A new state-sponsored campaign is promoting New York as "open for business." However, other indicators suggest the Empire State is still hobbled by a heavy tax and regulatroy burden. How have business conditions in New York improved? What further changes are needed to set the stage for an era of sustained long-term economic growth in the Empire State? Our event, "Is New York Competitive," explored these and other important questions to assess New York's outlook. Read More
Governor Andrew Cuomo needs to play a more active leadership role in responding to widespread reports of increasing fiscal distress among New York counties, municipalities and school districts, according to this Newsday commentary by the Empire Center's E.J. McMahon. Read More
Over the past 37 years, starting with the near-bankruptcy of the Big Apple, serious fiscal crises in New York local governments have unfolded at a rate of one or two per decade. Read More
It’s no secret that skyrocketing public pension costs are putting tremendous pressure on state and local budgets in New York and across the country. But taxpayers also face another enormous liability: retiree health-care costs. Read More
New York’s public-sector employees have been promised $250 billion in post-retirement health benefits that the state and its local governments have set aside no money to pay for, according to updated figures released today by the Empire Center for Public Policy. These obligations have increased by $45 billion since the Empire Center first reported on them in 2010. Read More
New York taxpayers spend billions of dollars a year on health insurance coverage for retired state and local government employees, many of whom are too young to be eligible for Medicare. But the mounting “pay-as-you-go” bill for retiree healthcare is just the tip of a much larger iceberg. Read More
Located some 40 miles north of New York City, in Westchester County, the Indian Point Energy Center (IPEC) consists of two operating nuclear reactors, with a combined generating capacity of over 2,000 MW, and one long-retired reactor. IPEC’s size and location are the key factors in both the power it provides and the decades-long fight to shutter the plant permanently. Read More
State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli has marked the beginning of Labor Day weekend by announcing the next wave of increases in taxpayer-funded pension costs for local governments throughout the state (except New York City, which has separate systems). Read More