Tag: Taxes and Spending

In a half-century of public life, Richard Ravitch has been lieutenant governor of New York, head of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, a mayoral candidate, an adviser to many politicians and an instructor of many journalists in the wonkier aspects of governance. As a kind of fiscal first responder, he is one of those guys called in when an agency (or a bank, or, in one case, Major League Baseball) faces crisis. But lately he is best known as a prophet of gloom. When Ravitch, who is 80, is invited to lecture or debate or op-edify, his hosts expect tales of fiscal imprudence heading toward a grim comeuppance; they are not disappointed. And he has a tendency to be right. Read More

The task of jump starting New York's struggling economies is going to require a lot of work from lawmakers in Albany; but, is needed to help local governments keep up with rising costs. Last week, officials got a sobering reminder of what's at stake when Detroit declared bankruptcy, because several upstate cities face the same issues as the Motor City. Capital Tonight's Nick Reisman tells us more. Read More

Per-pupil funding and expenditures in New York schools grew steadily during the 2000s, with local revenues accounting for the largest proportion of most districts’ aid, according to a report this week from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The report shows that certain areas of the state have consistently higher per-pupil funding and spending. But western New York districts typically received and spent less than districts in other parts of the state, according to the report. Victor schools in Ontario County fell into the lowest categories, receiving and spending less than $15,000 per student. Read More

When Nassau Democratic lawmakers agreed with Republicans last month to borrow $40 million to pay long-overdue tax refunds, both sides declared a victory for bipartisanship. Though it drew little public attention, the county legislature's unanimous vote also included borrowing another $6 million for undefined capital projects and approval of specific improvements in Democratic districts. Read More

There is no shortage of proposed solutions to the fiscal crises New York municipalities are grappling with. But one of the simplest strategies—developing multiyear financial plans and posting them for all to see—has yet to catch on. Read More

A billion dollars is big money in anyone’s book. Especially when those dollars come from you, the taxpayer. That’s how much money the US Railroad Retirement Board says might have been scammed by Long Island Rail Road retirees falsely claiming disability benefits. Read More

Call him Gov. No-Can-Do. Instead of fixing a problem he admits is throttling the state’s economy — i.e., high taxes — Andrew Cuomo makes excuses. The governor says he wants to take New York’s reputation as “a high-tax state and just explode it, once and for all.” Amen to that. But then he whines that Albany’s too broke to cut rates. Read More

Amid the generally sunny reviews surrounding this year's session of the New York state Legislature, there was little for taxpayers to applaud--and plenty to be concerned about for the future. Read More