Category: Media Coverage

The proposed New York Health Act, legislation that would offer a state-run, one-payer health insurance program, drew wide-ranging criticism at a recent discussion sponsored by the Empire Center. Read More

E.J. McMahon, research director for the Empire Center for Public Policy, said the scuttling of the Amazon headquarters "highlights New York's lack of competitiveness" as it jockeys with other states to lure jobs. Read More

You can now see how much everyone who worked for New York State's executive, legislative or judicial branches made in 2018. Non-profit, non-partisan think tank The Empire Center, based in Albany, compiled the complete 2018 New York state government payroll, which you can view here . Read More

One new aspect of the bill is a dispute resolution process for negotiating fees with providers. The process would involve, if necessary, the appointment of a three-member fact finding panel to advise the health commissioner. Such a process could hinder the state’s ability to control costs, which is critical to making the plan feasible, said Bill Hammond, director of health policy at the Empire Center in Albany. Read More

To restore the full deduction, E.J. McMahon, research director for the Empire Center for Public Policy, said congressional Democrats would have to line up behind tax hikes on very high earners, something that would be rejected by Republicans and the White House. Read More

E.J. McMahon, research director for the Empire Center for Public Policy, questioned the rationale for reducing the aid at a time when Cuomo wants to make the tax cap permanent. Read More

Such departures are a longstanding part of the state's history, according to a 2011 study by the Empire Center for New York State Policy, a conservative-leaning, Albany-based think tank. That report found that since 1960, New York had lost about 7.3 million residents to other states. That was partially offset by the arrival of 4.8 million immigrants, for a net decline of about 2.5 million residents. Read More

The Empire Center, an Albany think tank, released a report in May 2018 that took note of New York surpassing all other states with per-pupil elementary and secondary school spending of $22,366 per pupil as of 2016. The report noted that the Empire State spent 90 percent more than the U.S. average of $11,762, up from 86 percent above average in 2015. The education spending gap between New York and the national average has grown dramatically over the past 20 years, the Empire Center noted. Read More