon but was pressured by her supporters to move leftward for his final term in office. Marijuana legalization in a state like New York is likely to have bipartisan support, Bredderman said, and is widely popular among New Yorkers across demographics.
"A lot of people smoke marijuana," he said.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/will-new-york-be-next-to-legalize-recreational-marijuana).
Inflation remains hot as the January PPI has increased by 1 percent, twice what analysts had been expecting with a jump of 9.7 over the year. Beth Ann Bovino, the U.S. chief economist, for S&P Global Ratings, joined Cheddar News to discuss the rapid pace of inflation alongside higher wages, predicting the Federal Reserve will act quickly and forcefully this year. "They haven't changed their forecast, yet, that's gonna come out soon. But we expect that a March rate hike is basically pretty much baked in the cake," she said. "We think six rate hikes in total for 2022."
For black history month, Cheddar is highlighting black business leaders who are driving the need for representation forward. On February 10, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce hosted an event called 'Developing the Black-Owned Business Ecosystem.' The virtual event was organized under the lobbying group's two initiatives -- the Equality of Opportunity Initiative, and the Coalition to Back Black Businesses. The event highlighted the developments needed to develop more black-owned businesses in the U.S. Dr. Anthony Wilbon, Dean of the School of Business at Howard University, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss his experience as a speaker at the event.
A newly declassified letter by senators Ron Wyden and Martin Heinrich claimed the CIA. has been conducting a Secret Surveillance Program which has been collecting a bulk of data from American citizens. The letter which was written in April of 2021 urges the CIA to come clean about the kind of data it collects and how many Americans have been impacted. According to these two senators, the program did not have the safeguards of congressional oversight.
Art Hogan, Chief Market Strategist at National Securities, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he says investors are taking a wait-and-see approach when it comes to the situation between Russia and the Ukraine and elaborates on the impact higher oil prices stemming from the conflict would have on the market.
Last week, Senators Ron Wyden of Oregon and Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, Democrats on the Senate Intelligence Committee, wrote a a letter airing concerns that the CIA is collecting the data of American citizens without their consent. The lawmakers fear that the program might be exploiting private data. Morgan Wright, the chief security advisor at cybersecurity firm SentinelOne, joined Cheddar News to discuss the ramifications of the letter. "We don't have all the dots in one place to connect them," said Wright, cautioning against jumping to conclusions.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that diplomacy is still possible, while U.S. officials warn that an attack on Ukraine is imminent. Cheddar News speaks with James Astill, Washington bureau chief of The Economist on the latest developments in Eastern Europe.
As the number of Russian troops rose to 130,000 along its Ukrainian border, hopes for a diplomatic solution remain among world leaders. Jason McMann, head of geopolitical risk analysis at Morning Consult, joined Cheddar News to break down the fluid situation. "We saw signs pointing towards an increase in tensions between Ukraine and Russia, whereas today we're seeing some signs that the Russian government may be willing to continue down a path of diplomatic negotiations to try and find some sort of non-military solution," he said.
Nancy Pelosi and House Democratic leaders are now planning to amend the stop trading on congressional knowledge act, otherwise known as the 'Stock' Act. This 2012 law governs how members disclose the purchase or sale of stocks and amending it would close a loophole, eliminating the trading of individual stocks by members of congress. Pelosi has consistently opposed a ban on stock trading by lawmakers and congressional staff...so what's changed? Kedric Payne, Vice President of Campaign Legal Center, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
In a 5-4 vote, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed for a controversial new version of the Alabama congressional map to remain in place. The lower court had previously ordered that the state must redraw that congressional map because it violates the Voting Rights Act by diluting the political power of Black voters. Redistricting expert Yurij Rudensky joins Cheddar News to weigh in.
