"Number one, this money is not being used to fund public priorities. Number two, it's using borrowed money and forcing future taxpayers to pick up the tab for politicians to win political points today," said Ken Girardin, policy analyst at the right-leaning Empire Center for Public Policy. Read More
Given all the blather – particularly at re-election time – about government of the people, by the people and for the people, it shouldn’t be nearly this hard for "the people" to find out what’s being done in their name. Read More
If you own property in Schenectady, you have the highest total tax rate in the Capital Region, but if you live next door in Niskayuna, you'll have the region's highest tax bill. Read More
New York state and Gov. Andrew Cuomo continue to pick the pockets of hard-working taxpayers. Read More
Long Island voters will weigh in Tuesday on nearly $13 billion in proposed spending for the 2018-19 academic year that affects about 440,000 public school students, in an election season with a focus on security spurred by the February mass shooting in Parkland, Florida. Read More
Nearly half of the 669 school districts are proposing tax levy increases that go right up to the cap, according to an analysis by The Empire Center, a fiscally conservative think tank. A total of 309 districts are at the cap limit. The center claims this fact is evidence that school districts would have proposed higher levy increases without the cap. Read More
“New York’s school districts are receiving record-high levels of aid from Albany to educate fewer students, and our school taxes are still climbing,” said Tim Hoefer, executive director of the Empire Center. Read More
The Empire Center’s Ken Girardin notes that this borrowing forces “future taxpayers to pick up the tab for politicians to win political points today.” Read More