Blog

When it comes to responding to the coronavirus, New York is likely to struggle with a pre-existing condition: the Taylor Law. Governor Andrew Cuomo has authority to suspend portions of the Taylor Law—and to preserve vital public services, he should. Read More

Although New York is taking the brunt of the coronavirus pandemic – with 43 percent of the nation's known cases and 40 percent of the deaths – the state is due to receive only 5 percent of the $150 billion Coronavirus Relief Fund just established by Congress. Read More

#NYCoronavirus: The negative economic after-effects of the pandemic seem likely to rival if not exceed those of the Great Recession of 2008-09. But as New Yorkers face massive job losses, falling incomes, sagging property values and widespread economic insecurity, they'll have one layer of protection they sorely lacked in the last downturn: a tight cap on local property tax levies, instigated by Governor Cuomo in 2011. Read More

#NYCoronavirus: The $2 trillion federal stimulus bill on its way to passage today does not actually shortchange New York in any general sense—but it does seem to clearly dash Governor Cuomo's vain hopes for a budget bailout, which is why he is so unhappy about it. Read More

#NYCoronavirus: With state revenues crashing and joblessness skyrocketing, more than a third of the New York state government workforce is scheduled to get a 2 percent pay raise in less than a week. Read More

#NYCoronavirus: In the early days of the coronavirus outbreak, New York's death toll appears to be rising at a faster rate than any other state and most other countries. Read More

#NYCoronavirus: While daily life has been disrupted, essential functions must go on amid the coronavirus crisis—including the budgeting process for the state’s nearly 700 school districts. Read More

#NYCoronavirus: As they make their now-routine announcements about new cases of coronavirus, some New York health officials have been publicizing the public places and events that the infected people visited, to put others on notice about their own possible exposure. This is a useful and no-cost strategy for flattening the curve that other agencies should follow. Read More

#NYCovidCrisis: As the old saying goes, the stock market is not the economy—but in New York, it's an extra-big chunk of the economy, and of the state tax base as well. The ongoing pandemic-driven carnage on Wall Street is a big reason why Albany's tax receipts are expected to fall at least $7 billion short of Governor Cuomo's original budget estimate for FY 2021. Read More

#NYCorona: If recent history is any guide, the strings attached to federal coronavirus funding should be less of a problem for New York than Cuomo seems to think. Almost identical restrictions were placed on extra Medicaid money sent to states during the Great Recession, and they did not prevent then-Governor Paterson from enacting cuts to Medicaid. Read More

#NYCoronavirus : New York has emerged as the nation's coronavirus hot spot, with more diagnosed cases per million than any other state. It has 294 cases per million residents, about seven times the national level, according to an analysis of data gathered by Johns Hopkins University. Read More

#NYCoronavirus: In the emerging nationwide economic and financial crisis, New York is going to run out of cash more rapidly than most states—and Governor Cuomo can't say he wasn't warned of Albany's extreme vulnerability on this front Read More