From my presentation at yesterday’s Manhattan Institute “Market Meltdown” conference, a chart depicting the 10-year trend in public pension fund contributions by New York State and City taxpayers:

pensions-chart1-4748738

Pension contributions over the past eight years have grown almost tenfold — from $991 million in 2000 to $9.6 billion in fiscal 2008.  And this reflects market conditions before the meltdown.

About the Author

E.J. McMahon

Edmund J. McMahon is Empire Center's founder and a senior fellow.

Read more by E.J. McMahon

You may also like

Hospital Lobby’s TV Campaign Spreads Misinformation About Medicaid

As New York's health-care industry agitates for more money from the state budget, two of its most influential lobbying groups are airing TV ads that make alarmist and inaccurate claims about Medicaid. Read More

Hochul’s ‘Pay and Resolve’ Push for Hospitals Triggers Déjà Vu

Two years ago last week, I wrote in the Daily News about how then-Governor Andrew Cuomo was pushing a costly change to insurance law on behalf of a hospital group that had supported his campaign through a fund-rai Read More

The Looming Collapse of a Long-Term Care Insurer Raises Questions for DFS

As the Hochul administration presses for the creation of a "guaranty fund" to bail out failed health insurers, the state is quietly moving to seize a small company that could be the fund's first target. Read More

New York’s pricey hospitals draw pushback from labor

A City Council hearing in Manhattan on Thursday promises a rare scene in New York politics: hospitals playing defense. The council is debating whether to establish a watchdog agency focused on the high price of hospital care in New York, with a goal of helping the city and other employers contain the rapidly rising cost of health benefits for workers. Read More

Hochul puts Medicaid spending on a steeper slope

Governor Hochul is releasing the brakes on Medicaid, allowing state spending on the safety-net health plan to increase more than twice as fast as it typically did during the Cuomo administration. Read More

Hochul’s agenda mostly sidesteps health care

Governor Hochul gave health care surprisingly little attention in her State of the State speech on Tuesday – a sign that taking on dysfunction in one-sixth of the state's economy ranks low on her list of priorities. Read More

Federal omnibus deal has big implications for New York Medicaid

The big spending bill heading for a vote in Washington this week would scramble the outlook for Medicaid in next year's state budget, mostly for the better. The $1.7 trillion federa Read More

On College Readiness, Comptroller Asks Wrong Question, Delivers Flawed Answer 

Graduation rates are rising while standards for graduation are falling. It begs the question: What number of graduating students are college ready? Read More

Empire Center Logo Enjoying our work? Sign up for email alerts on our latest news and research.
Together, we can make New York a better place to live and work!