Amid the smoke and confusion surrounding this week’s on-again, off-again budget dance in Albany, Gov. Cuomo made a point well worth repeating. Noting big federal-policy changes afoot in Washington, Cuomo said Wednesday evening that his top priority was “to make sure we do not overcommit ourselves financially.” That’s an eminently responsible position. Too bad the governor hasn’t followed his own advice. Read More
Lawmakers should allow the state's surcharge on high incomes to expire because of its volatility as a revenue source and its impact on the state's competitiveness, E.J. McMahon, the Empire Center's research director, testified. Read More
The Empire Center’s unique online “Explore Your State Budget” app has been updated to reflect data in Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s proposed Executive Budget for the 2018 fiscal year, which begins April 1. Read More
Halfway through his second term as New York’s chief executive, Gov. Cuomo could be approaching a fiscal turning point. Read More
New York may face its first major budget gaps since 2011 as tax revenues are estimated to be less than initially anticipated, state budget records this week showed. The looming budget gaps could be up to $2 billion in the next two years, which might influence state aid for schools and spending on programs proposed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo. "This is going to be acid test of his commitment to fiscal restraint," said E.J. McMahon, president of the Empire Center, a fiscally conservative think tank. Read More
Moving to a $15 minimum wage will cost New York’s Medicaid system more than double what was previously forecast, state budget officials revealed this week Read More
The looming repeal of the Affordable Care Act – which suddenly became much more likely with the election of Donald Trump – could open an enormous hole in New York’s state budget. Read More
Albany’s practice of doling out millions in “bullet aid” to certain school districts at the behest of favored legislators has become a familiar ritual of pork-barrel politics. But a little-noticed provision of this year’s budget directs $30 million to a single nursing home in the Bronx, which is unusual even by the standards of New York State government. Read More