There is no shortage of proposed solutions to the fiscal crises New York municipalities are grappling with. But one of the simplest strategies—developing multiyear financial plans and posting them for all to see—has yet to catch on. Read More
Category: Media Coverage
A billion dollars is big money in anyone’s book. Especially when those dollars come from you, the taxpayer. That’s how much money the US Railroad Retirement Board says might have been scammed by Long Island Rail Road retirees falsely claiming disability benefits. Read More
Last year's massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., had a big impact in New York, perhaps most notably with enactment of a tough new gun control law known as the SAFE Act. But it also made it easier for retired cops to "double dip" — that is, to collect their full public pensions while working full-time as school guards, otherwise known as resource officers. Read More
Now that another legislative session is in the books in Albany, pundits, lawmakers and the media can evaluate which interest groups and organizations came out ahead and who was left wanting. The only consensus regarding the outcome of this session is that the legislative results for organized labor ran the gamut, from overwhelming success for certain unions and coalitions to a bitter disappointment for others—though with several major labor initiatives passing and little legislation going through with wide-ranging consequences for labor, it’s safe to say that labor unions fared pretty well this go-around. Read More
Teens who spend their summer working for the village of Green Island can expect some spending cash, maybe a tan, and the beginnings of a state pension. Even if it takes an act of the Legislature. Read More
The New York Court of Appeals has accepted an appeal from the Empire Center after they were refused access to the names of retired teachers in public pension plans under the Freedom of Information Law. The lower courts agreed with the right of privacy of teacher names. Read More
Prepared for the Empire Center in conjunction with its conference “Saving Jobs in Upstate New York,” June 5, 2013. It is a pleasure to be with you to speak about one of the most fascinating and timely of topics — economic growth. It is more intriguing for those of us here because we have come together to consider the fundamental welfare of a place that is special to us — New York State. The fact is that if New York was growing at acceptable levels we wouldn’t be here at all. Read More
New York's highest court will soon decide whether the names and benefits of retired teachers in public pension plans should be made public. Read More