Nassau County's Interim Finance Authority (NIFA) has imposed a wage freeze on county employees. The freeze, which will save at least $10 million this year, "is not only necessary but also a reasonable response to the county's fiscal distress," the authority said. Read More
The just-released official 2010 Census data for New York State indicate New York City is growing more slowly and Buffalo is shrinking even faster than had been suggested by previous estimates. Read More
New York State is among the easiest places in the country to qualify for the federal Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program, the Wall Street Journal reports today. Read More
Today's Post describes a public-private real-estate deal that perfectly encapsulates New York's housing policy. David Seifman writes that the city will lavish nearly $3 million on a Brooklyn developer, Tali Realty LLC, to turn the company's failed condo project into "affordable" housing. Read More
New York's public pension funds have a pronounced taste for risk, typically plunging 70 percent of their assets into equities ranging from traditional corporate stocks to more exotic "alternatives." Fund managers say it's the best way to hold down... Read More
New York City's Independent Budget Office just released its take on Mayor Bloomberg's budget. One data tidbit: the IBO's analysts say that though the city's recession job losses were less severe relative to losses in the rest of the country, Gotham's... Read More
School officials around New York angrily denied Gov. Cuomo's assertion yesterday that they should be able to make due with less state aid than they received last year. In other news: the sun rose at dawn, people wearing green marched in parades, and... Read More
Jo Johnson, a member of Britain’s Parliament, has penned a piece in the FT explaining why Britain’s policy of punishing bankers through higher taxation is harmful to Britain’s economy. Read More
Public schools in New York are awfully expensive, and their costs continue to rise at a pace that taxpayers can't afford. So how can schools cope with a needed reduction in state aid? Governor Andrew Cuomo has a simple and blunt prescription: "less... Read More
New York's state and local governments offer the nation's second highest "pension replacement rate" -- the percentage of preretirement income covered by an employee's pension -- according to a new study cited in today's New York Times. Read More
"NYC Government Workers Paid Less Than Private Sector Peers," is the headline on today's press release from Comptroller John Liu's office. But the truth is actually much more complex and "difficult to generalize," as the study in question acknowledges... Read More
New York motorists afflicted with fuel pump sticker shock might take some consolation from this handy Empire Center Data Bank chart, indicating that the $3.70 average price of regular gasoline in the Empire State is only fifth highest in the country. Read More