Yearly Archives: 2018

May 4, 2018. A small group of citizens protested outside U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik’s downtown office Thursday to urge her not to vote on the upcoming Farm Bill, which contains $20 billion in cuts in the SNAP program. Ron Deutsch, executive director of the Fiscal Policy Institute, carried a sign that read, “SNAP Out of it Elise. Don’t Cut Food Stamps 4 Families.” SNAP refers to the formal name of the food stamp program, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Deutsch, whose organization defines itself as a [...]

April 30, 2018. In this op-ed by Jorge Cotraro, an undocumented immigrant living on Long Island, discusses his constant fear of driving to do daily activities, such as driving to work. He is in fear of being pulled over for a traffic violation that turns into a deportation case, which would tear him apart from his wife and kids. He cites FPI's 2017 report, Expanding Access to Driver's Licenses. He argues that passing a bill allowing undocumented immigrants to get driver's licenses would change many [...]

April 19, 2018. For over a decade, advocacy groups and supporters of a bill to allow undocumented immigrants to obtain driver's licenses in New York have persistently been showing their support. The "Driver License Access and Privacy Act" would allow undocumented immigrants to obtain a driver's license using their passport and signing an affidavit stating they have not received a social security number. Advocates cite FPI's report, Expanding Access to Driver's Licenses, and argue that it will help families get their children to school and medical appointments [...]

April 19, 2017. Anu Joshi, of the New York Immigration Coalition, discusses the positive impacts of allowing undocumented immigrants to  obtain driver's licenses in New York in an interview with Liz Benjamin on Capital Tonight. She repeatedly cites FPI's report, "Expanding Access to Driver's Licenses," and its finding that include $57 M in state and local tax revenue and safer roads. We have the research to back it up, you know, the Fiscal policy institute talks about how this would bring every year, $57 million to the state of New [...]

April 19, 2018. On April 18, 2018, advocacy groups protested for the Driver License Access and Privacy Act, which would allow undocumented immigrants to obtain driver's licenses in New York and would also protect their information to prevent putting them at risk for deportation. A bill for driver's licenses for undocumented immigrants has been proposed for many years and supporters say that now is the time for it to pass. This article cited FPI's report, Expanding Access to Driver's Licenses. One of the hurdles faced [...]

April 10, 2018. The Trump Organization's online store on Monday quietly added Virginia to the list of states in which it collects sales taxes, following reports that the site collects such taxes in just two states. As late as Monday morning, the Trump Organization's official retail site, Trumpstore.com, only identified Louisiana and Florida among the states in which it collects sales taxes. Although the Trump Organization is headquartered in New York, the store does not claim to collect sales taxes in the state. There are [...]

April 5, 2018. New York’s first-in-the-nation response to the new federal tax package and its cap on the deductibility of state and local taxes is now law, but the impact of the measure remains uncertain, experts say. The state budget adopted Saturday includes Gov. Andrew. M. Cuomo’s proposal for a voluntary state payroll tax and the creation of charitable entities aimed at preserving the deductibility of state and local taxes on federal income tax returns. The labor-backed Fiscal Policy Institute credits the governor and legislature [...]

April 4, 2018. This article discusses the exclusion of any accountability measures in Governor Cuomo’s state budget in regards to economic development funding. A close-aide to Cuomo was convicted last year of accepting bribes and using his influence to direct government contracts. Adovocates were calling for a database of deals to increase transparency and to reinstate the power to the New York State Comptroller. Instead of accountability and transparency, Cuomo included pay raises for lawmakers. The conviction of a former close aide to Governor Andrew [...]