Blog

So, here’s a non-surprise: The financial outlook for New York’s state government has deteriorated in the past few months, according to the Mid-Year Financial Plan Update from the Division of the Budget (DOB). Read More

Property tax burdens in New York’s counties, based on U.S. Census data crunched by the Tax Foundation, are presented in an online map widget unveiled yesterday as part of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s new “CitizenConnects” program. Read More

The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (Sifma) held its . Speakers' outlooks on the financial industry bode poorly for New York's economy. "I think we will see a lot more cost cutting," said Toos Daruvala, director of banking an Read More

New York doesn't look so hot in the just-released 2011 National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) report cards in and , designed to show "what America's students know and can do in various subject areas." Generally, the trending shows impr Read More

New York is at the top of the debt list in the latest U.S. Census data on state and local government finances. As of 2009, New York’s state and local long-term indebtedness came to $15,202 per-capita, more than any state and 74 percent above the national average. Read More

Some leaders of the New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) union received double-digit raises -- despite a faltering economy, the Albany Times Union .  But at least these union bosses aren't paid with taxpayer money... Oh, wait, union pr Read More

It’s no surprise that some New York’s local governments are choosing to override the state’s new property tax cap. The real news is that the vast majority — so far — apparently are managing to live within it. Read More

As public pension costs continue to rise, straining municipal budgets to the breaking point, New York City Comptroller John Liu has emerged as a stalwart defender of the status quo. Liu doesn’t deny that tax-funded pension costs are exploding; instead, he says the traditional defined-benefit system offers “a better bang for the buck.” Read More

New York City public advocate Bill de Blasio thinks they are, at least to some extent. The advocate's office announced yesterday that it was into the amount of time it takes NYC agencies to answer Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) requests. At th Read More

You hear a lot of talk about the panoply of problems facing Wall Street, from the Volcker Rule to derivatives regulations to But here's a simple numbers comparison that points up the challenge for Wall Street (and New York). From the New York Ti Read More

“First get your facts,” Mark Twain once said, “and then you can distort them as much as you please.” Following Twain’s advice, State Sen. Daniel Squadron (D-Brooklyn) and Assemblyman Rory Lancman (D-Queens) have unleashed a fresh set of purported “facts” about New York taxes, in response to my criticism last week of their call for higher state income taxes on households earning more than $1 million a year. Read More

The Appellate Division of Supreme Court in Manhattan—in a three-sentence opinion unvarnished by analysis—has overturned decades of precedent and affirmed a lower-court ruling allowing the New York City Police Pension Fund to keep secret the names of retired officers receiving pension benefits. Read More