New York's Legislature has been called the most dysfunctional in America -- yet it also is among the most expensive to run. As summarized in this by the Empire Center's director, E.J. McMahon: * The legislature's budget of nearly $1 million per mem Read More
As expected, the state Senate voted today to place on November's statewide ballot a constitutional amendment that would greatly expand the Legislature's budgeting power at the Governor's expense. If enacted, it would represent the most sweepi 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
New York State officials need to do more to encourage private firms to compete with entrenched public-sector monopolies. Some ideas on how to accomplish this are presented in this month's Syracuse Post Standard by E.J. McMahon, director Read More
The deal, Hevesi said in , "saves $1.3 billion in the short term by not paying any principal for five years while increasing costs by $1.77 billion in the remaining 15 years." This, he asserted, represents "another case of the State using a Read More
Amid the hundreds of arcane laws enacted every year in Albany, how's a taxpayer to know which ones actually represent a huge favor to a powerful special interest group - with huge cost implications for the rest of us? Read More
Albany's penchant for pandering to public employee unions isn't limited to . The Legislature is also going out of its way to lock in generous health benefits for retired government workers.As E.J. McMahon of the Empire Center points o Read More
Property taxes are unpopular with homeowners from coast to coast - and nowhere more so than in NewYork state, which is home to some of the highest property taxes in the nation. Relative to property values and incomes, the property tax burden might be heaviest of all in Central New York and other Upstate regions. Read More