Moving to a $15 minimum wage will cost New York’s Medicaid system more than double what was previously forecast, state budget officials revealed this week Read More
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Records of more than $2 billion in discretionary state government grants, doling out taxpayer dollars to more than 4,000 projects sponsored by local governments, schools, private businesses and non-profit groups across New York, were added today to the expansive online pork-barrel spending database at SeeThroughNY, the Empire Center’s government transparency website. Read More
Governor Andrew Cuomo's budget staff has further reduced the state's revenue estimates for the current year and the three following years, adding to projected potential shortfalls during the period. Read More
On November 14th, the Empire Center will host a forum examining Governor Andrew Cuomo’s “Clean Energy Standard,” under which New York ratepayers will subsidize certain renewable and upstate nuclear power plants. The forum will feature informed presentations and a panel discussion with experts who have been both supportive and critical of the proposal. Panelists will discuss the standard’s costs and benefits, as well as how it will impact carbon dioxide emissions. They will also examine the process by which the standard was enacted and the overall feasibility of Governor Cuomo’s “50 by 30” goal to have half of the state’s electricity come from renewable sources by 2030. Read More
For a sixth consecutive year, Governor Andrew Cuomo is behind schedule in issuing the state's Mid-Year Financial Plan Update—maintaining his perfect record of never once complying with the state Finance Law provision requiring such a report by Oct. 30. Read More
The looming repeal of the Affordable Care Act – which suddenly became much more likely with the election of Donald Trump – could open an enormous hole in New York’s state budget. Read More
The latest progress report from START-UP NY shows it’s losing participants almost as quickly as it’s adding them. Read More
New York is bucking the national trend in the largest category of health insurance costs, but in exactly the wrong way. Read More