#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
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#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
There’s an obvious place to start in New York: Freeze state and local government employee pay. The combined estimated savings for every level of government could at least be a down payment on the massive reductions that will be necessary in the year ahead — and probably for years to come. 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
#NYCoronavirus: The obvious place to start cutting state and local budgets will also help minimize disruption to public services in the wake of the coronavirus crisis. Read More