Add the Bethlehem Central School District to the small, but growing, list of public entities taking action to bring spending in line with economic reality. Officials of the Albany area school district that they had implemented a voluntary sala Read More
Sen. Chuck Schumer says he could be all for Deutsche Borse buying the New York Stock Exchange ... so long as the New York Stock Exchange name comes first. "The New York Stock Exchange is one of the most trusted, preeminent brands in the financial world... Read More
The Post has a good editorial today on Mayor Bloomberg's plan to cut pension costs by taking away a "bonus" check from uniformed workers who have already retired: [W]hile the mayor has standing to ask for relief, the notion is fanciful... Read More
It's all well and good that Assembly and Senate leaders have agreed on a "roadmap" towards adopting a budget by April 1, including a March 15 deadline for passing one-house budget resolutions and forming conference committees, and a March 28... Read More
From the "Economic and Revenue Outlook" volume of the 2011-12 Executive Budget, here's the table showing the distribution of state personal income tax liability and adjusted gross income. Read More
Governor Cuomo pointed out at last week's budget presentation that New York school districts would find it easier to deal with a proposed cut in state school aid if they froze wages for teachers and administrators. But given the attitude of most te Read More
Public schools in New York could save $500 million a year, offsetting fully one-third of Governor Cuomo's proposed cut in K-12 state aid, if they adjusted their health insurance premium-sharing arrangements for teachers to match those for state government employees... Read More
Reducing pension benefits for New York’s next generation of municipal workers, as Mayor Bloomberg proposed last week, would gradually move pension costs to a lower plateau in the coming decades. And despite the union caterwauling that greeted Mr. Bloomberg’s plan, city employees would continue to receive pensions far more generous than those available to private-sector workers. Read More
We pointed out last week that the Judiciary has been failing to do its part to help the state reduce expenses during a severe fiscal crisis. Today, the New York Post reports the state Office of Court Administration is spending $23 million to renovate... Read More
Gov. Cuomo is framing his state budget proposal as an effort to end Albany’s ingrained habit of unsustainable and unaffordable spending. Read More
The Judiciary isn't playing ball with Gov. Cuomo's efforts to reduce the state budget, as I point out in the New York Post today. A person who has reviewed the budget proposal by the Office for Court Administration (OCA) emails this follow-up... Read More
In the publishing business, the annotation "TK" is used in manuscripts to indicate some important piece of information is "to come." Gov. Andrew Cuomo's 2011-12 Executive Budget is a book draft with an impressive cover and a promising theme... Read More