What’s happening with temporary assistance for New York State’s neediest families?

March 19, 2012. A modest increase in the basic allowance is scheduled for July 1, 2012. The Assembly has proposed implementing the increase as scheduled. The Senate, on the other hand, has proposed eliminating it completely. This brief finds that even with the increase, the public assistance grant is less than half the federal poverty threshold in fifty-five counties - and just 50 to 53 percent of the threshold in the other seven counties. Moreover, New York was recently awarded $40.7 million in additional federal [...]

The New York State DREAM Act: A preliminary estimate of costs and benefits

March 9, 2012. The New York State DREAM Act would open the state's Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) to all students who meet the funding criteria, irrespective of their immigration status. What would be the costs and benefits of this proposal? This brief is the latest release from FPI's Immigration Research Initiative.

2012-04-21T12:05:02-04:00March 9th, 2012|Migration, Reports, Briefs and Presentations|

Briefing on Mayor Bloomberg’s Preliminary FY 2013 New York City Budget

March 6, 2012. Unemployment remains very high in this historically weak "recovery" in NYC, as across the country, and considerable hardships persist. In addition, NYS budget choices and pressures continue to squeeze NYC. The Mayor's budget can only be described as austere: although needs have grown in the wake of the recession, NYC spending on human services funding has fallen by 10 percent. Income concentration has resumed, underscoring the need for progressive tax reform. NYC's business tax expenditures have risen sharply; addressing several tax inequities [...]

Which workers will benefit, if the New York minimum wage is raised to $8.50 an hour?

February 17, 2012. This brief estimates how many workers will benefit (a million!) and breaks down the data by demographic category. It shows how many live in New York City, versus how many live in the NYC suburbs and upstate, and also includes an estimate of the positive job creation impact of an increase in the minimum wage. The brief is part of the Numbers that Count series, in which FPI presents and analyzes new data on New York's economy.

National tax expert calls for closing New York State Tax loopholes

January 31, 2012. Lawmakers, tax experts and advocates gathered to urge that corporate tax loopholes be closed, pointing to a recent report from Citizens for Tax Justice and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, Corporate Tax Dodging In the 50 States, 2008-2010, which reveals glaring inequities in the way that businesses are taxed (or not taxed). Working from the principles of enforcement, fairness, and transparency, the their taxes, reforming the state’s Corporate Alternate Minimum Tax, taxing nonresident hedge fund management fees, eliminating New York [...]

Raising New York’s minimum wage will boost the state economy

January 30, 2012. The change would directly benefit about one in six of New York workers - that is, 1.6 million low-wage workers - and their families. Most (90 percent) of these low-wage workers are adults and a greater share are women, black or Hispanic than for New York workers overall. The minimum wage in New York is low by historical standards - at one time it could keep a family of three out of poverty - and in comparison to other states. Moreover, the [...]

Reforming the New York Tax Code

December 5, 2011. Consistent with Governor Cuomo's call for a tax system that is fairer and more affordable while helping to put more New Yorkers back to work, this report presents a "top 1%" progressive income tax plan. The plan raises less revenue than the current "millionaires tax," but enough revenue to avoid job-killing budget cuts, make job-creating investments, and provide middle class tax relief. The proposed progressive bracket structure would apply to taxpayers with incomes above $665,000, the estimated threshold for the top one [...]

New York’s Unemployment Crisis and Income Polarization: Looking to State Policy for Solutions

December 2, 2011. A presentation by James Parrott at the Center for Working Families' 2011 NYS policy conference: Good Ideas in Hard and Exciting Times: Policies for New York's 99%. The last two slides show the overall regressivity of the New York State and New York City tax systems.

State of Working New York 2011, Part II: Great Recession takes a $31 billion toll on New Yorkers

November 29, 2011. New data show that New York families face smaller incomes, fewer opportunities, more hardship. The Fiscal Policy Institute's 2011 annual edition of the State of Working New York examines how bad the Great Recession and the not-so-great "recovery" have been for the wages and incomes of typical New Yorkers. Of the 504,000 jobs lost, 80 percent are wage and salary positions, and about 20 percent represent fledgling businesses that haven’t been started because of the difficult economic climate. Median household incomes in [...]

New Americans on Long Island: A Vital Sixth of the Economy

October 27, 2011. Immigrants - documented and undocumented combined - make up 16 percent of the population of Long Island, and account for 17 percent of total economic output. This report presents data on jobs, earnings, family income, taxes, and home ownership. Immigrants' economic role is examined town by town and in a national context as well. Among the 50 most affluent suburban counties in the country, Nassau and Suffolk are neither at the top nor the bottom of any of several measures of immigration. [...]

Immigrants Make up Half of All Small Business Owners in NYC

October 3, 2011. New numbers from FPI's Immigration Research Institute show that immigrants make up almost half of all small business owners in New York City. And, immigrants in the labor force are somewhat more likely than U.S.-born workers to own small businesses. Immigrant small business owners are an extremely diverse group, with no single country of origin dominating; in fact, the top ten groups together still make up just 45 percent of the total number of immigrant small business owners. The businesses immigrants own [...]

Building New York’s Future: Creating Jobs and Business Opportunities Through Mass Transit Investments

September 27, 2011. This white paper finds that as New York comes out of the most severe economic downturn since the Great Depression, the state can and should pursue a mass transit-related manufacturing strategy, positioning itself as a leader in sustainable transportation while creating good, middle class jobs for New Yorkers. Working toward broad political commitment and securing adequate funding for New York's transit authorities' capital and operating budgets, and for national mass transit infrastructure, are necessary complements.

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