“It’s as shameless a political ploy as we have ever seen,” said E.J. McMahon of the Empire Center for Public Policy. Read More
Category: Media Coverage
E.J. McMahon, president of the Empire Center for State Policy, said the pension contribution rates are still near record highs. While the pension system has had double-digit returns in recent years, the average annual return since 2000 is about 6 percent — which is below the assumed rate of return of 7.5 percent, he wrote on his blog. "The pension fund is taking more risks than ever to chase the high returns it needs to hit its assumed target," McMahon wrote. "When the cycle inevitably turns down again, taxpayers will again be holding the bag." Read More
“They’re just pure gimmicks. They have no lasting, positive economic impact,” said E.J. McMahon, president of the Empire Center for Public Policy, a fiscally conservative think tank. “If you actually had a recurring, permanent tax cut, you would be creating to some degree a stronger incentive to live, work, invest and employ in New York. A pair of temporary tax credit checks is just a vote-buying ploy,” he added. Read More
Empire Center President E.J. McMahon sat down with Time Warner Cable News' Geoff Redick to talk about the $350 checks being sent to certain New York households ahead of the 2014 elections. Read More
A former state tax commissioner who sat on both tax policy commissions convened last year by Governor Andrew Cuomo said it would be “a real challenge” for state officials to let New York's “millionaires' tax” expire on schedule at the end of 2017. Read More
The Empire Center, a nonpartisan think tank in New York, released a report today suggesting that New York has lagged behind the rest of the nation in making new millionaires. Read More
“What makes this industry more special than any industry that would invest here if you paid them to do it?” said E.J. McMahon, president of the Empire Center for New York State Policy in Albany, which opposes government subsidies. “The difference is, well, it’s high-profile and it’s really glamorous. And oh, incidentally, it’s run by people who are really savvy, generous political givers too.” Read More
Public employee unions, naturally, are staunch defenders of the old-fashioned defined benefit plans. But as E.J. McMahon noted in 2012 testimony before a joint legislative fiscal committee: "The current public pension system in New York, as in most other states, exposes taxpayers to intolerable levels of financial risk and volatility." Read More