Yearly Archives: 2018

June 15, 2018. In this article, by Edwin López Moya, he discusses the efforts of Philadelphia to become a  welcoming city for immigrants. Specifically he talks about the successes of the Welcoming Center for New Pennsylvanians which provides support and training to foreign professionals to help them get credentialing and jobs in the United States. This helps these foreign professionals from having to accept low wage positions. The article acknowledges research that finds that immigrants contribute to the overall economy through entrepreneurship and revitalization. At [...]

June 14, 2018. This article discusses the package of accountability and transparency economic development bills stalled in the Assembly. The measures do have bipartisan support among the rank-and-file in the Assembly and were already approved, overwhelmingly, in the Senate. However, Assembly leadership continues to sit on the bills in the hopes that Governor Cuomo will come to an agreement on their necessity. Ronald Deutsch, director of the labor-backed Fiscal Policy Institute, which also supports the anti-corruption measures, also thinks Cuomo ultimately is responsible for the logjam. “The [...]

June 11, 2018. As the state legislative session wraps up in a few days, several bills related to expanding oversight of contracts and greater transparency over economic development projects remain stalled and have not made it to the Assembly floor despite their successful passage on the Senate floor several weeks ago. The Fiscal Policy Institute has long supported accountability and ethics reform for economic development projects in New York, especially in light of the recent bid-rigging scandals by top economic development officials. The labor-backed Fiscal Policy [...]

June 8, 2018. In this article by Edwin López Moya, he brings research on immigrants to life by outlining major research findings and providing stories of immigrants from Philadelphia who amplify the story the research is telling. He cites FPI's report on immigrant entrepreneurship, "Bringing Vitality to Main Street: How Immigrants Small Businesses Help Local Economies Grow." With that premise in mind, a group of Dreamers created a campaign four years ago with one simple message: “Welcome to the U.S.” Since then, the country added one more heritage [...]

June 8, 2018. This article by Yancey Roy discusses the demands from government reform groups, FPI included, for the New York State government to create transparency of economic development spending. The groups call for a database of deals and power to be restored to the Comptroller to review contracts. The article goes on to highlight the two corruption trials and that the Senate and Assembly backed the bills during budget negotiation but Governor Cuomo did not and they were dropped. Even with more corruption trials looming, [...]

June 8, 2018. FPI's executive director, Ron Deutsch, and John Kaehny of Reinvent Albany discuss the "database of deals" that would increase transparency of economic development spending on Capital Tonight. The "database of deals" would put all information on economic development spending in one place that is open to the public. The public could see how many jobs are being created and who is getting tax breaks. Also discussed is restoring the power to the Comptroller to review state contracts. For the full interview, go [...]

June 8, 2018. Government reform groups are urging the New York State Assembly to pass two bills that have already been approved in the Senate that would reform New York’s economic development programs. Ron Deutsch, with Fiscal Policy Institute, says the measures would increase transparency by creating a database of deals, listing details of all economic development projects that receive taxpayer money. Another bill would restore the state comptroller’s authority to independently review the projects. Deutsch, making a football analogy, says the bill to restore the [...]

June 8, 2018. Mayor Rawlings, Governor of Dallas, Texas, cited FPI and the Tent Foundation's co-released report, "Refugees as Employees: Strong Retention, Strong Recruitment." He was discussing the Global Forced Migration Crisis and argued that U.S.-born residents and immigrants must work together to help new residents integrate. A recent study by the fiscal policy Institute found that retention rates tend to be far higher than average. and mac -- manufacturing the turnovers among refugees was only 4% compared to 11% for the industry average. this is good for business. it saves them money.   [...]

June 8, 2018. This article discusses the actions of government groups to encourage the state to make changes to economic development policy in order to increase transparency. They argue it is needed because of corruption trials related to economic development projects. They are calling for a database of deals and for the power of the Comptroller to review projects to be restored. The article notes that the Senate has passed these bills and they are waiting for the Assembly to do the same. The article [...]

June 7, 2018. This article discusses the recently passed package of bills aimed at shedding light on taxpayer-funded economic development projects, among other reform measures. Good government watchdog groups including the Fiscal Policy Institute and Reinvent Albany have long supported economic development accountability reform, particularly in light of multiple scandals related to economic development projects. A number of advocacy and watchdog groups are organizing a final push for the “database of deals” and clean-contracting legislation, including a rally calling on Heastie to advance the bills [...]

June 7, 2018. This article discusses the experiences that two companies, Engent and Figure 8 Investment Strategies, have had with hiring refugees. Both companies have experienced positive outcomes such as loyalty and dependability from hiring refugee workers, as well as some challenges. The article also discusses Amplio Recruiting's findings that refugees have higher retention rates which are in line with FPI and the Tent Foundation's report, "Refugees as Employees: Good Retention, Strong Recruitment." Amplio Recruiting is a staffing agency that connects refugees with full-time positions. [...]

June 7, 2018. This article, featured in Industry Week, provides an overview of FPI and the Tent Foundation's co-released report, "Refugees as Employees: Good Retention, Strong Recruitment." The findings that are outlined include refugee turnover rates were lower for all industries, three-quarters of the firms surveyed saw lower turnover rates for refugees than overall employees and firms saw improved management skills in their managers. Employers that hire refugees see positive outcomes for their businesses, according to a recent report by the Fiscal Policy Institute and the [...]