The state Legislature is considering a host of health care-related bills at the end of the session. But the Empire Center is deeply suspicious of some of them. Empire Center's Director of Health Policy Bill Hammond recently warned that the Legislature may be trying to act too fast, without considering all the consequences. Read More
The heightened focus on overtime stems from an April report by the Albany-based nonprofit Empire Center for Public Policy that revealed several of the MTA’s top union earners had more than doubled their take-home pay through overtime. LIRR chief measurement officer Thomas Caputo nearly quadrupled his, making $344,147 in overtime on top of his base salary of $117,499. Caputo, who has not formally been accused of any wrongdoing, retired in April. Read More
Of the $508 million in pork awarded last year, most of it came from the State and Municipal Facilities program, which is widely derided as legislative slush fund, according to an analysis by the fiscally conservative Empire Center for Public Policy. Read More
"You don't need to throw another regulatory obstacle on upstate New York," said E.J. McMahon, research director for the fiscally conservative Empire Center for Public Policy. Read More
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s top earner last year raked in a budget-busting $344,147 in overtime — on top of his $117,499 salary, according to data released Tuesday by the Empire Center fiscal-watchdog group. Read More
However, the Empire Center issued a report saying that most New Yorkers paid a lower federal tax bill because of the rate cut and the increase in the child care credit. Most of the impact was to the top 1% of income earners, who generate 40% of the state’s tax revenue. Read More
Cuomo and Schwartz have been decrying overtime abuse at the MTA ever since the Empire Center first reported in April that the authority had seen a 16 percent rise in its use. Read More
The Empire Center for Public Policy earlier this week came out with its regular update on how much New York state government spends on local projects that have little to do with state needs like infrastructure and social programs and more to do with helping local state legislators get re-elected. Read More