November 5, 2009.  A Better Choice for Addressing New York State's Projected Budget Gaps, by Frank Mauro and Ron Deutsch.

 

October 26, 2009.  Testimony on Governor Paterson's Proposed 2009-2010 Deficit Reduction Plan. Presented by James Parrott, Deputy Director and Chief Economist of FPI, to the Senate Finance Committee.

 

October 21, 2009.  Testimony on Governor Paterson's Proposed 2009-2010 Deficit Reduction Plan. Presented by Frank Mauro, Executive Director of FPI, and Ron Deutsch, Executive Director of New Yorkers for Fiscal Fairness, to the Assembly Ways and Means Committee. Mauro and Deutsch discussed why $1.8 billion of the $3 billion in deficit reduction actions proposed by Governor Paterson for the current state fiscal year would harm the still-fragile state economy. The Governor's other $1.2 billion in gap-closing recommendations together with additional actions that will not hurt the state economy should be used to ensure that the state ends the current fiscal year in balance. Changes in law that would affect the state's finances and its economy on an ongoing basis should be reviewed in a thorough and well-informed manner as part of the Legislature's consideration of the Governor's 2010-11 Executive Budget - with all options on the table, including the budget-balancing alternatives recommended by Mauro and Deutsch in this testimony.

 

October 15, 2009. Statement from FPI Executive Director Frank Mauro on Governor Paterson's call to cut state spending by $1.8 billion.

 

March 22, 2009.  Back on Track: Why Progressive Tax Reform is an Essential Part of New York's Budget Solution. This report, prepared jointly by FPI and the Center for Working Families, debunks recent criticisms of the idea of making progressive income tax reform a part of the effort to balance New York State's 2009-2010 budget.

 

March 12, 2009.  Exploring progressive changes to New York State’s personal income tax system: testimony presented by FPI executive director Frank Mauro to the New York State Senate Select Committee on Budget and Tax Reform.

 

February 22, 2009.  Major education organizations release analysis showing 64 percent of school districts face cuts in excess of $15,000 per classroom. Sixty districts face cuts over $30,000 per classroom due to Governor Paterson's $2.5 billion in school aid cuts. Education committee chairwomen Assemblywoman Nolan and Senator Oppenheimer join education advocates in calling for school aid restorations. Organizations call for fair share tax reform. Release with 14-page district-by-district analysis.

February 4, 2009.  Testimony on the 2008-2009 Executive Budget - Workforce Issues. Presented by FPI executive director Frank Mauro to the Senate Finance and Assembly Ways and Means Committees. The Executive Budget contains many proposals that will directly and indirectly cut jobs, exacerbating the recession in the state economy. There are other ways to close budget gaps - notably, an increase in high-end income taxes - that would do much less harm to the economy.

February 2, 2009.  How to Balance the State Budget. By Frank Mauro and James Parrott, Gotham Gazette.

January 15, 2009.  New York State's Underinvestment in Public Higher Education. Governor Paterson's proposed 2009-2010 budget features reductions in state aid to CUNY and SUNY, despite a projected increase in enrollment for 2009-2010. This report details the context for the cuts - a decade of underinvestment - and makes the economic case for supporting public higher education: it helps families through the current crisis, stimulates growth in the local economy, narrows racial gaps in income and education, and helps build a solid middle class for New York’s future.

December 16, 2008.  FPI Reaction to the Executive Budget. The governor's proposal hurts low- and moderate-income New Yorkers while requiring little from wealthy New Yorkers, and would would cause needless harm to the state economy. The lessons from 2003 show that New York can successfully close large budget gaps without these negative impacts.

December 13, 2008.  Economists to Governor: Raise High-End Income Taxes To Help Close Budget Gaps (press release and letter). More than 100 economists from throughout New York State joined together this week to send a message to Albany: steep cuts in state spending will weaken the already struggling New York economy, and will hurt poor and middle income New Yorkers. In a letter to the governor, the economists urge him to take a balanced approach to closing the gap in the state budget between revenues and spending - an approach that includes raising taxes on high-income households. UPDATED: Letter with 120 signers.

November 13, 2008.  Testimony of Frank Mauro and Ronald Deutsch before the Assembly Ways and Means Committee hearing on the impact of the economic crisis on the state budget. To avoid deepening the already threatening recession, the state must not rely solely on drastic cuts in state spending to close current and expected budget gaps. A balanced approach includes tapping the state's tax stabilization reserve fund (put together for this very purpose), surgical cuts in wasteful spending, and a high-end income tax surcharge like that used successfully in 2003 to close post-9/11 gaps.

Links to budget analysis, commentary and advocacy by other organizations

New Yorkers for Fiscal Fairness
abetterchoiceforny.org

Citizens Committee for Children
action.voiceshub.org/ccc/OneNewYork.html

Citizen Action
fightthecuts.org

1199 SEIU and GNYHA
fairsharereform.com

Schuyler Center for Analysis and Advocacy
www.scaany.org

For FPI analysis and commentary on state budgets for previous fiscal years, please see the Budget Archive.