A proposal to mandate the use of biodiesel in home heating oil in New York would raise consumer costs while reducing overall energy efficiency and consuming more fossil fuels. Read More
Reports
Since the enactment of the property tax cap, New York school property taxes have risen at the slowest rate since at least 1982. Read More
Per-pupil spending in the 669 school districts outside New York’s five largest cities will climb next year by 2.5 percent, nearly twice the projected inflation rate, according to an analysis released today by the Empire Center for Public Policy. The analysis indicates that school districts' per-pupil property tax levies will increase by 2.1 percent in 2015-16. Read More
After a small gain during the previous decade, upstate New York’s population dropped slightly between 2010 and 2014, according to Census Bureau data. Read More
The full extent of the continuing rise in school spending since the recession was not inevitable or unavoidable. Read More
As the national economy improved between mid-2013 and 2014, the movement of New Yorkers to other states surged back to pre-recession levels. Read More
New York’s state legislators would like a raise, but a review of state payroll data shows that more than three-quarters of them already earn more than their frequently cited $79,500 statutory base salary. Read More
New York State residents pay some of the highest local taxes in the nation. To help New Yorkers compare some of the basic fiscal measures for local governments, the Empire Center for Public Policy has calculated effective property tax rates and per-capita values for the spending, debt and tax levels of counties, cities, town and villages throughout the state, excluding only New York City. Read More
Retired New York state and local government employees under the age of 65 cannot collect full public pension benefits if they earn more than $30,000 by returning to work for a state or local agency – but the earnings limit for younger retirees collecting both pensions and pay from government can be waived “temporarily” in certain circumstances. Read More
Eighty-five percent of the websites for New York’s 500 largest counties, municipalities and school districts failed to earn a passing grade in the Empire Center’s first annual SeeThroughNY Website Report Card Read More
The Empire State recently has fallen behind the national average when it comes to adding new income millionaires. Read More
Massive but partially hidden funding shortfalls are a feature, not a bug, of New York City's public pension system and its counterparts across the country. Read More