New York’s Uneven Economic Recovery by E.J. McMahon | October 23, 2018 | Reports

Ten years ago this fall, the collapse of Lehman Brothers accelerated an economic meltdown that became the Great Recession. Before it was over, the nation's unemployment rate had reached 10 percent, nearly 9 million payroll jobs had been lost, housing...

Checklist for Change: 2018 Edition March 07, 2018 | Reports

Reforms that would reduce the state’s cost burdens and improve its climate for growth.

DiNapoli confirms: upstate sluggish by E.J. McMahon | August 26, 2016 | NY Torch

State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli has just issued a report confirming what employment statistics have been showing: upstate New York's economy has lagged behind the nation and downstate regions for years now.

Cuomo’s Southern Tier hype by E.J. McMahon | July 19, 2016 | NY Torch

For several years now, Governor Andrew Cuomo has been misusing employment statistics to back up claims that his policies have ignited an economic resurgence in upstate New York.

It happened yet again today, when the governor was in Binghamton to announce that Dick's Sporting Goods had decided to locate a 650,000 square foot distribution center in the Broome County Corporate Park.

NY economy stagnated at end of 2015 by E.J. McMahon | June 14, 2016 | NY Torch

Zero.

That was the seasonally adjusted annual rate of growth in New York State's economic output during the fourth quarter of 2015, according to preliminary Gross Domestic Product (GDP) data released today.

NY job growth slows down sharply by E.J. McMahon | March 07, 2016 | NY Torch

Statewide private sector employment in New York as of December was up just 1 percent over the same month a year earlier—less than half the national rate, and the lowest such growth rate in New York since the end of the recession in 2009, according to revised employment data released last week by the state Labor Department (DOL). The total year-to-year gain of just 76,500 private jobs was less than half the average recorded in each of the four previous Decembers since Governor Andrew Cuomo took office.

State-backed batteries out of juice by Ken Girardin | November 13, 2015 | NY Torch

One of New York State's highly touted high-tech "investments" just shorted out.

General Electric announced today it is pulling the plug on its Durathon battery project, which is manufactured by a Schenectady-based subsidiary, GEMx Technologies. The project, which for a time employed more than 350 people, was awarded $12.5 million in "JOBS Now" capital funding from the state Empire State Development Corp. in 2013.

Higher Pay, Fewer Jobs November 05, 2015 | Reports

Governor Andrew Cuomo wants New York to be become the first state in the nation to mandate a minimum wage of $15 an hour—more than double the federal minimum.

Cuomo’s wage proposal in context by E.J. McMahon | September 14, 2015 | NY Torch

How would a proposed $15-per-hour statewide minimum wage compare to current pay ranges and historical precedents in New York?

Going for broke on wages? by E.J. McMahon | September 10, 2015 | NY Torch

The $15-an-hour minimum wage proposed by Governor Andrew Cuomo has enormous potential implications for labor markets and employer costs in many New York business sectors, especially upstate.

How “North NY” would stack up by E.J. McMahon | August 31, 2015 | NY Torch

If the New York counties north of the New York City metro region were to split off and become a separate state, how would it rank nationally?

The question is prompted by news accounts of last weekend's Southern Tier rally by a coalition of groups whose members want upstate to secede from the rest of New York. Not all the advocates favor creation of a separate state, however. Some favor absorption into Pennsylvania, while others suggest avoiding the constitutional hurdles of full statehood by changing New York's own constitution to create two "autonomous regions" within the outline of a "token" remaining single state. In addition, their definitions of "upstate" seem to differ.

How NY stacks up on business taxes by E.J. McMahon | August 26, 2015 | NY Torch

New York's tax climate for key business sectors—with the notable exception of manufacturing—ranks at or near the bottom among 50 states, according to study by the Tax Foundation and the KPMG accounting firm.