State and local governments face a total deficit of about $131 billion for 2009 and $181 billion for 2010, the Government Accountability Office . Honestly, this estimate seems low. But, low or not, it may be as good as it gets. The GAO notes that Read More
Now that they control both houses of the New York State Legislature, Democrats in Albany are reportedly preparing to raise the state income tax on high-income New Yorkers to help plug a $15 billion budget gap. Read More
NYU prof Thomas Philippon and U-VA Prof Ariell Reshef have written a tracing the trajectory of wages in the American financial sector over the last century. Not surprisingly, financial-industry wages broke away from the rest of the economy starting i Read More
The best fiscal news for New York in ages is that three and a half years ago, the city lost its bid to host the 2012 Olympics. This week, the UK, which won the bid, , because the private partners couldn't find financing for the "Olympic Village" a Read More
For New York, it's not paying (anymore) to be home to the smartest guys in the room. Since its credit-bubble peak, the securities industry has cut 3.1 percent of its jobs nationwide, according to the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Assoc Read More
Today's New York Times "a growing sense" in Albany that the Democrats who now control state government will seek to raise state income taxes on "the wealthiest New Yorkers" to help close a $15 billion budget gap. The Times articl Read More
Congratulations to President Obama! One of the new president's first tasks will be figuring out how to get Congress to fix the stimulus bill that the House proposed last week. In its current form, the bill won't do much for road and rail infras Read More
New York's huge budget deficit—$15.4 billion in the next 15 months—will force difficult choices in terms of government services and tax policies for years to come. To engage intelligently in that debate, New Yorkers need far more information than we now receive from Albany. Read More