Six-figure pensions paid to retired city education professionals has more than quadrupled since 2008, according to recent data from Empire Center’s SeeThroughNY, a fiscally conservative think tank. Read More
Category: Media Coverage
The Albany think tank, the Empire Center, released a report in May of last year that took note of New York surpassing all states with per-pupil elementary and secondary school spending of $22,366 per pupil as of 2016, according to the most recent U.S. Census data available at that time. The report noted that 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 the Empire State and the national average has grown dramatically over the past 20 years, the Empire Center noted. What do you mean there’s a revenue problem? Read More
“If it’s truly a high priority with the governor, it will happen,” E.J. McMahon, research director at the Empire Center said in an email. “The governor,” he added, “has all the leverage he needs to lock this down as his legacy. Read More
"The economic recovery has been far from 'even' across New York," said E.J McMahon, from the conservative-leaning, Albany-based Empire Center, in a recent employment analysis. "In fact, the last eight years have seen a sharp and growing economic divide between upstate and downstate." Read More
The letter pointed to a report from the Empire Center for Public Policy, a fiscally conservative think tank, which compared the prevailing wage to the regional medians of occupational wages for all non-residential building construction workers, including those paid union scale. It found the prevailing wage increased construction labor costs by 20 percent in the Buffalo region. Read More
“It’s a stay-the-course budget for the governor, for better and for worse,” said E.J. McMahon of the fiscally conservative Empire Center think tank in Albany. “For the better, he’s restraining spending and promising to put the property-tax cap in the budget. That shows he means business. For the worse, the news of the budget is the weakness of revenues.” Read More
Unfortunately, the Empire Center identified what it called a “yellow flag” with personal income tax receipts late in the year and it is expected that receipts might fall as much as $500 million over mid-year projections because of the volatility in the stock market. If that trend continues, New York could see its revenues falling short this year. The state might want to tighten its fiscal belt. Read More