Tag: Budgets

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has spent most of the past two weeks pointing fingers: first at President Trump, whose tax law he blames for a sudden decline in New York’s revenues, and then at state Senate Democrats, whom he holds responsible for the Amazon fiasco. But the blame game will carry Cuomo only so far. In New York state’s executive budget system, the bucks stop with the governor. And, politically, this year’s budget process will be his most challenging yet, testing both his ability to manage legislative relations and his commitment to financial restraint. Read More

The Governor announced that the state has to deal with a 2.3-billion-dollar revenue shortfall which he blamed on the federal tax overhaul passed late in 2017. EJ McMahon, Founder and Research Director of the Empire Center for Public Policy, shared his analysis of the situation. Read More

Health care was the dog that did not bark at Governor Cuomo's combined State of State and budget address on Tuesday. Instead of announcing a major plan to expand coverage, he called for appointing a commission to study "options for achieving universal access" and report back by December – a clear sign that he has no stomach for tackling the issue in this session. Read More

The stock market's slump—and the economic uncertainty it reflects—should raise a yellow caution flag over New York State's budget outlook. Read More

New York State's budget outlook for fiscal 2020 is improving, according to the Mid-Year Financial Plan update issued today by Governor Cuomo's Division of the Budget (DOB) The Mid-Year Update—released 10 days past the Oct. 30 deadline, keeping alive the Governor's perfect record of annual tardiness—pegs the budget gap at $3.070 billion for the fiscal year that starts next April 1.  That's down from $4.027 billion as of the end of the first fiscal quarter. Read More

How big are the fiscal challenges faced by New York State in second half of its 2019 fiscal year? Are tax receipts and spending living up with projections? What's the outlook for the next few years? We don't know—because, for an eighth consecutive year, Governor Andrew Cuomo has missed the statutory deadline for producing a Mid-Year Financial Plan Update. Read More

“It’s beyond any increase we’ve ever seen,” said E. J. McMahon, the founder of the Empire Center for Public Policy, an Albany think tank that has been critical of state spending and tax policies. “When you put them all together, you’re taking an elevator to the International Space Station.” Read More

As a 19th-century Manhattan politician once observed, “no man’s life, liberty or property are safe while the Legislature is in session.” Some things never change. On balance, New Yorkers would probably be better off if this year’s legislative session ended ahead of its scheduled June 21 adjournment. Read More