Proposed Financing for the Hudson Yards Project East of 11th Avenue
December 15, 2004. Testimony before the NYC Council Committee on Finance. Testimony >>
Low-wage New York workers deserve a raise
November 29, 2004. A letter to the editor by FPI's senior economist, Trudi Renwick, Albany Times Union. Your Nov. 12 editorial about the rise of poverty among working families in New York correctly pointed out that one solution to this problem would be an increase in the state's minimum wage. In July, both the Senate and Assembly passed a bill to increase the state's minimum wage. The bill, which would have established a state minimum wage of $6 per hour on Jan. 1, $6.75 per [...]
Social Security Keeps More than 800,000 Elderly New Yorkers Out of Poverty
November 18, 2004. Pooling the three most recent years of data from the Census Bureau's Current Population Survey, this issue of Fiscal Policy Note$estimates poverty rates with and without Social Security benefits for the elderly in New York.
New York State Minimum Wage Increase: Myth vs Reality
November 18, 2004. The newest issue of Fiscal Policy Note$ debunks four myths about increases in the minimum wage.
New York Workers Who Would Benefit from an Increase in the NYS Minimum Wage to $7.15 per Hour
November 18, 2004. New analysis from FPI: county by county estimates.
Calculating the Cost of a Sound Basic Education
November 17, 2004. A supplemental affidavit submitted by FPI to the three court-appointed referees in the landmark school funding adequacy case (Campaign for Fiscal Equity vs. New York State). This supplemental affidavit and an earlier October 26, 2004 affidavit were prepared in response to questions from the referees regarding regional cost indices, the state government's "cost effectiveness" filter and weightings for poverty and other special needs. In these affidavits, Mauro responds to questions from the referees regarding regional cost indices, the "cost effectiveness" filter and [...]
Women’s Economic Security in New York
November 12, 2004. Presentation prepared for the Policy Summit for Women Elected to New York State's County and City Governments, sponsored by the Susan B. Anthony Center for Women's Leadership at the University of Rochester. Also see: Fact Sheet on NY Women's Economic Security.
New York Women Who Would Benefit from An Increase in the NYS Minimum Wage to $7.15 per Hour
November 12, 2004. More than 700,000 across the state. By County >>
Early Investment in Kids = Huge Payoff to Taxpayers
October 19, 2004. New York press release: A new study being released today by the Economic Policy Institute finds that increased federal and state investments in comprehensive high quality early childhood development programs would more than pay for themselves – generating more than $2 in returns to taxpayers for every $1 invested. The overall economic benefits would be even greater – more than $8 in benefits to society for each $1 invested. The report, Exceptional Returns: Economic, Fiscal, and Social Benefits of Investment in Early [...]
No Funding, No Fairness: The State of Our Schools in 2004
October 4, 2004. This new report by the Public Policy and Education Fund (PPEF) shows that little if any progress was made in 2004 and 2005 with respect toward one of the most critical issues facing New York's educational system: the failure to adequately tie state school aid funding levels to student needs and district funding capacity. The report debunks several of the myths surrounding the educational funding reform movement. In contrast to what some may say - that only a small number of districts [...]
FPI Comments: Proposed Regulations, Medicare Prescription Drug Program
October 4, 2004. Comments on the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit, submitted by Trudi Renwick, Senior Economist, Fiscal Policy Institute.
Testimony before the Board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority
September 29, 2004. David Dyssegaard Kallick and Lava Thimmayya spoke at a meeting of the board of the MTA. David Dyssegaard Kallick Senior Fellow, Fiscal Policy Institute and Coordinator, Labor Community Advocacy Network to Rebuild New York (LCAN) Thank you for the opportunity to testify today. My name is David Dyssegaard Kallick, and I am senior fellow of the Fiscal Policy Institute. I am also coordinator of the Labor Community Advocacy Network to Rebuild New York (LCAN), a coalition that came together after September 11th [...]
Organizations Join Together to Tell Governor that his Vetoes Will Hurt
September 22, 2004. Diverse organizations urge the Legislature to override the vetoes and restore the budget they have already passed. Group press release Preliminary Analysis of 2004-2005 Budget, After Vetoes List of speakers TANF "SURPLUS" SFY 2004-05 Housing and Veterans Disability Advocacy Program Libraries Youth Programs Child Health Plus
Large, Profitable Corporations Not Paying Their Fair Share
September 22, 2004. Eighty-two of America's largest and most profitable corporations, including twelve New York-based corporations and many other corporations that generate a substantial portion of their profits in New York state, paid no federal income tax at all in at least one year during the first three years of the George W. Bush administration, a period when federal corporate tax collections feel to their lowest sustained level in six decades. This is one of many startling findings of a new report on corporate tax [...]
State of Working New York 2004: Recovery Yet to Arrive for Many New York Workers and Their Families
September 6, 2004. The U.S. job market overall is still too weak to broadly distribute the benefits of the growing economy. The slack labor market has led to a situation in which wages have started to fall behind inflation. Press release with New York figures below or link to press release with tables and graphs. FPI's State of Working New York series, published biennially since 1999, provides comprehensive and up-to-date analysis of the data available on the conditions facing workers and working families in New [...]