What does 2016 have in store for New York State?
Much of our attention will no doubt be focused on the same general issues that preoccupied us in 2015 — issues such as the economy, taxes, government wages and pensions, population shifts and pork barrel spending.
And so, with best wishes to all for a Happy New Year, here’s a last look back at the Empire Center’s web traffic highlights for the year just ended — including updates to our popular government transparency website, SeeThroughNY.net.
The 5 most popular EmpireCenter.org pages in 2015:
- Higher Pay, Fewer Jobs – Video features and articles explaining what’s at stake for New York in the proposal to jack up the statewide minimum wage to $15 an hour.
- The Empire Center’s Pension Calculator – We’ve made it simple to estimate the retirement income for a state and local government worker and to see what it would cost a private-sector worker to buy an equivalent annuity in the open market.
- New Yorkers Keep Heading for Exits – People are the Empire State’s leading, priceless export.
- Albany’s Secretive Slush Fund – Our NYTorch.com blog post that blew the whistle on the evolution of the $1.1 billion State and Municipal Facilities Program.
- What They Make—2015 Edition – The Empire Center’s unique annual compendium of average pay for every county, city, town and village government in New York State.
The 5 most popular SeeThroughNY releases in 2015:
About the Author
You may also like
New York Schools will Spend More and Deliver Less – Again
As voters across New York head to the polls to decide their local school budgets, the big question – why New York schools deliver poor results despite spending the most in the nation – is barely on anyone’s mind.
New York’s fourth-grade and eig Read More
New York’s School Districts Plan To Spend Over $37K Per Student
Cover Image Credit: / at Wikipedia
School districts presenting budgets to voters on Tuesday, May 19, plan to spend an average of $37,033 per student, up 4.9 per Read More
It is Time to Rethink New York’s Renewable Energy Mandates
The Coalition for Safe and Reliable Energy petitioned the New York State Public Service Commission to hold a hearing to evaluate whether to temporarily suspend or modify the obligations under the Renewable Energy Program established as part of the Cli Read More
No Energy Price Relief in Hochul’s Budget—So Far
Mrs. Hochul had been warning that the state’s green energy regime, a product of the Climate Leadership Climate Protection Act, needs changes to spare New Yorkers from a self-inflicted surge in energy costs.
Unfortunately, Mrs. Hochul’s 2027 Budget Read More
Overtime on State Payroll Jumps 21%
104 employees made over $500k in 2025 total annual pay.
2,450 employees were paid more than Gov. Kathy Hochul's Read More
How Pension ‘Spiking’ Drives Up Costs for New York Taxpayers
Each year, hundreds of newly retired government workers across New York garner a benefit that would be unheard-of in the private sector: pensions that exceed the salaries they received while still on the job.
This is possible only because most current Read More
Four Problems with a Statewide Pied-à-Terre Tax
Soon after Governor Hochul floated the idea of a "pied-à-terre" tax in New York City, Albany Sen. Patricia Fahy proposed to expand the concept to the rest of the state.
As with H Read More
New York’s Electricity Prices 70 Percent Above the National Average
Recent data from the Energy Information Administration and Empire Center for Public Policy show New York’s average residential electricity prices at 29.99 cents per kilowatt hour. This is 70 percent higher than the U.S. average of 17.6 cents per kilowat Read More