The latest economic data for New York continues to relate a tale of two states. Private sector employment growth in New York as a whole slightly trailed the national average on a year-to-year basis, but was much stronger in the New York City metropolitan area. The 52-county upstate region grew at just half the national rate from April 2012 to April 2013, according totoday’s monthly jobs release from the state Labor Department. Read More
So, what to make of this Tier 6 pension thing? Is it truly “bold and transformational” ? Read More
New York’s rate of growth in withholding tax receipts during the final quarter of 2012 was among the lowest for any state with an income tax, according to the latest quarterly State Revenue Report from the Rockefeller Institute of Government. Read More
New York comes in at number 35 on CNBC’s latest annual ranking of “Top States for Business.” This is down a tick from New York’s ranking on the same scale a year ago. Read More
You might think the union representing New York teachers would not favor weakening the source of its members’ future pensions. But you’d be wrong. Read More
Senate Majority Dean Skelos today said that “enacting a stronger, permanent Kendra’s Law must be a priority for the 2013 session, and should be included in any legislative agreement on gun safety” as part of New York’s response to the mass murder in Newtown, Ct. (not to mention New York City’s recent subway-shoving incidents). Read More
New York State and Erie County officials today reportedly will join in announcing that the Buffalo Bills have signed a 10-year renewal of their stadium lease, and that team owners have agreed to pay a $400 million penalty if they move out of Buffalo before the lease expires. Read More
Based on their just-introduced one-house budget, Assembly Democrats don’t support Governor Cuomo’s proposal to eliminate all required reports by local governments and school districts to state agencies. From a transparency and accountability standpoint, that’s good news for taxpayers and the general public, as explained here. Read More