Yearly Archives: 2013

March 27, 2013. In this story, Michael Gormley points out that New York taxpayers will be paying for the new minimum wage tax credit. Advocates for the working poor fear the credit will prompt employers to replace adults with students. Mauro said Tuesday the credit also would result in the first maximum wage for many employees because employers would lose the credit if they raise wages over the minimum wage. The credit "flies in the face of sound tax policy, good labor market practice, or [...]

March 27, 2013. An article points out the faults of the new minimum wage tax credit. The left-leaning Fiscal Policy Institute, which championed the minimum wage as a boost to the economy and employment, says the tax credit is "ill-conceived and poorly drafted." The institute said the tax credit has no cap, doesn't require employers to disclose how much they receive, and does little to safeguard workers older than 19 who might be fired so employers can hire subsidized teen workers. The credit is also [...]

March 27, 2013. A story about how incentives in the new minimum wage law could backfire.

March 18, 2013. Colorlines magazine reports a disturbing New York City Police Department policy of investigating the victims of domestic violence. One very real concern: “They would not report a crime because they would fear getting locked up. It would empower the perpetrator, and there’s going to be more domestic violence as a consequence, and you’re endangering children,” Chinitz told the Post. The Fiscal Policy Institute estimates there are about 535,000 unauthorized immigrants living in New York City and the new directive could impact this group especially hard. Abusers often [...]

March 18, 2013. The New York World writes about the Office for New Americans. “The idea that that much money could provide services to 4 million immigrants in New York state of course doesn’t make sense,” said David Kallick, a senior fellow at the Fiscal Policy Institute, an economic research organization that has studied the welfare of New York’s immigrants. Nonetheless, Kallick called the Office for New Americans “very much the right idea,” saying it would supplement existing services.

March 15, 2013. Assemblymember Jose Peralta talks with Karen DeWitt on WMHT's New York Now about the New York State DREAM Act, citing the Fiscal Policy Institute's analysis of the costs and benefits.

March 15, 2013. The National Journal reports on how immigration has offset a decline in the U.S.-born population. Without immigrants, many metropolitan regions would have declined; beyond the obvious destinations, namely New York and Chicago (respectively the largest and third-largest), immigrants shored up Detroit, Pittsburgh, and St. Louis. "Immigrants are innovators, entrepreneurs," said Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder at a recent immigration conference, according to an Associated Press Report. “They’re making things happen.” A July 2012 report by the Fiscal Policy Institute indicated that immigrants own 18 percent [...]

March 13, 2013. Albor Ruiz writes in the Daily News about the NYS DREAM Legislation. Citing a study by the Fiscal Policy Institute that affirms that bachelor’s degree holders pay an additional $3,900 in annual state taxes, the legislators assured Cuomo that TAP funding for the undocumented would more than pay for itself within six years. “The New York State DREAM Act is the smartest, soundest investment that we can possibly make in workforce development and our state’s future,” the senators said. Note that about [...]

March 13, 2013. An article in the Brooklyn Ink talks about a community jobs center. Immigration reform could resolve these issues, and also benefit the national economy, if its 1986 incarnation is any indication. “Immigrants who’d previously been undocumented were able to move to jobs suited to their abilities, invest in education, and increase their wages,” said David Dyssegaard Kallick, a senior fellow at Fiscal Policy Institute. Reform would also create a more level playing field for employers of low-wage workers, he said, some of [...]

March 12, 2013. A Fox News online opinion piece linking immigration reform to St. Patrick's Day. The Fiscal Policy Institute analyzed data from U.S. Census’ American Community Survey and found that 18% of small businesses in the U.S. are owned by immigrants, up from 12% in 1990.  The latest census figures available show that immigrants comprise 13% of the U.S. population and that the majority of these small business owners do not have college degrees.  In New York, 36% of small businesses are owned by [...]

March 11, 2013. A Legislative Gazette article about the New York State DREAM Act as it advances in the legislature. A recent report by the Fiscal Policy Institute found that passing the legislation will reap a large economic benefit to the state as college graduates typically earn an additional $25,000 a year, which, in return, means $3,900 more per year, per student, in state and local taxes. An analysis by the Fiscal Policy Institute also concluded that the DREAM legislation would increase the cost of [...]