The soaring cost of New York State's public pension systems can be permanently controlled by shifting to the sort of employer-subsidized individual retirement plans now popular in the private sector, according to an updated study of the state's pension structure by the Empire Center for Public Policy. Read More
New York is among the nation’s lowest ranking states when it comes to economic freedom, according to a report that focuses on the United States and 10 Canadian provinces. Read More
One of the chief architects of the landmark federal welfare reform law of 1996 will be among the speakers at an upcoming Empire Center policy forum exploring the law's impact nationally and in New York. Read More
Medicaid spending on the elderly rose five times faster in New York than in other states during the most recent five-year period for which data are available, according to a report issued by the Empire Center. Read More
Gov. Spitzer's proposed budget "sends the wrong signal to firms that might otherwise consider investing or expanding in our state" by raising taxes on some large corporations, E.J. McMahon of the Empire Center for Public Policy said in testimony before the Legislature's joint fiscal committees. Read More
Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s historic education-reform plan aims to hold New York’s schools more accountable than ever before. But is the state’s educational-accountability system equipped to meet this challenge? Read More
New York’s new $121 billion budget spends at a rate of more than $331 million per day, according to an analysis released today by the Empire Center for Public Policy. Read More
The only proven route to long-term and lasting property-tax relief in New York is property-tax limitation - such as capping the annual growth in school-tax levies, Empire Center for Public Policy Director E.J. McMahon said in testimony today before state Assembly lawmakers. Read More