There’s an obvious place to start in New York: Freeze state and local government employee pay. The combined estimated savings for every level of government could at least be a down payment on the massive reductions that will be necessary in the year ahead — and probably for years to come. Read More
#NYCorona: If recent history is any guide, the strings attached to federal coronavirus funding should be less of a problem for New York than Cuomo seems to think. Almost identical restrictions were placed on extra Medicaid money sent to states during the Great Recession, and they did not prevent then-Governor Paterson from enacting cuts to Medicaid. Read More
#NYCoronavirus : New York has emerged as the nation's coronavirus hot spot, with more diagnosed cases per million than any other state. It has 294 cases per million residents, about seven times the national level, according to an analysis of data gathered by Johns Hopkins University. Read More
#NYCoronavirus: In the emerging nationwide economic and financial crisis, New York is going to run out of cash more rapidly than most states—and Governor Cuomo can't say he wasn't warned of Albany's extreme vulnerability on this front Read More
#NYCoronavirus: The obvious place to start cutting state and local budgets will also help minimize disruption to public services in the wake of the coronavirus crisis. Read More
#NYCoronavirus: Tightening eligibility for Medicaid home care and implementing a further across-the board rate reduction are among 41 cost-cutting measures being contemplated by Governor Cuomo's Medicaid Redesign Team, according to a draft executive summary obtained by the Empire Center. Read More
#NYCoronavirus: Amid the legislative confusion generated by the coronavirus crisis in New York, the biggest budget question in Albany surrounds the biggest single item in the State Operating Funds (SOF) budget: school aid. Read More
#NYCoronavirus: Thanks to the coronavirus emergency, New York State tax revenues in the coming fiscal year will be $4 billion to $7 billion lower than projected, state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli estimates. Read More