Governor Paterson and state legislative leaders announced today that they've agreed to use most of New York's unfettered federal stimulus money to restore spending to the governor's budget and to avoid any further spending cuts. The result will be Read More
The Times offers that a couple hundred million dollars (at least) of for the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority through new bridge tolls and a payroll tax wouldn't actually be new revenue going to the MTA. It would be a ste Read More
E.J. testified before Albany's Joint Legislative Fiscal Committees today. One tidbit illustrates the Empire State's acute dependence on Wall Street: Just how dependent on Wall Street had we become? Consider this: in 2006, auto manufact Read More
In a passage reflecting House Democratic spin on the supposed economic benefits of the stimulus package, today's Washington Post that the bill includes aid "that many economists agree will enter the economic bloodstream quickly and trim further layo Read More
NYU prof Thomas Philippon and U-VA Prof Ariell Reshef have written a tracing the trajectory of wages in the American financial sector over the last century. Not surprisingly, financial-industry wages broke away from the rest of the economy starting i Read More
Today's New York Times "a growing sense" in Albany that the Democrats who now control state government will seek to raise state income taxes on "the wealthiest New Yorkers" to help close a $15 billion budget gap. The Times articl Read More
Data point #1. Metropolitan Transportation Authority executive director Elliot Sander and the authority's board members attracted more than 600 people to their marathon six-and-a-half-hour fare-hike and service-cut hearing in Manh Read More
Over at NY Public Payroll Watch, E.J. McMahon Gov. Paterson and others for allowing the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority to abdicate one of its main responsibilities -- negotiating a better contract with the New York City local Tr Read More