The fact that markets are flat after la crise JPMorgan Chase came to light -- and that JPM stock is down only 7.3 percent as of this writing -- shouldn't be a comfort to anyone. Read More
Research
Proponents of an increase in New York's minimum wage argue that no full-time worker — especially a head of household raising children — should have to live on $7.25 an hour, or $15,000 a year. Read More
The pitfalls of a government-run health insurance system were best summed up by political satiristP.J. O'Rourke: "If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you see what it costs when it's free." Read More
Later this month, the U.S. Census Bureau will release its rundown of K-12 public education expenditures for the school year that ended in 2010. Read More
Former NYC traffic commissioner, ex-cabbie, and all-around legend "Gridlock Sam" Sam Schwartz had an intriguing piece in today's Daily News on "how to fix New York City traffic." Read More
Mike Spano was elected mayor of Yonkers last fall with the strong support of municipal labor unions. Now the state's third largest city is on the brink of fiscal disaster -- and Spano must persuade his labor friends to make significant contract concessions. Read More
Nicole Gelinas — Manhattan Institute senior fellow, City Journal contributing editor and frequent blogger here — wrote a tough column in the New York Post yesterday, criticizing Governor Cuomo’s nomination of former Governor David Paterson for appointment to an open seat on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) board. The choice, Nicole said, was tantamount to “business-as-usual New York" ... Read More
SNL Financial has out analyzing Wall Street firms' latest results, which trickled in last week. One verdict to take away (although the analysts do not directly draw this conclusion): Wall Street could be smaller and more volatile. That's not Read More
Wendy Long, a lawyer who is trying to oust fellow lawyer Kirsten Gillibrand from the Senate, has with a compelling headline: "Financial Regulation is Hurting New York." True enough. But the 70 percent of the details that Long gets wrong eclipse Read More
This week, school districts across New York State have been firming up their 2012-13 budget proposals -- the first to be affected by the state's new property tax cap. Read More
While New York State’s new property tax cap has a starting point of 2 percent (or the prior year’s average inflation rate, whichever is less), it will vary from school district to school district based on a series of exclusions for capital expenditures, increases in pension costs, and physical additions to the district tax base... Read More
Low-income working families in New York State receive a significant annual wage supplement through the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), which is available to eligible filers of federal, state and New York City income tax returns. Read More