Executive Director Tim Hoefer joined Capital Tonight host Liz Benjamin to discuss the Empire Center's updated Benchmarking New York tool. Read More
Category: Media Coverage
A total of 665 state and local government workers — including 28 from the Lower Hudson Valley — have permission to collect both a full-time salary and retirement payments, according to a new report. Read More
Back in the day, the Internet was fancied as an information highway. Today, throughout New York State, citizens have been given little more than a path. A new study by the Empire Center for Public Policy has documented how badly local governments have botched the opportunities presented by the Internet to inform citizens and taxpayers. Read More
The City of Binghamton is one of the highest taxing cities in New York State. That's according to the Empire Center for Public Policy, which said the city's 2.5 percent effective tax is the most when compared to local governments outside of New York City. Read More
White Plains last year had the highest total taxes per capita among cities in New York, while Binghamton had the highest effective property-tax rate in the state, a review Monday found. Read More
"The legislature needs to give an indication they are interested in reforming themselves before we talk about giving them any pay raises," said E.J. McMahon of The Empire Center, a right-leaning public policy think tank. McMahon said that Legislature needs to reduce the number of pay-bumping leadership titles it hands out as rewards to loyal members, increase the transparency of what is spent internally, and "show an intent to perform." Read More
It's not every day that one state entity condemns another for lack of transparency and oversight. Read More
President Obama’s immigration overhaul could be expensive for New York — putting the state on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars in added health-care costs. Read More