From a New York perspective, the proposed repeal of itemized deductions for state and local tax payments was the (expected) headline item in the rough outline of a tax reform presented in Washington today by Trump administration officials. Read More
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New York state, its local governments and public authorities are committed to spending tens of billions of dollars on public works in the next five to 10 years. But under current law, they’re also committed to wasting billions of taxpayer dollars on public works — to subsidize the above-market compensation of the state’s shrinking but politically influential construction unions. Read More
A new report card from the Leapfrog Group, a healthcare watchdog, paints an unflattering picture of safety in New York’s hospitals. Read More
The cost of publicly funded construction projects in New York is inflated up to 25 percent by the state’s outdated “prevailing wage” mandate, which requires contractors to pay workers the amounts required by union collective bargaining agreements, according to a report issued today by the Empire Center for Public Policy. Read More
New York’s Costly Public Works Pay Mandate Read More
New York is planning to demur from some of the Trump administration’s rule changes for Obamacare, including its much shorter enrollment window. Read More
From the moment of its unveiling at the start of the year, Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s “free” college tuition plan seemed to have been hastily reverse-engineered from a campaign slogan — a Bernie Sanders presidential campaign slogan, that is. The governor did nothing to dispel that impression when he invited the Vermont senator to deliver an endorsement of the plan when it was first rolled out at a Queens College rally on Jan. 3. Read More
The new state budget’s allocation of $500 million in capital funding for healthcare providers – the fifth such infusion in four years – comes with a notable lack of procedural controls or clarity of purpose. Read More