Media Coverage

"So the choice is really, waste the money that way, or do a bill that actually provides funding to New York state. That bill does not even get us a fraction of the amount of money that is needed." Bill Hammond, director of health policy for the Empire Center, a fiscally conservative think tank based in Albany, concurred with Mujica's assessment, noting that these payments would be made quarterly. Read More

But will New York actually have the money that it’s promising schools? E.J. McMahon, founder and research director of the Empire Center for Public Policy, scoffed at the aid figures distributed on Wednesday, saying he doubted the state could afford them without a federal bailout or long-term borrowing. Read More

In other words, the state could very well borrow the whole $11 billion. And if it doesn’t get $11 billion back in the short term, the budget allows the debt to be repaid by issuing more debt in the form of 30-year bonds, according to an analysis by Empire Center’s E.J. McMahon. Read More

“The question now isn’t whether previous state and local budget assumptions have been demolished — only by how much and for how long,” writes E.J. McMahon, research director at the Empire Center for Public Policy and a Manhattan Institute adjunct fellow.  Read More

“They have to make decisions now. Every moment they waste is going to make the problem worse and that is going to cost jobs in the future,” said E.J. McMahon, research director at the Empire Center, an Albany think tank. “They don’t gain anything by stalling.” Read More

For insight on the state of the economy and what New York City and state should do address the worsening economic situation, City & State turned to four experts on the matter: New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer, New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, Citizens Budget Commission President Andrew Rein, and E.J. McMahon, founder and research director for the Empire Center for Public Policy. The responses have been edited for length and clarity.   Read More

At the state level, researchers at the Empire Center found that New York’s prevailing wage requirements inflate construction costs by up to 25 percent. Suspending Davis-Bacon would enable state and local governments to save billions of dollars on construction costs. States could return the savings to taxpayers in the form of tax relief, increase the solvency of their underfunded pension systems for teachers, or use the savings to complete additional needed infrastructure construction. Read More

With much of New York’s economy shut down and millions of taxpayers likely to depend on federal “emergency support” payments to make it through, an immediate pay freeze for all state and local government employees is a must. Read More

"Everyone in the private sector is worrying if they are going to be laid off, if their pay is going to be cut," said E.J. McMahon, research director at the right-leaning Empire Center in Albany. Read More

E.J. McMahon of the Empire Center for Public Policy, a conservative think tank in Albany, said New Jersey's numbers would likely be lower if not for New York. The Garden State has always been the discount dormitory for city workers, he said. Read More

His appointed Medicaid Redesign Team II is holding its final meeting on Thursday. A draft report obtained by the Empire Center for Public Policy describes $1.6 billion in projected savings through proposals like capping enrollment in managed long-term care plans and changing eligibility requirements for personal care services. Read More

The latest data released by the U.S. Census Bureau put New York State’s population at an estimated 19.5 million, the fourth-largest state in the country. Read More