Visions of sugar plums dance in the heads of older state workers--amid Albany's $9 billion budget gap. They dream of fatter pensions should Senate approve Governor Paterson's early retirement bill as the Assembly did this week. Although a bonanza for... Read More
STATE OF NEW YORK 7940 IN SENATE May 25, 2010 Introduced by Sen. FLANAGAN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions AN ACT to amend the civil service law, in relatio Read More
The Greek debt crisis has inspired economist Michael Boskin to lay out some fundamental lessons that are equally applicable to our own federal and state governments. Quoting directly from this article by Boskin, the lessons are: elected officials systematically... Read More
Governor Paterson would need the support of the Legislature to freeze wages of state workers. The next governor could partially freeze salaries by letting union contracts expire next year. One would-be governor, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, has proposed freezing... Read More
"The New NY Agenda" is the title of a policy booklet issued yesterday by Andrew Cuomo, the soon-to-be nominated Democratic gubernatorial candidate. If that title sounds familiar, it's because "New, New York" (including that all-important comma after the first "New")... Read More
The broad outlines of Andrew Cuomo's gubernatorial campaign platform are beginning to dribble out as the formal announcement of the attorney general's candidacy approaches. By the time the state Democratic Party Convention opens next Tuesday... Read More
New York’s latest stab at pension reform, which created a new “tier” of slightly reduced benefits, was an enormous missed opportunity. While the plan shaved away a few of the most costly sweeteners added to pension benefits since the early 1990s, it preserved the basic defined benefit plan structure. This is the core of the problem: a huge and growing financial risk for current and future taxpayers. Read More
The Senate passed financial industry "reform" yesterday. But one important amendment failed earlier this week: New Hampshire Senator Judd Gregg's proposal to prohibit federal bailouts of state and local governments. The Judd amendment... Read More