New York City's pension actuary is "likely" to recommend a reduction in the interest rate used to calculate tax-funded pension contributions, the New York Post (not for the first time) yesterday. A lower interest rate will lead to higher pension c Read More
Governor Cuomo today that follows exactly -- which is a disappointment, if not exactly a surprise. Certainly if Cuomo's pension program ends here, it will undermine the governor's attempts to portray himself as a reformer. Read More
The Mercatus Center at George Mason University has released its index. New York is dead last overall, and last, too, on economic and fiscal freedom. The report, by William Ruger of Texas State University and Jason Sorens at the University of Buff Read More
The Wall Street Journal r that the state's Department of Transportation (ultimately overseen by Gov. Cuomo) may be overstepping its bounds in forcing contractors to manage their workforces under union rules if they want to win construction p Read More
A important breakthrough on the property tax cap issue came last week when Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver introduced a bill that conforms in key respects to Governor Andrew Cuomo's original proposal. Read More
Robert Fitzpatrick spent $140,000 buying up subway and bus ads to warn people that the world was going to end Saturday. According to news reports, it didn't. So should we worry about how Fitzpatrick, a retiree on a fixed income, will support himself Read More
The Tappan Zee Bridge, which carries 51 million vehicles annually across the Hudson River between Rockland and Westchester counties, is one of the Northeast region’s most important transportation arteries--and it's badly in need of replacement. Read More
Yesterday's Times that Speaker Sheldon Silver has reintroduced the "millionaire tax" as a standalone bill may qualify as the dog-bites-man, non-news story of the year from the State Capitol.Silver and his conference already voted in favor o Read More
Daily News columnist Juan Gonzalez has about the $237 million in tax-exempt debt behind the overly luxurious parking "system" near Yankee Stadium in the Bronx: If [the garage defaults], the Bloomberg administration faces th Read More
What would "truly transformational" public pension reform look like in New York? E.J. McMahon answers the question in in today's New York Post. The key, E.J. argues, is to replace the traditional defined-benefit (DB) pension with a def Read More
The MTA has that illustrates how much bridge and tunnel tolls have outpaced inflation over the past four decades. Cash tolls today on four major crossings -- the RFK Bridge (which is really the Triborough Bridge), the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge, the Read More
The and Albany both report today that Governor Andrew Cuomo's proposed public pension changes may include an optional defined-contribution retirement plan. (See Update below.) Read More