In double-barreled editorials, the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle argues the state Legislature should freeze state employee salaries--and repeal the Triborough Amendment. No member of the Legislature has introduced a bill to repeal Read More
Research
Assemblyman Sam Hoyt has given local residents a clear-eyed and realistic assessment of the fiscal crunch facing school districts throughout the region and the state Read More
Senator Chris Dodd's financial-regulatory includes some of what the press calls the "Volcker Rule" (p478): banning FDIC-insured banks and their affiliates or parent companies from what's known as "proprietary trading" or betting supposedly safe ban Read More
The state payroll for New York State shrunk by 1,856 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees during a two-year period ending in January 2010. However, despite a hiring freeze announced by Governor David Paterson in 2008, the state employs more workers t Read More
New York State government payrolls shrunk by 1,856 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees, or less than one percent, during a two-year period ending in January 2010, according to the latest data from the Office of the State Comptroller. However, the state still employed more workers than it did at the same point six years ago, in the wake of a less severe economic downturn and fiscal crisis. Read More
Far from being asked to sacrifice during the "Great Recession" that began in December 2007, the data indicate that state and local government workers thrived amid the economic misery afflicting most taxpayers. Read More
New York State entities continue to scrape the bottom of the barrel to scare up a few dollars. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) will issue $475 million in short-term notes this week. The MTA pledges to repay the debt as soon as it get Read More
Governor David Paterson began his tenure in the spring of 2008 on a promising note by embracing , almost exactly as proposed by the . But when the Senate actually passed his bill a few months later, he backed off and dropped the issue. Last year, Read More
The outlook for a timely and fiscally responsible New York State budget is as poor as it has ever been at this point in a fiscal year that ends March 31. [caption id="attachment_2489" align="alignright" width="178" caption="We like NY's proactiv Read More
The Town of Islip hit a major road block in its plan to reduce costs of its vehicle fleet: a state administrative law judge ruled 45 workers can keep town-owned vehicles to commute between work and their homes. The ruling--if upheld on appeal by t Read More
Like a drunk tempted to go on one more binge at a stressful moment, New York state may soon reach for the debt bottle in the face of mounting deficits. If it does, taxpayers will feel the hangover for a generation. Read More
During and after the 2001 recession, U.S. states did about $30 billion in deficit financing, S&P says. (That is, they borrowed long-term, restructured existing debt, or securitized stuff with the aim of getting cash immediately for operating spe Read More