In recent memory, New York’s budget negotiations typically end with the good, the bad, and the big ugly. Is it time to change the way the state budget is negotiated? We recapped this morning’s event on the topic with EJ McMahon, Founder and Research Director of the Empire Center, and former Assemblyman Richard Brodsky.

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The good, the bad and the ugly in Cuomo’s budget

“We are at the early stages of what shapes up as the biggest state and city fiscal crisis since the Great Depression,” said E.J. McMahon of the Empire Center. “Borrowing and short-term cuts aside, the budget doesn’t chart any clear path out of it.” Read More

Medicaid cuts make the state budget, with some tweaks

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‘Pork’ Bill Hangs Over Other Issues in Albany

E.J. McMahon, research director for the Empire Center for Public Policy, a fiscally conservative think tank, questioned the need for these projects. His organization found recent SAM allocations paid for projects he deemed frivolous such as a skate park and a local highway garage. “It’s this huge mutual back-scratching,” he said. Read More

EDITORIAL: Pork fund a waste of taxpayer money

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The little-known budget weapon that Cuomo could deploy this session

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