City workers who qualify for pensions are also eligible for lifetime health insurance coverage — a retirement benefit that has almost disappeared in the private sector. The estimated value of retiree health benefits promised to current and future city government pensioners is now roughly $90 billion, tipping the city’s overall financial balance sheet well into the red. Read More
The corruption case against Speaker Sheldon Silver has prompted more calls for reform of the Legislature. Read More
Gov. Cuomo’s combined State of the State message and Executive Budget rollout this week showcased the governor at his best — and worst. Read More
At a time when New York is desperate to promote private-sector growth, one state agency seems bent on shutting down a thriving local business—which isn't accused of breaking a single New York state law. Read More
Cuomo’s record can’t be reduced to tax, spend, and tax some more. In fact, even as he was gaining national acclaim among Democrats for his attacks on the fiscal policies of President Ronald Reagan, Cuomo also approved personal income tax cuts that were downright Reaganesque. Read More
Who should ultimately control police discipline in New York: elected officials through their appointed police commissioners, or unelected labor arbitrators chosen in part by labor unions? The question has plainly picked up added resonance in recent days. Gov. Cuomo will soon have a chance to answer it. Read More
Four years ago, as Andrew Cuomo prepared to begin his first term as governor, the biggest problem facing New York state was how to close a $10 billion budget gap. This year, gearing up for his second term, Cuomo faces quite a different challenge: what to do with roughly $5 billion in extra cash. Read More
If wishes were horses, the recent Albany news conference by the New York State Educational Conference Board could be restaged as the Charge of the Light Brigade -- a doomed assault against budgetary reality. Read More