June 12, 2015. Many institutions in upstate New York cities and metro areas are wrestling with translation services, language access, and other ways to help integrate local residents who didn’t grow up speaking English. And, while the immigrant share of the population is not as big as in cities like New York or Los Angeles, the diversity of languages spoken can make for its own challenges.

An analysis of the 2015 American Community Survey 5-year data for Buffalo, Rochester and … (read more)

For Immediate Release: June 13, 2017                                                    

Media Contact: Ron Deutsch (FPI) 518-469-6769

Sherry Tomasky (Hunger Solutions) 518-414-2570

 

Trump Budget Would Shift Huge SNAP Costs to New York and Put New Yorkers at Risk of Going Hungry

 

Albany, NEW YORK –  President Trump’s budget proposal would shift a significant share of the cost of the Supplemental Nutrition and Assistance Program’s (SNAP, previously known as Food Stamps) benefits to states and, for the first time, allow states to cut SNAP … (read more)

For immediate release: June 5, 2017

 

Watchdog Groups to Senate and Assembly: Don’t Come Home Without Passing Comprehensive Clean Contracting Reforms Legislature has yet to act on massive corruption risks revealed by biggest bid rigging scandal in New York State history

Watchdog groups again called on New York State Senate leader John Flanagan and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie to pass comprehensive Clean Contracting legislation.

To date, the legislature … (read more)

April 25, 2017. What will happen to immigrant youth who as children were brought to the United States without legal status and were temporarily shielded from deportation by a 2012 executive order known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA? The Trump Administration is projecting very mixed messages about the present and future of these young people.

To help shed some light on how DACA has allowed these young immigrants to contribute to our country and our state, a … (read more)

 Medicaid Supports New York’s Schools and Children House Republican Plans to Cut Medicaid Would Jeopardize Critical Health Services for Students

[Albany, NY] – New York’s schools receive over $273 million from Medicaid each year, according to data released by the Washington, DC-based Center on Budget and Policy … (read more)

For immediate release: April 11, 2017

FPI Statement on 2017-18 Enacted State Budget

There’s no question the newly-minted state budget contains some important public policy issues that should be lauded. However, given the governor’s very vocal concerns about funding threats from Washington, we sadly missed an opportunity to be proactive in protecting New York from … (read more)

Last updated August 28, 2017. During these times where executive orders from Washington are not promoting a welcoming climate for immigrants, refugees and asylees, cities in upstate New York choose to do the opposite. Upstate cities are topics in many newspapers that highlight their welcoming, supportive and caring attitudes and actions toward refugees and immigrants. The news articles listed below illustrate how cities such as Albany, Buffalo, Syracuse and Utica help, welcome and support, their refugee friends, neighbors and community … (read more)

March 28, 2017. By Alyssa Plock

A collaboration of reporting from Investigative Post, ProPublica, and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism shows that despite billions in subsidies, upstate job growth remains sluggish. Today three guests join Susan Arbetter to analyze the subsidy issue: Jim Heaney, Founder, Editor and Executive Director of Investigative Post, Ron Deutsch, Executive Director of the Fiscal Policy Institute, and EJ McMahon, Founder and Research Director of the Empire Center for Public Policy.

… (read more)

March 21, 2017. The Fiscal Policy Institute and Responsible Wealth released a letter signed by over 80 wealthy New Yorkers urging Governor Cuomo to extend and expand the millionaires’ tax, currently in place but set to expire at the end of this year.

Signers include Eileen Fisher, Abigail Disney, Steven C. Rockefeller, George Soros, David A. Levine, Dal LaMagna, Lewis B. Cullman, among other notable names. All signers, many members of the Responsible Wealth project, are residents of New York … (read more)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Contact: Ron Deutsch, Fiscal Policy Institute, 518-469-6769, deutsch@fiscalpolicy.org

March 7, 2017. The Fiscal Policy Institute (FPI) recently released a Policy Brief analyzing New York’s gross income disparity, recommending common sense solutions to narrowing the gap.

Since the 1980s, the income gap in the United States—as indicated by the wealthiest 1 percent’s share of total income—has grown significantly. In fact, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has been compiling income data since 1979, and has found that the … (read more)