Meeting of the New York State Commission on Property Tax Relief – Syracuse
April 10, 2008. FPI executive director Frank Mauro spoke at the meeting of the New York State Commission on Property Tax Relief. Transcript (starting on page 7).
Pulling Apart: Gap Between New York’s Wealthy and Poor Is Still the Widest in the Nation
April 9, 2008. New York has the dubious distinction of having the widest income gap between the rich and the poor of all 50 states, according to this report released by FPI in conjunction with a national study of income trends in the 50 states by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and the Economic Policy Institute. The report also shows that inequality in New York City is even more extreme than in the state as a whole. Also see Pulling Apart: A State-by-State Analysis [...]
Is America becoming a lottery society?
April 1, 2008. An op-ed by FPI senior fellow David Dyssegaard Kallick, New York Metro. Is America Becoming a Lottery Society? David Dyssegaard Kallick Over the past few weeks Oregon, for the first time, started holding a series of highly unusual lotteries. Winners will get access to affordable health insurance. Losers won’t. It’s hard to know whether to laugh or cry at this plan. The premise is that there’s not enough to go around, so someone has to be left out. What do you want [...]
Honoring Dr. King’s Commitment to Unions
March 31, 2008. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated forty years ago while in Memphis supporting the unionization of African American sanitation workers. To commemorate Dr. King's commitment to unionization, FPI and the Center for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) are releasing new data about unionization among blacks in the nation and in New York State. Press release and data tables (unionization rates and union membership by race, 50 states). Also see CEPR's Unions and Upward Mobility for African-American Workers.
State Budget Experts Present Ideas on the State Budget
March 27, 2008. What does the millionaires' tax have to do with the Syracuse economy? That was just one topic of discussion at the Southeast Community Center on Thursday evening when advocates from local nonprofit organizations, labor leaders and community members gathered to study the state budget. Press release >>
Over 100 Organizations Call for the Millionaires’ Tax
March 26, 2008. More than 100 organizations came together as the Better Choice Budget Campaign (of which FPI is a member) to urge leaders to listen to the public and support the millionaires' tax. Additional materials from the press conference: op ed on better choices by Ron Deutsch; Siena poll showing overwhelming public support for millionaires' tax (question 23); and fact sheet from New Yorkers for Fiscal Fairness laying out short and long term solutions to burgeoning property taxes. Also, the new Tough Times radio [...]
Ten Reasons We Don’t Have the Economy We Thought We Had
March 19, 2008. An article by James Parrott, FPI's deputy director and chief economist, who writes regularly for Gotham Gazette's Economy section. Article >>
State must work to fix property tax problem
March 14, 2008. A letter to the editor of The Saratogian by FPI senior economist Trudi Renwick.
New York’s unemployment insurance system: A vital safety net for New York workers and their families during economic downturns
March 12, 2008. The unemployment insurance system serves as government’s first responder to economic problems. This brief shows that New York could get more economic charge from the program. In a volatile economy with frequent layoffs and job changes, a strengthened unemployment insurance program will help boost the economy of every county in the state.
Film Study Misinterpreted
March 9, 2008. A letter to the editor by FPI deputy director and chief economist James A. Parrott, The Hartford Courant.
The Role of Property Taxes in New York’s State-Local Tax System
March 6, 2008. This presentation was given by Frank Mauro, executive director of FPI, at Changing the Property Tax System in New York, a conference sponsored by TREND, the Tax Reform Effort of Northern Dutchess. Other speakers included Robert McKeon of TREND and John Whiteley, Tri-County Committee for Property Tax Relief. Presentations: Mauro, McKeon, Whiteley.
What’s wrong with the CGR critique of prevailing wage requirements
February 29, 2008. In a letter to the editor of the Long Island Business News, FPI deputy director and chief economist James A. Parrott explains what's wrong with the recent report on prevailing wage requirements by the Rochester-based Center for Governmental Research.
Presentation by James Parrott before the New York State Economic and Revenue Consensus Forecasting Conference
February 27, 2008. Presentation by FPI Deputy Director and Chief Economist James Parrott. Parrott was one of five economists invited to speak at the conference, which gave Budget Director Laura Anglin and leaders of the Senate and Assembly fiscal committees the opportunity to hear testimony from leading state and national economic experts. By March 1, the legislature and governor must issue a joint report containing the consensus economic forecast and estimates of receipts for the 2008-2009 fiscal year.
President’s budget reflects wrong priorities for New York
February 20, 2008. FPI's release showing the detailed impact of President Bush's $1.7 billion cut to New York for 2008-2009.
Pay fair wages, get quality work
February 19, 2008. A column about IDA reform by FPI chief economist James Parrott and Jesse Lenney of Metro Justice, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.