If the New York business climate were an actual climate, you’d need a parka, gloves, boots, a raincoat, a t-shirt and shorts, suntan lotion and an oxygen mask — every single day.

And like actual climate change, there are ways to improve the state’s business climate — if state officials are willing to face up to how that climate is affecting state residents, heed the concerns raised by the business community, and work in a bipartisan manner on legislative and regulatory action to improve that climate.

Last week, the Public Policy Institute of New York State issued a report on the state’s business climate that summed up what we pretty much already know — that high taxes, regulation and the cost of doing business is driving people and businesses out of the state.

The report spells out, in great detail and in easy-to-understand charts, information and trends that support the reasons behind those negative impacts, including the high cost of regulation,........

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