November 21, 2013. Drilling in the six states that span the Marcellus and Utica Shale formations has produced far fewer new jobs than the industry and its supporters claim, according to a report by the Multi-State Shale Research Collaborative, a group of research organizations tracking the impacts of shale drilling that includes the Fiscal Policy Institute.

The Marcellus and Utica shale formations span six states: New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, and Virginia. Natural gas development in these … (read more)

September 4, 2013. Statewide tax reform groups and activists from across New York State gathered at the State Capitol today to urge the Governor and the State Senate to “shed a little sunshine” on the tax reform debates that have left many New Yorkers “out in the cold.”

The NYS Senate (through its Finance Committee, and its Investigations and Government Operations Committees) is holding “Invitation Only” hearings across the state to “Review Existing Tax Policy and Discuss Reform Initiatives” and … (read more)

August 28, 2013. New York workers are paying a high price for persistent unemployment four years into the weakest recovery since the Great Depression, according to the Fiscal Policy Institute’s (FPI) 2013 edition of The State of Working New York. The report notes that in addition to lost job opportunities and health benefits, New York workers are suffering from prolonged periods of joblessness, and high rates of underemployment (or “hidden unemployment”), reflecting more discouraged workers who have given up … (read more)

August 22, 2013. The best way for New York State to grow its economy is by expanding investment in a well-educated workforce, according to a new study published by Economic Policy Institute for the Economic Analysis and Research Network (EARN). EARN is a network of 61 state and local economic think tanks and 25 national partners founded by the Economic Policy Institute and several other state and national groups, including the Fiscal Policy Institute.

In A Well Educated Workforce … (read more)

June 4, 2013. A new report from the Fiscal Policy Institute shows that legalizing undocumented immigrants, paired with labor standards enforcement, would boost economic productivity. Reform would remove barriers to advancement for newly legalized immigrants, create a level playing field for businesses, and align our systems of taxation, social services, and social insurance so that they would function as they are supposed to.

“Immigration reform, done right, would be good for immigrants, but it would also be good for all … (read more)

June 11, 2013. Frank Mauro of the Fiscal Policy Institute joined with community, student and labor groups at a press conference in the Legislative Office Building in Albany to urge the Legislature to reject the Governor’s ill-conceived Tax-Free NY proposal.  The press conference was organized by Ron Deutsch, the executive director of New Yorkers for Fiscal Fairness.

Mauro distributed FPI’s new report on the Tax-Free NY proposal at the press conference which was covered by a number of news … (read more)

June 6, 2013. In a new briefing paper released today by the Economic Policy Institute, the report finds that 52.0 percent of New York seniors are at risk. See FPI’s press release below.

Contact: James Parrott, Deputy Director and Chief Economist, 212-721-5624 (desk), 917-880-9931 (mobile)

New report: http://www.epi.org/publication/economic-security-elderly-americans-risk

52% of New York seniors are economically vulnerable, the fifth highest among all states.

House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan’s Medicare proposals would put many more seniors at economic risk.

Having to … (read more)

April 10, 2013. With policymakers in Washington calling for federal tax reform, the Fiscal Policy Institute said it is essential that members of Congress consider the beneficial long-term impacts of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Child Tax Credit (CTC) as well as these credits’ short-run benefits. In emphasizing the importance of making the current temporary enhancements of these credits permanent, FPI pointed to a new report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities that pulls together … (read more)

March 13, 2013. A report by the National Employment Law Project and the Fiscal Policy Institute shows the dangers of watering down the $9.00 plus indexing minimum wage proposal, which has the backing of most New Yorkers and majorities in both the Senate and the Assembly.  The report details the greater benefits for workers and the state economy from an increase to $9.00 an hour with indexing compared to the proposal for an $8.75 an hour increase without indexing:

• $9.00

January 30, 2013. As part of a coalition of community, labor, faith, student and Occupy organizations, the Fiscal Policy Institute has launched a campaign to bring fairness and transparency to New York’s corporate tax system, ending costly loopholes that cost taxpayers and businesses dearly. The coalition is calling on Governor Cuomo and the Legislature to close a series of unfair corporate tax loopholes, raising nearly $1billion for this year’s state budget and leveling the playing field between large out-of-state multinational … (read more)