Research

The authors note that the problem of increased number of children in special-ed is largely a self-inflicted one. There is little evidence to support contentions that increased disability rates are to blame. Read More

Property taxes are unpopular with homeowners from coast to coast - and nowhere more so than in NewYork state, which is home to some of the highest property taxes in the nation. Relative to property values and incomes, the property tax burden might be heaviest of all in Central New York and other Upstate regions. Read More

When George E. Pataki first became governor in 1994, he made much of his humble origins on a farm in a small Hudson River community. And based on the vote totals, a large majority of New York City residents apparently dismissed him as a country bumpkin—or, at best, a suburban arriviste. Read More

Amid the hundreds of arcane laws enacted every year in Albany, how's a taxpayer to know which ones actually represent a huge favor to a powerful special interest group - with huge cost implications for the rest of us? Read More

The employer share of pension contributions in New York has risen by more than $3 billion in the last five years, straining taxpayers throughout the state. Yet state legislators this year have passed dozens of bills—and introduced literally hundreds of others—that would further expand the already generous retirement benefits of government workers. Read More

With the ashes of September 11 still smoldering, Michael Bloomberg won his first New York mayoral term largely because city voters assumed that he would stick with Rudolph Giuliani’s most successful policies. Read More

New York State and New York City were pushing the envelope on "public use" condemnations of private property to benefit other private owners even before the practice was ratified in a controversial U.S. Supreme Court decision last week. The Kelo ruling provides more than enough justification for a careful reconsideration of eminent domain and its uses by the UDC and other government agencies in New York. Will any of our elected officials take the hint? Stay tuned. Read More

Many state and local governments throughout the country - led by both Democrats and Republicans - have found that opening more public services to private competition can produce significant cost savings and quality improvements. Read More

The State Legislature appears close to passing a significant change in the law governing how the comptroller invests New York’s $120 billion Common Retirement Fund for state and local employees. But the bill has potentially far-reaching implications that deserve more careful consideration—and a public hearing. Read More

If there's one thing on which virtually everyone in Albany agrees, it's the need to expand the availability of health insurance to the roughly 3 million New York state residents who lack it. Read More

Listening to Michael Bloomberg present the fourth budget of his mayoralty yesterday was like listening to a man having an argument with himself. The former CEO in the mayor's office made a strong case for doing more - much more - to downsize the city's exceedingly vast array of costly public services. Read More

After tweaking a few of their house rules and adopting a state budget on time for the first time in 20 years, many New York State legislators would have you believe they've fixed all or most of what's broken in Albany. Read More