While you're right that Y Combinator (or, rather, companies it has sponsored) has demonstrated that minimal funding is required, there is no harm in a government trying to secure the best for its citizens. Nothing says the United States, Canada, Germany, France, Australia, Japan, China, India, or any other nation on the planet must make it easy for an immigrant to enter and establish a business. Least of which, establish a business that requires minimal presence and that can direct its expenditures to any other country. Put another way, if you were the Minister of Immigration, would you prefer to have the cloud-based start-up with 4 employees, two of whom want to live in your country, or do you want the datacenter that has millions of $currency_units worth of equipment that can't easily be forklifted out of the country?
To address your second point, without making any pass at politics: Someone once said that states are laboratories of democracies; therefore, each state conducts its internal affairs differently. Michigan allows the formation of a Limited Liability Company with nothing more than the payment of $175 to the state and an online form (ironically, the link to that form appears broken at the moment). Texas is more expensive--$325 for a LLC or a corporation--but offers the same thing. Both states have minimal requirements for non-residents forming and operating corporations under those states' laws, so if NY doesn't suit your needs, there is "something for everyone," even when creating a business entity.
To address your second point, without making any pass at politics: Someone once said that states are laboratories of democracies; therefore, each state conducts its internal affairs differently. Michigan allows the formation of a Limited Liability Company with nothing more than the payment of $175 to the state and an online form (ironically, the link to that form appears broken at the moment). Texas is more expensive--$325 for a LLC or a corporation--but offers the same thing. Both states have minimal requirements for non-residents forming and operating corporations under those states' laws, so if NY doesn't suit your needs, there is "something for everyone," even when creating a business entity.