Even as the economic outlook brightens, New York City's long-term budget picture is deteriorating. And, aside from pointing fingers at Albany, Mayor Bloomberg seems to have few new ideas for dealing with the problem. Read More
Tag: Economy
Welfare reform was one of the big successes of the Giuliani years. Unfortunately, the city's welfare rolls are no longer steadily falling. What's more, other forms of public assistance have been steadily rising. Read More
Perception has a way of trumping reality in politics. Just ask former president George H.W. Bush, who was denied re-election in November 1992 largely because he was perceived as doing too little to end a relatively mild national recession that actually had been over for a year-and-a-half. Read More
The first three years of the 21st century were rough sledding for New York State's economy, which lost 270,000 private sector jobs between 2000 through 2003. But the government sector -- and the most heavily tax-subsidized private employers Read More
Approaching what could turn out to be yet another stalemate with the Legislature, Governor Pataki says the last four years have been "the worst ... since the Great Depression" for New York State's finances. Read More
A major manufacturer is creating 150 new jobs and investing $120 million in its Buffalo facility. The Governor points out that these are "good paying jobs with health care benefits." Unfortunately, the plant in question -- owned by Toyota, as it Read More
Conditions for New York manufacturers are deteriorating, according to the latest monthly , released today by the Buffalo branch of the Federal Reserve Bank. Of most concern, the May survey reports a sharp drop in the general business condi Read More
Many state and local governments throughout the country - led by both Democrats and Republicans - have found that opening more public services to private competition can produce significant cost savings and quality improvements. Read More