Billionaire Mark-to-Market Tax Can Raise Over $5.5 Billion To Help Keep New York State Running

New York can and must do more to address its budget crisis than wait for federal relief. While the economy has taken a hit, the state can raise enough tax revenue to avoid catastrophic budget cuts—to education, health care, and other crucial services—and add new programs to combat the coronavirus recession by helping those most in need. The Fiscal Policy Institute’s latest report explains how … (read more)

Workers and families left without support for months  

Read the full report: Unemployment Compensation for Excluded Workers: Helping New Yorkers, Boosting the Local Economy

(Albany, NY) State unemployment benefits were expanded in significant ways for most New Yorkers who lost their jobs during the pandemic. However, tens of thousands of New York workers and their families were left adrift without federal or state assistance. The Fiscal Policy Institute’s new report shows that our state can act to create and fund … (read more)

The Fiscal Policy Institute strongly supports S .8198A (Biaggi)/A.9100A (Gottfried) to create a more equitable balance of power within New York’s state government. As the legislation requires passage by both houses within two consecutive legislative sessions, FPI urges the senate and assembly to pass this legislation before August 3, 2020, and again in the 2021 – 2022 session so it can go before the voters in the 2021 fall election.

The current provisions of the New York State Constitution, as … (read more)

The Fiscal Policy Institute stands in solidarity with protesters voicing outrage over the recent murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, and the long history of violent abuse and killing of Black people at the hands of police in city after city, town after town, year after year.

Black lives matter. Yet the history of racism built into our society actively harms Black people. We must do better for our state and our nation.

In our research at the Fiscal … (read more)

For Immediate Release: March 31, 2020

(Albany, NY) Today the Fiscal Policy Institute (FPI) released a set of recommendations to safeguard New York’s budget process and ensure a just budget for all. Predictions of a budget shortfall preceded the unforeseen economic impact of the pandemic and FPI urged leadership to think beyond the continued use of the same austerity budget measures put in place year after year. Now, faced with the urgent needs of our community members, FPI urges … (read more)

New York State is dealing with a pandemic that demands sudden and unusual changes in our everyday lives. The need for societal change including social distancing and restricting public gatherings to protect our health is clear. The question is what will be the economic cost of our necessary public health policy and how will we pay for it?

Explore these pressing issues with us in our new brief:

At the time of this writing, our state is trying to reach … (read more)

January 6, 2020

As the New York State legislative session begins with the state facing a multi-billion-dollar state budget deficit, the question is clear—what kind of New York do we want and how will we get there?  The Fiscal Policy Institute (FPI) urges Governor Andrew Cuomo, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl E. Heastie to choose sound economic and social policies that promote growth and development for the many rather than the few so that all New … (read more)