Press Releases

In his one 'State of the State' reference to Medicaid's overspending crisis, Cuomo pointed the blame at local governments—and implied that he will hit them up for a bailout. That's a fundamentally wrongheaded approach. The only real solution is to control costs, not shift them to local taxpayers. Read More

New York’s most comprehensive online database of state and local government union contracts has been updated with the latest collective bargaining agreements for local teachers, police and firefighters on SeeThroughNY.net, the Empire Center’s transparency website. Read More

Residents of the Mid-Hudson village of Liberty had the highest effective property tax rate in New York (outside New York City and Nassau) during fiscal year 2019, according to the newest edition of Benchmarking NY, the Empire Center’s annual examination of local property taxes. Read More

The number of state and local government early retirees collecting both a paycheck and public pension grew by 10 percent last year, according to data posted today on SeeThroughNY.net, the Empire Center’s transparency website. Read More

The latest payroll data for a total of 13,615 employees at 54 different New York State public authorities was posted today at SeeThroughNY.net, the Empire Center’s transparency website. Read More

The Empire Center today released its annual “Benchmarking New York” report, comparing and ranking government tax, spending and debt levels for hundreds of counties, towns, cities and villages throughout New York. Read More

NY's Excelsior Scholarship program is crudely designed, regressive and wasteful. Read More

The 471 Fire Department of New York (FDNY) officers and firefighters who retired in calendar year 2018 are eligible for average pensions of $129,259, according to data posted today at SeeThroughNY.net, the Empire Center’s transparency website. Read More

More than 25 percent of public school teachers and administrators in school districts outside New York City were paid more than $100,000 as of 2018-19, according to salary data posted today at SeeThroughNY.net, the Empire Center’s transparency website. Read More

Sen. James Skoufis, D-Newburgh, had $134,858 in staff and member office expenses during his first three months in the Senate, the most among newly elected members of that house, according to data posted today at SeeThroughNY.net, the Empire Center’s transparency website. Read More

The budget crisis in New York’s Medicaid program stems from the failure of a key cost-control measure adopted during Governor Cuomo’s first term, according to a new report from the Empire Center for Public Policy. Read More

New York school districts are missing out on non-taxpayer revenue due to antiquated legal restrictions, according to a new report from the Empire Center for Public Policy. Read More