In this episode of "Messages of Necessity," Cam Macdonald and Ken Girardin dive into the contentious debate surrounding New York's public pensions. Unraveling myths and confronting harsh realities, they analyze the union's arguments for retroactively Read More
Anyone wondering how New York consistently has the nation’s highest public school spending but below-average student outcomes got a succinct explanation from Albany earlier this month. Read More
Four years after a devastating pandemic, the state has made no major investment to repair or improve its public health defenses. While funding for Medicaid over the past four Read More
New York’s two teacher pension systems last year had 25 retirees eligible to collect pensions of more than $300,000, according to data posted today on SeeThroughNY, the Empire Center’s government transparency website. Read More
New York's public employee unions are arguing, without evidence, that state lawmakers need to retroactively sweeten the pensions of workers who have been on the job for more than a decade. In fact, state and federal data show why state lawmakers shouldn't. Read More
While much of the health-care industry is attacking Governor Hochul's Medicaid budget, at least one organization is rallying to her side: Somos Community Care, a politically active medical group in the Bronx that recen Read More
A recently published independent review of New Jersey's pandemic response holds lessons for New York on at least two levels. First, it marked the only serious attempt by any st Read More
A little-noticed provision in lawmakers’ budget proposals would also be the most costly: their proposal to change state retirement rules would slam New York taxpayers with more than $4 billion in new debt, and immediately drive up pension costs, by retroactively sweetening the pension benefits of public employees. Read More