Yearly Archives: 2016

A Grand Alliance to Save Our Public Postal Service

May 12, 2016. The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) is under attack by forces that favor privatization and oppose sensible proposals to invest in expanding its package delivery services and in re-introducing postal banking services that exist in many countries and that were provided in the United States from 1910 to 1966. With the Postal Service’s unparalleled network of post offices in every neighborhood and village in the country, postal banking has the potential to provide affordable, consumer-friendly financial services to lower-income households and communities that [...]

Anthony Troia2020-11-13T14:56:15-05:00May 12th, 2016|Economic Outlook, Economic Trends & Policy, Labor Market & Workforce, Testimony|

2016 FPI Awards Celebration in Albany

June 1, 2016, Albany. The Fiscal Policy Institute is honoring Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, Congressman Paul Tonko, and NYSUT President Karen Magee at a fundraiser benefitting the Fiscal Policy Institute on Wednesday, June 1, 2016, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Empire State Plaza's Albany Room. You may register online.

Anthony Troia2020-12-21T14:48:16-05:00May 12th, 2016|Fact Sheets|

Keeping DREAMers Out of College: Missouri Makes a Costly Mistake

April 19, 2016. Missouri's appropriations bill for higher education includes instructions that would leave immigrants who have been granted deferred action in the position of having to pay a much higher tuition rate at state colleges. For every student this discourages from going to community college, the student loses $7,000 in potential earnings and the state and local governments lose $630 in potential tax contributions. For those who don't get a bachelor's degree, it costs the typical student $21,000 per year in potential earnings, and costs the [...]

Anthony Troia2016-04-19T08:33:44-04:00April 19th, 2016|Migration, Reports, Briefs and Presentations|

Statement on Minimum Wage Announcement

March 31, 2016. The Fiscal Policy Institute is pleased to hear that a deal has been reached on increasing the minimum wage and that New York is on a path to $15 for all workers. This historic decision will provide wage increases to over 3.1 million New Yorkers that need and deserve a raise. Approximately 46 percent of workers benefiting from this increase, those in New York City, will see their wages rise to $15 per hour by the end of 2018 (2019 for workers in [...]

Anthony Troia2020-11-13T14:58:51-05:00March 31st, 2016|Economic Trends & Policy, Labor Market & Workforce, Press Releases|

Upstate-Downstate Wage Differentials are Relatively Small in Low-Wage Occupations

March 24, 2016. For the bulk of low-wage occupations most likely to be affected by a higher minimum wage, wage levels are fairly uniform between upstate and downstate. Phasing in the minimum wage increase over 6 years to 2021 for the upstate areas as opposed to 3 years for downstate provides ample time for upstate businesses whose wage levels generally are 5% to 10% lower than downstate to adjust to the higher wage floor. See the complete brief for further details.

Anthony Troia2020-11-13T14:58:51-05:00March 24th, 2016|Economic Trends & Policy, Labor Market & Workforce, Reports, Briefs and Presentations|

$15 Minimum Wage Would Raise Earnings for 1.1 Million Immigrants

March 23, 2016. In a brief, the Fiscal Policy Institute states that gradually raising the New York State minimum wage from its current level of $9/hour to $15/hour by 2019 in New York City and mid-2021 in the rest of the state would give a much-needed raise to 1.1 million immigrant workers. In all, there are 3.2 million New York workers who will benefit from the phased-in wage increase, which would on average increase wages by $4,900 per year. These numbers reflect the workers who [...]

Anthony Troia2020-11-13T14:58:51-05:00March 23rd, 2016|Economic Trends & Policy, Labor Market & Workforce, Migration, Press Releases, Reports, Briefs and Presentations|

The Retail Sector—New York’s Biggest Low-wage Employer Needs to Provide Higher Wages

March 22, 2016. Among all sectors, retail trade has the most low-wage workers in New York State. Over a half million (555,200) retail workers will benefit from an increase in the statewide minimum wage to $15 an hour. These workers make up nearly a fifth (18 percent) of the 3.2 million workers receiving a wage boost, although retail jobs represent one in nine of all New York jobs. With the phased-in $15 minimum wage floor, 61 percent of all women retail workers would receive higher wages, [...]

Anthony Troia2020-11-13T14:58:51-05:00March 22nd, 2016|Economic Trends & Policy, Labor Market & Workforce, Reports, Briefs and Presentations|

Wealthy New Yorkers Urge Governor Cuomo and Legislature to Enact 1% Plan for New York Tax Fairness

March 21, 2016. Some of the wealthiest New Yorkers have sent an open letter to Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature urging passage of the “1% Plan for New York Tax Fairness” to replace the temporary ‘millionaires tax’ set to expire at the end of next year. The Fiscal Policy Institute’s 1% Plan calls for new tax rates ranging from 7.65% to 9.99% applied to new tax brackets starting at $665,000, the income threshold for the top 1% of New Yorkers. The [...]

Anthony Troia2016-03-21T10:11:01-04:00March 21st, 2016|Press Releases, Tax & Budget, Tax Policy|

FPI Testimony in US Senate on Immigration

March 16, 2016. The director of FPI's Immigration Research Initiative, David Dyssegaard Kallick, testified today before a U.S. Senate hearing on immigration, making the case that immigrants are contributing robustly to the United States economy, Written testimony is here. Video available here. In the video, the hearing starts at 21.08; Kallick's remarks are at 1:01:15, 1:17:03, and 2:04:05.

Anthony Troia2016-03-30T14:12:57-04:00March 16th, 2016|Migration, Testimony|

New York Economists Support a Statewide $15 Minimum Wage; Recent academic research shows it’s good for workers, businesses and the economy

March 14, 2016. More than 75 economists from throughout New York State joined together this week to send a message to Albany: a phased-in increase in the minimum wage to $15 by 2019 in New York City and by mid-2021 in the rest of the state is a prudent and much needed policy that would raise the incomes of struggling low-wage workers and boost their spending power without hurting the state’s economy. The economists’ statement cites a number of academic authorities in summarizing the case [...]

Anthony Troia2020-11-13T14:58:51-05:00March 14th, 2016|Economic Trends & Policy, Labor Market & Workforce, Letters, Press Releases|

Berkeley Report on Impact of $15 NY Minimum Wage Released

March 11, 2016. In a new report from the University of California at Berkeley, noted economist Michael Reich and colleagues take a comprehensive look at the likely impact of a $15 minimum wage in New York State. This report assesses the broad impact on businesses and the overall economy and employment levels from the proposed phased-in $15 minimum wage. The report makes a significant contribution to the minimum wage literature since it looks broadly across the economy and factors in both the impacts on workers [...]

Anthony Troia2020-11-13T14:58:51-05:00March 11th, 2016|Blog, Economic Trends & Policy, Labor Market & Workforce|

Briefing on Mayor deBlasio’s Preliminary FY 2017 NYC Budget: Budgeting Cautiously amid State and Economic Uncertainty

March 10, 2016. In his briefing of NYC Mayor Bill deBlasio’s FY 2017 Preliminary budget, FPI’s James Parrott highlights the following: Strong economic and tax growth used to further a different set of budget and policy priorities than predecessors: reinvesting in human services; committing new resources to address housing and homelessness; continuing and different investments in public safety; and changing employment and wage policies to aid workers. Cautious budgeting in the face of economic uncertainty: Outyear gaps have been reduced; City has a significant budget [...]

Anthony Troia2020-10-27T13:09:40-04:00March 10th, 2016|Reports, Briefs and Presentations, State Budget, Tax & Budget, Tax Policy|

Tax Breaks for Wealthy Contributors to Private or Public Schools?

March 2, 2016. The education tax credit proposals currently being discussed have significant drawbacks as outlined in FPI's new brief. Both the governor’s proposal and the senate’s represent misguided tax policy for a number of reasons: The PCEA represents a radical and unwise departure from existing state tax policy because it provides an unprecedented proportion (75 or 90 percent) of tax reduction relative to a contribution. It has the potential to lessen charitable contributions for a wide range of worthy causes. Because of how the [...]

Anthony Troia2016-03-02T12:25:21-05:00March 2nd, 2016|Press Releases, Reports, Briefs and Presentations, State Budget, Tax & Budget, Tax Policy|

Briefing on Mayor de Blasio’s FY 2017 Preliminary NYC Budget

March 10, 2016. On Thursday morning, March 10, 2016, the Fiscal Policy Institute will present its annual New York City budget briefing to the Economic Justice and Social Welfare Network at the Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies (FPWA). The briefing presentation will be from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. The briefing is open to the public. To register for this free event, please click here. The topics to be covered during the briefing include: An overview of the Mayor’s Preliminary FY 2017 Budget proposal. The [...]

Anthony Troia2020-12-21T14:48:16-05:00March 1st, 2016|Fact Sheets|