These days, Michael Bloomberg probably wishes he skipped his successful push to serve a third term as New York City mayor. His standing as one of the most-successful players in the nation’s school reform movement took a hit earlier this month wh Read More
Two reports released in the past week suggest alarming problems with underfunded public pension plans that are causing some state and local governments to choose between cutting services and raising taxes. The problems - identified in reports by t Read More
Among the main sources of increasing tension between private-sector and public-sector workers in this country are the plump, guaranteed pensions that many public-sector workers receive. The frustration only increases when civil-servants "game the Read More
It's the new tax tool that could have New Yorkers seeing red. "It's shocking, it's a lot of money," says Empire Center director Tim Hoefer, who says the numbers don't lie in the policy group's new tax calculator. The online database lets you lo Read More
Property owners in Fulton pay the highest tax rates in Central New York and the among New York cities (excluding New York City), according to a new comparative database of local taxes released today by the Empire Center. The Empire Center ranked t Read More
The north country's property tax burden is lower than the median in the state, according to a report from the Empire Center for Public Policy, but much of that comes from contributions from low tax rates outside of Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence c Read More
It’s not the usual election day but the state Conservative Party is out with a message urging New Yorkers to vote in Tuesday’s school board, school budget votes around the state. They don’t go as far as urging blanket “no” votes but they re Read More