New York State once again topped all states in K-12 education spending in 2007-08, according to U.S. Census data released today. The Empire State's school spending of $17,173 per pupil was 67 percent above the national average of $10,259. Read More
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Despite growing signs that Congress is finding it harder to spend with reckless abandon, New York State budget negotiators were counting on getting $1 billion in added Federal Medicaid Reimbursement Percentage (FMAP) aid under the so-called "jobs bill" expected to move... Read More
A gubernatorial task force failed to deliver what public employee unions sought: a recommendation that existing health benefits for retirees be virtually locked in place--despite budget gaps across the state. In a nine-page report, the Task Force on Public Retiree Health Insurance could not agree on the very issue... Read More
Albany likes to tax bad things, like cigarettes and, maybe soon, soda. But one State Senator's new idea of a sin tax -- on the defaulted sovereign nation of Argentina -- would harm the state's main cash cow, Wall Street. Argentina defaulted on its... Read More
Albany tops the list of "America's Most Recession-Proof Cities" in this CNNMoney.com report, based on a recent Brookings Institute paper. So, does this mean New York's Capital Region is a magnet for entrepreneurs and all-round private-sector dynamism? Read More
While the Legislature struggles to reach final agreement on yet another budget that is sure to spend more than the state can afford, a bit of good news for New York taxpayers can be found on the last page of today's report from... Read More
A newly created commission, taking aim at public-sector pension costs in Britain, is expected to recommend that government employees "pay hundreds or even thousands of pounds more into their pension pots, as the era of early retirement on generous payments... Read More
An advocacy group for subway riders is blaming budget reductions for dirtier conditions on New York subway cars. "It’s as clear as the grime on a subway car floor: MTA Transit cuts in cleaners has meant dirtier cars.. Read More
Bloomberg (the news, not the mayor) reports that the state of Illinois must pay 40 percent more than it did two months ago to borrow money in the bond markets (relative to supposedly risk-free Treasury bonds). Illinois' new 25-year, $300 million... Read More
New York's slow growth during the past decade is reflected in newly released Census Bureau data showing that the Empire State ranked 48th out of 50 states in the creation of new housing units from 2000 to 2009. As illustrated in the chart below... Read More
Local governments are not racing to adopt the state's early retirement incentive, which would help trim their payrolls while increasing their pension costs. In St. Lawrence County, officials have advised county legislators to vote against offering... Read More
E.J. and I had a podcast chat this morning to run through some of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA)'s 2009 payroll data, released last week by the Empire Center's seethroughny.net. The data show that last year, the MTA's 74,708 workers... Read More