If there's one thing on which virtually everyone in Albany agrees, it's the need to expand the availability of health insurance to the roughly 3 million New York state residents who lack it. Read More
Commentary
Listening to Michael Bloomberg present the fourth budget of his mayoralty yesterday was like listening to a man having an argument with himself. The former CEO in the mayor's office made a strong case for doing more - much more - to downsize the city's exceedingly vast array of costly public services. Read More
After tweaking a few of their house rules and adopting a state budget on time for the first time in 20 years, many New York State legislators would have you believe they've fixed all or most of what's broken in Albany. Read More
The former U.S. senator from Nebraska moved to New York in 2001 to become president of the New School University. A Democrat, Kerrey reportedly was planning to endorse the reelection bid of the city's nominally Republican mayor, Michael Bloomberg. Read More
With or without Gov. Pataki's cooperation, state legislators are expected to finish passing a series of budget bills before the new fiscal year begins Thursday. Read More
High state and local taxes are widely recognized as a significant obstacle to stronger economic growth, especially for Upstate communities whose natural competitors are lower-cost regions of the Midwest and Southeast. Read More
Once the Legislature adopted a "temporary" personal-income-tax increase in 2003, it was only a matter of time before someone in Albany moved to make the tax hike permanent. Read More
Approaching what could turn out to be yet another stalemate with the Legislature, Governor Pataki says the last four years have been "the worst ... since the Great Depression" for New York State's finances. Read More
Adding to the pressure created by rising Medicaid and other costs, local governments and school districts all over New York are being hammered by massive increases in pension costs for public employees. Read More
Reinforcing New York City's improved policing strategies in the 1990s were tougher sentencing laws and a significant expansion of the city and state correctional systems. Would-be criminals came to realize that they were not only more likely to get caught, but more likely to end up serving hard time. Read More
During the recent uproar over the Thruway Authority's questionable handling of a proposed Erie Canal land development deal, far too little attention was paid to the more fundamental question of why the Thruway Authority had anything to do with the canal in the first place. Read More
Arnold Schwarzenegger just proposed it for California. Michigan has had it since 1997. Florida has had an optional version since 2000. It's time for New York to join the revolution and adopt the same kind of 401(k) retirement plan that is almost universal in the private sector for its future civil servants. Read More