Slowing population growth in the city and its suburbs last year caused a first-in-a-decade decline in New York’s overall population, census data released Thursday revealed. Read More
Category: Media Coverage
Gov. Cuomo says Democrats lost the presidential race last November because they ignored middle-class voters. His answer? Don’t ignore them — lie to them. Read More
If you’re not a millionaire, you might think Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s millionaire tax surcharge won’t hurt you. Think again. Read More
School custodian-engineers make an average of $140,000 a year, including OT, said Tim Hoefer, executive director of the Empire Center, a watchdog group that collects government payroll data. Read More
The New York state Public Service Commission does not want utility companies to list the cost of the Clean Energy Standard as its own line item on individual utility bills. Read More
Since the cap began, a number of bills have been introduced with the aim of easing or breaking the cap — but none have gained traction. This year, there are at least 17 such measures. "Most have come up before," said Tim Hoefer, executive director of the Empire Center. The fiscally conservative government watchdog group supports keeping the current cap as is, saying it has helped get a handle on New York's highest-in-the-nation property taxes and school costs. Read More
"The slush-fund mentality in Albany invites bad behavior and guarantees that taxpayers won't get the best value for their dollar,'' Girardin said. Read More
EJ McMahon with the fiscally conservative Empire Center, who also testified, said the real issue is that the STAR rebate checks are poorly conceived. “That’s a really bad example of tax policy,” said McMahon, who praised lawmakers for agreeing to an actual tax cut for middle-class income earners. Read More