Opponents of a higher minimum wage, like the Empire Center for Public Policy, have argued that a gradual minimum wage increase would increase employer overhead and cost the state up to 200,000 jobs — and at least 11,000 in the Capital Region alone. Read More
E.J. McMahon, research director of the conservative Empire Center think tank, also said that while the population of young people increased, it’s unclear how many of those people came back to Buffalo. Some of the gains could be because people stayed, or they could be from refugee resettlement programs, McMahon said. Read More
DiPietro's proposal is one of several just this year to broach the subject. While the conversation seems to come in cycles, E.J. McMahon from the Empire Center for Public Policy believes it's picked up because Upstate lawmakers are frustrated by policy and diminishing influence. "Upstate's representation in the Legislature is primarily comprised of powerless Republicans. Upstate has virtually no representation among the statewide elected officials, again except for the lieutenant governor who is somebody picked by the governor," McMahon said. Read More
An analysis of hospital ratings statewide by the Albany-based Empire Center found that 48 of the 151 hospitals graded in New York received a one-star rating, up from 33 in 2017. The state's hospitals received an average of 2.18 stars out of five, down from 2.32 as of 2017. Read More
E.J. McMahon, research director of the conservative think tank Empire Center for Public Policy, told CBS New York and The Associated Press that, if the state splits, the upstate region would feel the economic effects. "Upstate would need to do a really significant reset of the way government is funded and what it spends, and upstate politicians have not exactly been clamoring for the reforms that it would take to make that happen," he said. Read More
It’s a tale of two states — upstate and downstate. Upstate New York’s economy has added just 6.3 percent more jobs since 2010, among the worst performances in the nation, according to a study released Tuesday. Read More
The upstate economy continues to stagnate, with consequent financial and social problems. The downstate economy continues to boom, with different problems and its own warning signs. No surprise. This latest evidence of New York's economic reality comes from the Empire Center and its estimable grey eminence E.J. McMahon. It's a well-crafted analysis and consistent with dozens of other such reports. Read More
To those who don’t get north of the city’s suburbs, Cuomo’s talk of an “even” economic recovery across the state may sound fine. But a new report from the Empire Center’s E.J. McMahon highlights the ugly facts. Read More