The Mayor’s Executive Budget Proposal
June 7, 2010. Testimony presented by James Parrott before the New York City Council Committee on Finance.
Anthony Troia2020-10-27T13:09:42-04:00June 7th, 2010|State Budget, Tax & Budget, Tax Policy, Testimony|
An Overview of Job Quality and Discretionary Economic Development Subsidies in New York City
May 28, 2010. This brief from FPI together with Good Jobs New York and the National Employment Law Project examines the low wages typically paid for many of the permanent jobs at city-subsidized economic development projects such as Bronx Gateway Mall, Fresh Direct and Yankee Stadium.
New York Shouldn’t Look to Massachusetts as a Model for Property Tax Reform
May 25, 2010. With Governor Cuomo proposing a rigid cap on property taxes based on Massachusetts' Proposition 2½, this 2010 update of a landmark report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities should be must reading for New York policymakers. This report describes the problems the cap has created in Massachusetts and explains why the impact could be even more severe in New York. Among the key lessons of the Massachusetts experience: A tax cap won't make government services cost less. Claims that caps [...]
New York City: Economic and Budget Challenges
May 20, 2010. While Wall Street may have recovered, the average New York worker is still mired in the Great Recession. New York like most states has severe budget problems and not enough Federal aid; moreover, state and local government budget cuts will harm the local economy and slow the national recovery. In this context, the Mayor's NYC budget proposal punishes workers and the poor but does not ask the well-off or Wall Street to share the burden. This presentation includes commentary on the state as [...]
Extending the TANF Emergency Contingency Fund Would Bring More Dollars and Jobs to New York
May 19, 2010. To help needy families during the Great Recession, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), which was signed into law by President Obama on February 17, 2009, created a $5 billion Emergency Contingency Fund (ECF) within the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) federal block grant program. This brief shows that the TANF ECF has brought $935 million in new federal dollars to New York over the last year. With the nation continuing to experience high unemployment rates, an extension of the [...]
Prevailing Wage for Building Service Workers in Buildings Owned or Managed by Persons Receiving City Financial Assistance
May 11, 2010. Testimony presented by James Parrott before the New York City Council Committee on Finance.
Is the recession over in New York?
May 10, 2010. Despite the fact that job numbers are up, unemployment is down, and gross domestic product has increased for three quarters - by the measures that matter, this recession has been worse for New York workers. Wages fell more sharply in this recession than in the two previous. Joblessness has more than doubled. At this point, 400,000 jobs are needed to return NYC unemployment to pre-recession levels. Also see Severe Recession Hangs on in Much of the City in Gotham Gazette's Economy section. [...]
Potential efficiencies in City operations
May 6, 2010. A letter sent by James Parrott to Stephen Goldsmith, the City's new deputy mayor for operations, outlining some ripe opportunities for savings and efficiencies.
Property Tax Relief: How Does a Circuit Breaker Work?
April 30, 2010. The New York State Property Tax Reform Coalition explains in plain language. Also see their circuit breaker calculator based on the Galef/Little reform bill. The April 2010 issue of Land Lines, the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy's quarterly magazine, has a six-page article devoted to circuit breakers and how they work to relieve property tax burden, including a full page sidebar on "New York's Effort to Provide Targeted Tax Relief." Read the article - Property Tax Relief: The Case for Circuit Breakers >>
Oversight: The feasibility of requiring a unified economic development budget as a reporting requirement
April 27, 2010. Testimony presented by James Parrott before the New York City Council Committee on Economic Development.
New York Has the Ways and Means: How and Why Wall Street Should Give Back to Main Street
April 19, 2010. This new report details how a temporary bonus tax and other Wall Street measures could ease New York's budget crisis and fund property tax relief for the most burdened households. Sensible options for closing the state budget gap meet three goals: Support rather than undermine the needs of New York families. Minimize the negative impact of this year’s budget decisions on the fragile state economy. Require the New York financial industry - which bears responsibility for much of the negative impact on [...]
Immigrants in Work Force: Study Belies Image
April 15, 2010. Today's New York Times featured an article by Julia Preston based on FPI data together with related materials - data and interviews. Immigrants in Work Force: Study Belies Image. By Julia Preston. Immigrants and Growth graphic. After Their Arrival video and photo interviews with four men and women from across the world and the economic spectrum.
Across the Spectrum: The Wide Range of Jobs Immigrants Do
April 15, 2010. Immigrants are by no means all low-wage workers in the 25 largest metropolitan areas, as this new report shows. In many metro areas, there are more higher-skilled immigrants than there are lower-skilled. Surprisingly, these are not the metro areas with the most economic growth; rather, they are areas with low overall immigration, including Pittsburgh, Detroit, and St. Louis. This is a companion report to Immigrants and the Economy, published November 2009.
Look to Wall Street for help
April 12, 2010. An op ed by Frank Mauro, FPI's executive director, and Ron Deutsch of New Yorkers for Fiscal Fairness, Albany Times-Union.
Establishing a Fair, Adequate and Economically Sensible State-Local Tax System
April 7, 2010. This policy brief from FPI reviews specific revenue raising options that would enable New York to close its budget gap while making the overall tax system fairer and minimizing damage to the economy. The brief was released as the Better Choice Budget Campaign announced a statewide TV ad campaign to raise awareness of opportunities to raise revenues in ways that minimize damage to the state's fragile economy - including closing corporate tax loopholes and asking Wall Street to help bail out Main [...]