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  FPI in the News    
  This page is for articles mentioning FPI's research and analysis.  Op eds, columns and letters by FPI authors are separately posted. Also see FPI press releases and testimony.      
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January 2, 2009.  N.Y. faces difficult decisions to bridge budget gap. By Jill Terreri, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.

December 31, 2008.  Gloom and gloomier in 2009. By Garrett Sloane, AM New York.

December 24, 2008.  Taxation tiptoes around the rich. A column by Tim Louis Macaluso, Rochester City Newspaper.

More than 100 economists from around the state have signed a letter to Governor Paterson, urging him to raise high-end income taxes to close the budget gap, according to the Fiscal Policy Institute. And they say that steep cuts in spending as proposed by Paterson will weaken the already struggling economy. It is a view that Princeton University professor Larry Bartels discusses in his book, "Unequal Democracy; the Political Economy of the New Gilded Age."

December 23, 2008.  Retail Employees Lead City's Low-Wage Workers. By Elizabeth Dowskin for Runnin' Scared, a Village Voice blog.

December 22, 2008.  NYC may lose $2 bln in tax revs from Wall Street. Reported by Joan Gralla for Reuters.

December 21, 2008.  Governor's austerity budget raises opposition of diverse New Yorkers. A statement by Frank Mauro, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.

December 19, 2008.   Job Losses in the City Cut Across Many Areas. By Patrick McGeehan, New York Times. A longer version of this article appeared in the print edition.

December 19, 2008.  I © New York ... Economists. By Chuck Sheketoff, Blue Oregon.

December 18, 2008.  People Behaving Poorly May Be the Ones to Save the State From the Poorhouse. By Clyde Haberman, New York Times.

December 18, 2008.  Unemployment climbs to 6.3% in city. As the economy deteriorates, New York is catching up to the rest of the nation in job losses: the city's private sector employment fell by 17,000 over the last 12 months. By Daniel Massey, crainsnewyork.com.

December 16, 2008.  Let the wealthy do their part. An editorial from El Diario / La Prensa.

December 15, 2008.  Advocacy groups push for millionaires’ tax, end of middle class STAR. By Caitlin Purcell, Legislative Gazette.

December 15, 2008.  Activists to Governor: Make Better Budget Choices! Reported by Dave Lucas, WAMC.

December 15, 2008.  Status of the State Budget (video). Reported by Steve Flamisch, WGRB CBS 6 Albany. Also on the CBS website, Report: Paterson plan would tax clothing, footwear, non-diet soda (text).

December 15, 2008.  Working Families offer a way to raise $5B. By James Odato, in the Albany Times-Union's Capital Confidential blog.

December 15, 2008.  From Wall Street to Taxi Stand: The Recession Trickles Down. By Siobhan Devine, Gotham Gazette.

December 15, 2008.  Pain, gain in budget figures: Paterson proposal calls for hike in welfare payouts, billions in cuts to health care, education. By Irene Jay Liu, Albany Times Union.

December 14, 2008.  Deep cuts coming in New York budget proposal. By Jay Gallagher, Rochester Democrat & Chronicle. Also in the Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin, the Poughkeepsie Journal and the Elmira Star-Gazette.

December 14, 2008.  White Collar Workers Feel Blues. By Patrick McGeehan, Syracuse Post-Standard.

December 13, 2008.  City Officials Look for More Cuts, Financial Aid. Reported by Grace Rauh, NY1 News.

December 12, 2008.  Job Losses in City Reach Up Ladder. By Patrick McGeehan, New York Times. An earlier version of this story appeared December 11 on the City Room blog.

December 11, 2008.  Study: NYC Unemployment Rate To Rise. NY1 News.

December 11, 2008.  New York City Sees Wall St. Bonuses Falling 50%. Deal Book Blog, edited by Andrew Ross Sorkin of the New York Times.

December 11, 2008.  City Comptroller raises job-loss estimate. By Daniel Massey, crainsnewyork.com. Also at Workforce Management.

December 4, 2008.  Economic crisis makes for strange political bedfellows. By Dan Janison, Newsday.

December 2, 2008.  Can we talk about taxes? A column by Mary Anna Towler,  Rochester City Newspaper.

The Fiscal Policy Institute, a progressive public-policy group, has compiled the evidence ... Since 1976, New York State has cut its top income-tax rate from the previous 15.375 percent down to 6.85 percent. That means, notes the Institute, that whether your family makes $41,000 a year or $1 million, your tax rate is the same. "The large multi-year tax cuts enacted between 1994 and 2005 are now reducing state revenue by over $17 billion per year," says the Institute.

December 1, 2008.  How Not to Deal with the Oncoming Depression: The Case of New York State. A column by Lawrence S. Wittner, History News Network.

November 30, 2008.  City residents feel economy's pain. Respondents to a recent poll say the city's economy is in poor condition and 40% fear for their jobs, while 80% say they have already cut back on spending this year. By Matthew Sollars, Crain's New York Business.

November 27, 2008.  Could It Get This Bad Again? By Phoebe Neidl, Brooklyn Eagle.

November 24, 2008.  Hospitals and Schools Preserve Jobs. By Patrick McGeehan, New York Times.

November 21, 2008.  Everyday New Yorkers hurt most. A column by Amy Traub, Albany Times Union.

November 20, 2008.  They're a part of the Island: Immigrants pay taxes and otherwise contribute to our community. A column by FPI senior fellow David Dyssegaard Kallick, Newsday.

November 20, 2008.  Barack, attack labor abuses: Obama must crack down on wage theft. By Errol Louis, New York Daily News.

November 19, 2008.  After the Meltdown: New York's Future. By James Parrott, FPI's deputy director and chief economist, who writes regularly for Gotham Gazette's Economy section.

November 19, 2008.  Economics: The feds have to do more. By Jeremy Moule, Rochester City Newspaper.

November 18, 2008.  My View: Access to health care is a life-and-death issue for cancer patients. A column by Sandra Cassese, Middletown Times Herald-Record.

November 18, 2008.  Teachers rule again: School jobs steady as others decline. By Elizabeth Lazarowitz, New York Daily News.

November 18, 2008.  New battle after Iraq: Veteran secures employment in technology field. By Melissa Grace, New York Daily News.

November 18, 2008.  New York's Budget Battle: A Case Study for Obama? By James Ridgeway, Mother Jones.

November 18, 2008.  Progressive income tax would help state crisis. A letter by Peter LaVenia, Albany Times Union.

November 18, 2008.  Leaders fail to cut budget in special session. By Lisa Spitz, WSTM Syracuse. Also, Education advocates decrying proposed school cuts in state budget. WCAX Vermont.

November 18, 2008.  New Yorkers to state leaders: Cut spending, not raise taxes. By Joseph Spector, Journal News.

November 17, 2008.  Budget Backfire: Cuts on the Needy Won't Help. A column by Ron Deutsch and Mary Brosnahan, City Limits.

It's sink or swim time for New York state. So let’s get our priorities straight and face the difficult financial situation with a balanced approach that looks at both the spending and revenue side of the budget equation. Reckless cuts alone will only pull us deeper into the recession's undertow.

November 17, 2008.  Health care can't absorb more cuts. By James J. Barba, president and CEO, Albany Medical Center; Steven P. Boyle, president and CEO, St. Peter's Health Care Services; James W. Connolly, president and CEO, Ellis Hospital; Gino J. Pazzaglini, President and CEO, Seton Health and James K. Reed, M.D. president and CEO, Northeast Health. Albany Times Union.

November 17, 2008.  The Cost of Cuts. An editorial from the Cornell Daily Sun, Ithaca.

November 17, 2008.  Education cut could affect CFE resolution. By Cara Matthews, Politics on the Hudson (Journal News).

November 15, 2008.  Real money is out there for N. Y. A guest column by Richard C. Iannuzzi, Albany Times Union.

November 13, 2008.  Gov. Paterson Announces More NY Budget Cuts. By Katy Mantyk, Epoch Times.

November 12, 2008.  Paterson Cuts Deeper, Resistance Gets Stouter. By Jimmy Vielkind, New York Observer.

"He's doing this entirely from an accounting ledger perspective - he's not taking the economic impact of his cuts into consideration," said Frank Mauro, a liberal economist who is executive director of the Fiscal Policy Institute. Mauro said that Paterson should restrict his actions to the $1.5 billion deficit and use $1.039 billion from the tax stabilization reserve fund.

November 12, 2008.  Proposed tuition hike worries students. By Matt McFarland, WNYT.

November 12, 2008.  Long Island barely avoiding recession. By Randi Marshall and Emi Endo, Newsday.

November 5, 2008.  New Guidelines Have Been Established for Food Stamps. By Glenn Graves, Walton Reporter.

November 4, 2008.  Governor Paterson Means Business: Spitzer's successor disses his bad old radical self. By Tom Robbins, Village Voice.

Paterson appears to have bought the notion that higher personal-income taxes cause the rich to flee. This may be the teachings of The Fountainhead, but there's no real-world evidence for it. Were it so, New York's wealthy would long ago have escaped to places like Georgia, where politicians make sure that millionaires pay the same tax rate as day laborers. As Frank Mauro, the tireless pro-union advocate of the Fiscal Policy Institute in Albany, points out, the rich have not even fled their estates next door in New Jersey, which has long taken an extra bite - almost 9 percent - out of the incomes of those making over $500,000.

What does cause people to move or stay away, says Mauro, is a decline in public services. "Our fear is that if you try and close a budget gap of the magnitude that the governor is projecting, you will be inevitably cutting services that are important to low- and middle-income families," he says. "We know that expenditure cuts put more drag on the economy than high-end taxes."

November 3, 2008.  Immigrants Confront the Recession. By Larry Tung, Gotham Gazette.

November 1, 2008.  Budget crisis will cut deep in NYC: Faces $1 billion in losses; schools, hospitals, nursing homes big targets. By Erik Engquist, Crain's New York Business.

October 28, 2008.  Premium Fraud Draws More Attention as Economy Totters. By Bill Kidd, workcompcentral.com.

October 28, 2008.  NYC city council supports new tax on carry. A majority of the city council supports a proposal by the Working Families Party, a grassroots political group, to include carried interest under the city’s 4% unincorporated business tax. By Christopher Witkowski, Private Equity Real Estate.

October 27, 2008.  Tap immigrant potential. An editorial from El Diario / La Prensa.

October 27, 2008.  How Congress spells relief. By Erik Engquist and Mike Sollars, Crain's New York Business.

Congressional leaders are discussing a stimulus package that could send $50 billion in relief to state and local governments. "New York could get 10% of that, depending on how it’s done," says James Parrott of the Fiscal Policy Institute. "If it’s done through Medicaid, New York would get more."

October 24, 2008.  New York City Council Votes to Allow Members, Mayor to Run for 3rd Terms. By Ted Phillips, The Bond Buyer.

October 22, 2008.  U.S. Bank Is Cautious in Report on Region. By Patrick McGeehan, New York Times. (In the October 23 print edition.)

October 20, 2008.  Toward an Egalitarian Market. GRITtv with Laura Flanders.

October 19, 2008.  Forecast: Job losses not as bad this time around. Diverse economy, quality of life should soften the blow of next recession. By Daniel Massey, Crain's New York Business.

October 17, 2008.  Young workers in New York now earn no more than their counterparts did in 1979 despite being better educated. Finfacts Ireland.

October 16, 2008.  For Young New Yorkers, Wages Stuck in 1979. By Jennifer 8. Lee, New York Times City Room Blog.

October 14, 2008.  Lawmakers question proposed raises for social services workers. By Elizabeth Cooper, Utica Observer-Dispatch.

October 8, 2008.  More regulation inevitable. Turkish Daily News.

"The financial crisis puts a dramatic failure of unregulated markets directly in front of the public," says David Dyssegaard Kallick, senior fellow at the Fiscal Policy Institute, based in New York. "There could hardly be a more powerful argument for regulation than the failure of banks that are 'too big to fail.'"

October 8, 2008.  Food stamp benefits increase for many. By Braulio Basaldua, Queens Courier.

October 6, 2008.  We Could Better Integrate New Immigrants into American Society - And Should. By Ian Reifowitz, History News Network at George Mason University.

October 3, 2008.  Governor wants $2 billion in budget cuts: Gov. David Paterson is calling the Legislature back for another budget-cutting session in November. By Matthew Sollars, crainsnewyork.com.

October 3, 2008.  Economists: Inaction on bailout is dangerous. Local experts backing Wall Street rescue effort. By Sara Foss, Schenectady Gazette.

October 2, 2008.  A new look, but same mission. By Salle E. Richards, Elmira Star-Gazette.

September 29, 2008.  A New Push to Let Non-Citizens Vote. By Larry Tung, Gotham Gazette.

September 28, 2008.  Power Shifts From N.Y. to D.C.: After Wall Street's Quake, Manhattan Braces for Financial Tsunami. By Keith B. Richburg, Washington Post.

September 26, 2008.  Los trabajadores latinos y la sindicalización. An op ed by Sonia Ivany and David Dyssegaard Kallick, El Diario / La Prensa. Also posted in English on IPANY's Voices That Must Be Heard: Latino workers and unions.

September 25, 2008.  Lower Hudson Valley taxes among highest in U.S. By Dwight R. Worley, Journal News.

September 23, 2008.  The Backstory of the Financial Collapse. Call it Gall Street. How else to describe an industry that applauds nearly $500 million in bonuses for executives taking an entire economy down with them? By Tom Robbins, Village Voice.

September 22, 2008.  The End of Wall Street as We Know It.  By James Parrott, FPI's deputy director and chief economist, who writes regularly for Gotham Gazette's Economy section.

September 21, 2008.  Experts: Even with plans, economic recovery to take time. By Randi F. Marshall, Newsday. Also: am New York.

September 21, 2008.  Manufacturing still shows life in region: Local producers work at getting rid of trend. By Jordan Carleo-Evangelist, Albany Times Union.

September 20, 2008.  Spreading pain will cost 90,000 jobs: Retailers to be hit hard; tourism may finally weaken. By Daniel Massey, crainsnewyork.com.

September 17, 2008.  NY economy may not suffer as badly as thought: Bailouts, mergers and diversity may help it weather Wall Street crisis. By David B. Caruso (AP), msnbc. Also: Newsday, am New York, the Journal News, Business Week, Forbes.com, International Herald Tribune, International Business Times, Yahoo Finance, AOL Money & Finance and others.

September 17, 2008.  The Brian Lehrer Show: What Should Washington Do? FPI's James Parrott and Nicole Gelinas of the Manhattan Institute discuss how the government should respond to the latest fiscal crisis. WNYC. (25:31)

September 17, 2008.  Hispanic Union Workers. Gotham Gazette's Report of the Day.

September 16, 2008.  Bonanza para latinos agremiados. By Jose Acosta, El Diario / La Prensa.

September 16, 2008.  Economists say impact on region tough to forecast. By Christine Young, Middletown Times Herald-Record.

September 16, 2008.  Counties brace for tax impact of Wall Street woes. By James Schlett, Schenectady Daily Gazette.

September 16, 2008.  Congestion Pricing Is Popular Among Ideas To Boost MTA. By Benjamin Sarlin, New York Sun.

September 15, 2008.  Wall Street losses could impact employment. By Elizabeth Moore, Newsday. Also: Are we looking at hard economic times ahead? (Newsday, September 16.)

September 15, 2008.  New York economy will feel Wall Street's pain. Estimates that 33,000 jobs in the New York City securities industry will be lost during the current downturn could be revised upward. By Daniel Massey, crainsnewyork.com.

September 15, 2008.  Could Selling Bridges Solve Congestion? By William Neuman, New York Times City Room.

September 15, 2008.  Brooklyn Shows Resiliency. Gotham Gazette's Report of the Day.

September 14, 2008.  Bank of America, Barclays look to aid Lehman Brothers, but no promises. By Elizabeth Lazarowitz and William Sherman, New York Daily News.

September 12, 2008.  Brooklyn Enjoys Decade of Job Growth, But Losses Expected in Coming Recession. By Phoebe Neidl, Brooklyn Daily Eagle.

September 12, 2008.  Brooklyn Could Lose 6,000 Jobs, Report Says. By Patrick McGeehan, New York Times City Room.

September 10, 2008.  Mayor Seeks to Disband Lower Manhattan Panel. By Charles V. Bagli, New York Times.

September 9, 2008.  SUNY leaders plead case to reverse cuts. By Delen Goldberg, Syracuse Post-Standard.

September 9, 2008.  Four Places to Seek Help From While Job Hunting. By AnnaMaria Andriotis, smartmoney.com

September 5, 2008.  Businesses hold back on fuel savings. New York City companies that added surcharges and hiked prices because of gasoline increases are not in a hurry to roll them back now that the price of fuel has dropped. By Matthew Sollars, crainsnewyork.com.

September 2, 2008.  NY Dems come home to find state in an economic mess. By Jay Gallagher, Journal News.

September 1, 2008.  Deal with obstacles facing our workers. A Labor Day editorial from the Troy Record.

It is more than time for our leaders in government and private industry to start dealing with the issues affecting our nation's workers. If they are successful in dealing with this issues, their actions will help put this state and nation back on a solid economic foundation.

August 31, 2008.  Not quite a picnic. An editorial from the Albany Times Union.

August 31, 2008.  Wage squeeze. By Eric Anderson, Albany Times Union.

August 31, 2008.  Incomes here are up, but still lag U. S. By Dave Robinson, Buffalo News.

August 29, 2008.  Out of work in New York. By Michelle Chen, Viewsday, a Newsday opinion blog.

If the sea of about 84,000 spectators at INVESCO Field at Mile High seemed like a lot to you last night, imagine how many arenas we could fill with a much less cheery crowd here in New York. About half a million workers across the state were stuck on the unemployment rolls as of July, according to a new report by the Fiscal Policy Institute.
...

The trends signal a troubling change, but not a hopeless one, FPI says. The report urges Albany lawmakers to respond by reforming the state's unemployment insurance system (which currently doles out about $300 per week on average), to help families ride out the economic slump while softening the impact of eroding wages.

August 29, 2008.  More to overcome. An editorial from the Journal News.

... in a week filled with remembrances about a long-ago speech and promises to come, [Martin Luther King, Jr.] would want to remind the celebrants of Denver and St. Paul and all our communities that his life's work concerned not only racial equality, but also economic fairness and opportunity for all. There is so much more to overcome. The campaign trail should help inform how we - all of us - do just that.

August 29, 2008.  Unemployment insurance system strained. By Cara Matthews, Ithaca Journal.

August 28, 2008.  Jobless Fund Is Running Out of Money. By Patrick McGeehan, New York Times City Room. (Also in print edition, August 29.)

August 28, 2008.  Unemployment leaps over 20 percent in 25 New York counties. By Joan Gralla, Reuters. Also, WAMC-Albany.

August 28, 2008.  Unemployment Way Up in New York State. By Ilya Marritz, WNYC.

August 28, 2008.  A broken safety net. An editorial from El Diario / La Prensa. In Spanish: Una malla de seguridad sin fondo.

If New York legislators are interested in heading off a snowballing problem, they should modernize the state employment insurance system.

A report released today by the Fiscal Policy Institute shows that 25 counties in New York State, including Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester, are experiencing at least 20 percent increases in the number of unemployed persons.

August 28, 2008.  Report: Unemployment-insurance system under strain. By Cara Matthews, Journal News.

August 28, 2008.  Big Increase in Unemployment Could Tax State's Resources. By Peter Kiefer, New York Sun.

August 28, 2008.  Wall St. woes drill NYC: After sidestepping national downturn, city’s joblessness on rise. By Patrick Arden, New York Metro.

August 28, 2008.  Medio millón de desempleados en NYS. By Alexandra Ochoa, Hoy Nueva York.

August 28, 2008.  Labor group: Bad economy putting strain on safety net for jobless. By Cara Matthews, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.

August 28, 2008.  Report: Local jobless rates worsening. By Tom Wanamaker, Catskill Daily Mail.

August 28, 2008.  Study: NYS unemployment rising, system in need of repair. WWTI-Watertown.

August 27, 2008.  NY poverty rate drops, leads North; Rate highest among upstate families. Also, Census: Poverty level, rate of uninsured decline. By Cara Matthews, Poughkeepsie Journal.

August 27, 2008.  Poverty down, income inequality up in Lower Hudson Valley. By Dwight R. Worley, Journal News.

August 27, 2008.  Poverty declining in state, but Rochester's rate is 29.1%. By Cara Matthews, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.

August 27, 2008.  Sullivan's poverty rate among highest in the state. By Matt King, Middletown Times Herald-Record.

August 27, 2008.  Census: Fewer Long Island residents below poverty level. By Olivia Winslow, Newsday. Also on TMCnet.com.

August 27, 2008.  Census: Poverty level, rate of uninsured decline; income rises. By Cara Matthews, Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin.

August 27, 2008.  State poverty rate goes down but is highest of all northern states. By Cara Matthews, Ithaca Journal.

August 27, 2008.  The poor gained no ground in 2007: Census Bureau reports poverty rate was unchanged even as household income increased. By Cathleen F. Crowley, Albany Times Union.

August 25, 2008.  America's Invisible Rich: Politicians can't seem to see any wealthy people when deciding whom to tax. By Sam Pizzigati, AlterNet.

Nationally, the top 1 percent of taxpayers in 2006 collected just over a fifth of all personal income in the United States, 21.1 percent. In ten states, including New York, the top 1 percent claimed an income share over that 21.1 percent level.

These ten states also share something else in common. All ten, the Washington, D.C.-based Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy charged last week, have tax systems that "generally ignore" the considerable deep-pocket presence within their borders.

...

"Restoring some of the New York tax system's lost progressivity," Frank Mauro of the Fiscal Policy Institute, a state research group, noted last week, "should be part of the state's effort to balance its budget."

New York Governor David Paterson apparently disagrees. Paterson has no "millionaire's tax" in his package of proposals to cut the state's $6.4 billion budget deficit. The governor seems to buy the line, wildly popular on Wall Street, that upping tax rates on the rich will lead to a massive statewide exodus of New York's wealthy.

That's what a former New York governor, George Pataki, claimed back in 2003 when lawmakers voted to place a temporary 7.7 percent tax on income over $500,000 and a 7.5 percent tax on any income that couples report over $150,000. Pataki vetoed this tax hike on New York's most affluent, but lawmakers then enacted the measure over his veto. What happened? Over the next three years, with the tax hike on the wealthy that Pataki vetoed on the books, the number of taxpayers in New York making over $200,000 actually increased by 31 percent.

August 22, 2008.  Poll numbers and the property tax: Another take. By Dan Janison, Newsday's Spin Cycle blog.

August 22, 2008.  Organización abre las puertas a inmigrantes profesionales de NY. By Victor Mimoni, El Correo de Queens.

August 20, 2008.  Of interest. Plattsburgh Press-Republican.

August 19, 2008.  Tax reform group is ‘disappointed’ with Assembly spending reductions bill. Mid-Hudson News.

August 19, 2008.  Council of Economic Advisors named. www.empirestatenews.net.

August 18, 2008.  Paterson Convenes Economic Council. By Sewell Chan, New York Times City Room.

August 18, 2008.  Paterson’s economic council. By Irene Jay Liu, Times Union Capitol Confidential.

August 18, 2008.  Paterson Names Economic Team. By Joseph Spector, Gannett Albany Watch.

August 17, 2008.  Paterson’s tax cap proposal criticized. By Sara Foss, Schenectady Daily Gazette.

August 16, 2008.  Property tax reform proponents unveil plan: Legislators, group back 'circuit breaker.' By John Davis, Poughkeepsie Journal.

The occasion was the unveiling of the Omnibus Bill that would combine short-term tax relief and long-term tax reform. It proposes enacting a "circuit breaker" and, in the long run, shifting costs to the state.

The Omnibus Bill is the brainchild of Frank Mauro, director of the Fiscal Policy Institute, an Albany-based economic think tank.

"We came up with this vision that sort of embraces the best of a number of bills out there," he said.

August 16, 2008.  Bill would offer immediate relief on property tax. By Jeremiah Horrigan, Middletown Times Herald-Record.

August 16, 2008.  Property tax reform bill proposed at Ulster conference. Mid-Hudson News. Also in the Catskill News.

August 16, 2008.  Ulster lawmaker, institute chief offer property tax reform bill. Kingston Daily Freeman.

August 15, 2008.  Job market figures: a murky view. By Michelle Chen, Viewsday, a Newsday opinion blog.

August 14, 2008.  State Report Tallying Jobs Finds Glass Half Empty. By Patrick McGeehan, New York Times.

August 14, 2008.  Budget battle Deja Vu All Over Again. By Rick Karlin, Times Union Capitol Confidential.

August 14, 2008.  Immigrant professionals continue to drive NYC's GDP. IndiaPost.com.

August 13, 2008.  Let the wealthy do their part. An editorial from El Diario / La Prensa.

In closing New York’s projected $26 billion budget deficit, we agree with Governor David Paterson when he says that raising taxes should be the last resort. New Yorkers already pay a lot of taxes. But a proposal for a surcharge on the wealthiest New Yorkers is certainly in order considering the state’s economic woes ...

In a state and city with the country’s widest income disparities between the rich and the poor, protecting the underdog is all the more necessary.

August 12, 2008.  Capping the Tax Growth. WBNG-Binghamton.

August 11, 2008.  New Yorkers among top taxpayers. By Elizabeth Butler Cordova, crainsnewyork.com.

August 10, 2008.  Which is the real Paterson? By Alan Chartock, Kingston Daily Freeman.

August 9-10, 2008.  "New York State Comptroller's Take on Budget Crisis" and "Millionaire's Tax: On the Money?" FPI executive director Frank Mauro was a guest on WLIW's public affairs show, Crosson and Welles. Other discussants included Thomas DiNapoli, New York State Comptroller, Joye Brown, Newsday columnist, Newsday, and Robert Gaffney, president of Dowling College.

August 8, 2008.  Think tank: N.J. tops in taxes, N.Y. ranks second. By Jay Gallagher, Gannett News Service, Journal News. Also in the Poughkeepsie Journal and (on August 11) the Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin and the Elmira Star-Gazette.

August 7, 2008.  Paying now . . . or later. An editorial from the Journal News.

August 6, 2008.  Discussion of state budget and impact of policy on working class (at about 29:38). Wake-up Call, WBAI.

August 6, 2008.  NY state voters favor millionaire's tax - poll.  By Joan Gralla and Leslie Adler, Reuters via Forbes.com.

August 5, 2008.  The federal minimum wage and lower income workers in New York.  1370 Connection, WXXI, Rochester.

August 4, 2008.  Governor Patterson Plays the Depression Card - Proposes Massive Cuts Instead of Millionaire's Tax. Building Bridges, WBAI.

August 4, 2008.  The state of finances: Lawmakers, up for re-election may not be ready to make the $600M in budget cuts the governor wants. By James T. Madore and Elizabeth Moore, Newsday.

August 4, 2008.  NY state budget: How bad is bad? By Anne Michaud, Viewsday, a Newsday opinion blog.

August 4, 2008.  Immigrants make up large portion of economic output. By Nicole Estaphan, WKTV-Utica.

August 3, 2008.  New faces in new places: Immigrant population is increasing, by Jill Bryce. Immigrants make it all work: Some industries depend on international recruiting efforts, by Jill Bryce and Sarah Foss. (These stories cite FPI's November 2007 report, Working for a Better Life.) Schenectady Daily Gazette.

August 1, 2008.  Time to link tax breaks to promises. An editorial from the Middletown Times Herald-Record.

July 31, 2008.  Fiscal Woes of the Past Prod Paterson to Act Early. By Danny Hakim, New York Times.

July 31, 2008.  Report about dwindling illegal immigration sparks debate. By Dave Marcus, Newsday. Also in the Santa Barbara News-Press.

July 30, 2008.  Lean times in Albany. From Viewsday, a Newsday opinion blog.

The landscape is already polarizing as the business-oriented Citizens Budget Commission calls for controlling government spending on social services while the labor-friendly Fiscal Policy Institute urges ramping up taxes for higher income brackets.

July 30, 2008.  A special roundtable discussion on New York's economic health convened by WAMC-Albany in the wake of Governor Paterson's proposed budget cuts. Hosted by Alan Chartock.

July 30, 2008.  New York's Paterson Seeks Emergency Session as Deficit Balloons. By Henry Goldman and Michael Quint, www.bloomberg.com.

"Increasing taxes on higher-income people is less harmful than cutting government spending," Renwick said. "It should be a balanced approach that doesn't put increased stress on people who can least afford to pay."

July 30, 2008.  Paterson’s Speech Already Causing Albany Scramble. New York magazine.

July 30, 2008.  Hoping for a Millionaire's Tax in a Bad Budget Year. By Azi Paybarah for the New York Observer's Politicker.

July 30, 2008.  The Gov's Fine Talk. An editorial from the New York Post.

July 30, 2008.  Home health aide union steps up campaign. 1199 SEIU intends to strike if contracts are not ratified with 25 area home care agencies by mid September, rally planned for Aug. 7. By Daniel Massey, crains.com.

July 29, 2008.  Governor Paterson's speech on the state's financial situation: outlook and commentary. On the Economy hosted by Bloomberg's Tom Keene.

July 29, 2008.  Recorded at Wall Street. German Public Radio.

July 29, 2008.  Valley officials await Paterson's proposals. By Craig Wolf, Poughkeepsie Journal.

Frank Mauro, executive director of the Fiscal Policy Institute, a nonpartisan group near Albany, said history offers some choices that can work.

One is the temporary surcharge on higher incomes that was used by New York in 2003, Mauro said. For three years, incomes over $150,000 and $500,000 paid extra in different degrees, helping the state through a crisis then.

The federal government should help states, Mauro said, because it can run a temporary deficit with less harm than if the states try it. This would prevent states from cutting spending and thus adding to recessionary pressure even as federal stimulus payments go out to try to combat recession. The federal government has helped with temporarily higher Medicaid matches and revenue sharing.

July 27, 2008.  Across the nation, IBM leaves a trail of broken promises: Big Blue takes public benefits, but cuts jobs, underdelivers. By Christine Young, Middletown Times Herald-Record.

July 24, 2008.  MainStreet Explains: Small Businesses and the Minimum Wage Hike. By Lyneka Little, mainstreet.com.

July 23, 2008.  Report urges hike in minimum wage. THINK TANK: New York needs to take steps to restore purchasing power of workers' pay. By Tom Wanamaker, Watertown Daily Times. Also in the Catskill Daily Mail and the Hudson Register-Star.

July 21, 2008.  The City Economy: Facing the Nation's Woes. By James Parrott, FPI's deputy director and chief economist, who writes regularly for Gotham Gazette's Economy section.

July 21, 2008.  Where the City Can Find $200 Million. By Dan Cantor, Gotham Gazette.

July 18, 2008.  $7.15 still not enough. An editorial from the Albany Times Union. Reprinted in a sampling of upstate editorials, AM New York.

July 18, 2008.  State delves into health-care coverage issue. By Barbara Pinckney, Buffalo Business First. (Also ran in Albany Business Review.)

July 17, 2008.  Jobless rate jumps, Wall Street layoffs hit: As the economic landscape continues to worsen, the city's unemployment rate hit 5.4% in June; the jobless rate is expected to continue its climb in the months ahead. By Daniel Massey, Crain's newyorkbusiness.com.

July 13, 2008.  Little done to fix Empire Zone tax program: Legislature fails to approve reforms. Tax Department denied benefits only to 7. By Mike McAndrew, Syracuse Post-Standard.

July 11, 2008.  Minimum Wage Increases Faster Than Median Wage. By Patrick McGeehan, New York Times. This story is related to FPI's report Restoring the Purchasing Power of New York State’s Minimum Wage.

July 3, 2008.  Drivers’ Walkout Has Ripple Effect Across City. By Steven Greenhouse and Patrick McGeehan, New York Times.

June 26, 2008.  Minimum-wage increase a win-lose proposition. An editorial from the Flint Journal in Michigan.

June 23, 2008.  Assembly Dems roll out fuel cost relief package. By Samantha Pawlak, Legislative Gazette.

June 21, 2008.  Oil shock reshaping NY business: Companies cut back use of cars, trucks; change routes to maximize efficiency. By Hilary Potkewitz, Crain's.

June 21, 2008.  'Hardship Gap' wider for NYS working families. By Tom Wanamaker, Catskill Daily Mail.

June 20, 2008.  Layoffs Show on New York Unemployment Rolls. By Patrick McGeehan, New York Times.

June 16, 2008.  Arguments Against a Property Tax Cap. A segment on Capital Tonight with Brian Taffe of Capital News 9, joined by David Little, the Director of Governmental Affairs for the New York School Boards Association, and FPI executive director Frank Mauro.

June 16, 2008.  Connections: Helping hands are there when working poor reach out. By Mary Haupt, Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin.

June 13, 2008.  Report says 'anemic' wages affect 5.7 million New Yorkers. By Jay Gallagher, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.

June 13, 2008.  Report: 3rd of NY families are hurting. By Jay Gallagher, Journal News.

June 13, 2008.  Report says many jobs fail to give economic security. By Jay Gallagher, Albany Times-Union.

June 13, 2008.  Wages of 30% of New Yorkers Do Not Cover Minimum Needs. Posted to the PULP Network blog by Gerry Norlander.

June 12, 2008.  Report: A third of New York working families are hurting. By Jay Gallagher, Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin.

June 12, 2008.  Report: NY Families Hurting. By Sarah Sheridan, WENY-TV (Elmira).

June 12, 2008.  Report: Third of New Yorkers can't afford basic expenses. By Jay Gallagher, Poughkeepsie Journal.

June 12, 2008.  Report: A third of NY working families are hurting. By Jay Gallagher, Ithaca Journal.

June 9, 2008.  Carried Interest Debate Carried to Albany. By Christopher Faille, HedgeWorld.com.

June 6, 2008.  Emergency Food Programs Feed Brooklyn's Hungry. By Eleanor J. Bader, The Brooklyn Rail.

June 5, 2008.  Report: Low-wage workers gain most from organizing. By Lance Howland, New York Teacher.

June 4, 2008.  Paterson to propose school property tax cap. By Bob Conner, Schenectady Gazette.

June 3, 2008.  Cap called key to tax relief. By Rick Karlin, Albany Times Union.

June 2, 2008.  Hearing on property tax cap today; Suozzi releases anticipated report. By Maria Brandecker, www.legislativegazette.com.

May 29, 2008.  Community Development Done Right. A column by David Dyssegaard Kallick, New York Metro.

May 28, 2008.  New Legislation Aimed at Creating New Jobs, Affordable Housing. NewsLI.com.

May 28, 2008.  For the record. Unionization translates to higher wages for low-wage workers, according to a joint report released May 15 by New York's Fiscal Policy Institute and the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington, D.C. The Chief-Leader.

May 27, 2008.  Tax cap report, though late, still stirring debate. By Maria Brandecker, Legislative Gazette.

May 24, 2008.  Property-tax cap on the table: Plan faces tough fight in Legislature. By Paul Brooks, Middletown Times Herald-Record.

May 23, 2008.  Rocklanders hear and discuss plans for a state tax-decrease program. By Steve Lieberman, Journal News.

May 22, 2008.  Report blasts tax-cap idea. By Jay Gallagher, Journal News.

May 22, 2008.  Property Tax Commission Report Due June 3rd. From EcuProphets,  "weblog of the New York State ecumenical community committed to peace and justice."

May 21, 2008.  Tax cap talk. By Rick Karlin, Times Union Capitol Confidential.

May 21, 2008.  How bad will NYC's economy get? History has some answers. By Garrett Sloane, am New York.

May 20, 2008.  Plan would cap property tax hikes: Proposal is one of several recommendations from state commission to be presented June 3. By Jim Odato, Albany Times Union.

May 20, 2008.  Learn about 'circuit breaker' bill to zap property tax burden. An op ed by Irv Feiner, Journal News.

May 18, 2008.  Rockland state legislators to host forum on tax relief proposal. By Sarah Netter, Journal News.

May 18, 2008.  State Development Agency Buffeted by Slowing Economy and Internal Rifts. By Charles Bagli, New York Times.

May 16, 2008.  Groups Want to Link State Aid and "Living Wage." Syracuse Post-Standard.

May 15, 2008.  Report: Low-wage union workers get 16% more. A new study shows that unionized workers in the lowest wage brackets in New York state earn 16% more than non-union workers with similar education. By Daniel Massey, Crain's.

May 14, 2008.  Wage dispute stalls nonprofits' tax-free financing. By Jay Gallagher, Journal News. Also, Institutes may lose IDA aid, Poughkeepsie Journal.

May 14, 2008.  Albany stalemate over low-interest IDA funding delays WNY projects. By Tom Precious, Buffalo News.

May 14, 2008.  Groups: Allow IDAs to help nonprofits. By Bob Conner, Schenectady Daily Gazette.

May 13, 2008.  Homeowners might get help: Proposal aims at taxes. By Paul Brooks, Middletown Times Herald-Record.

May 13, 2008.  Not For Profits Want IDA Law Renewed. By Karen DeWitt, WXXI.

"We're not talking about extraordinarily high wage standards here. We're talking about a living wage level." - James Parrott.

May 12, 2008.  Democrats See Green to Close Budget Gap in Hedge Fund Tax: Proposal strongly supported despite opposition from Bloomberg and Paterson. By Rachel Breitman, City Hall News.

May 9, 2008.  NY mayor says Hudson Yards property deal "not dead." By Joan Gralla, Reuters. Also on WAMC (Albany), WNED (Buffalo), WXXI (Rochester), WRVO (Syracuse), and WSKG (Binghamton).

May 6, 2008.  Gillibrand backs alternative funding for schools. By Maury Thompson, Glens Falls Post Star.

May 5, 2008.  How Tax Circuit Breaker Would Affect Your Budget. By Delen Goldberg, Syracuse Post-Standard. Also in the Post-Standard: How would a tax "circuit breaker" affect you? Use our calculator. By Douglass Dowty.

Wouldn't it be nice if there were a mechanism to keep your property taxes in line with your income? Proposed bill would cap property taxes based on homeowner's annual income. About 340,000 upstaters could benefit.

May 4, 2008.  Cash-sucking machines. An editorial from Newsday.

May 3, 2008.  Property tax burden takes center stage in speech by fiscal expert. By Hank Gross, Kingston Daily Freeman.

May 3, 2008.  Hearing Examines Immigrants’ Contributions to the Economy. By Donna Lamb, Greenwich Village Gazette.

May 2, 2008.  The problem with property taxes discussed. Mid-Hudson News.

April 29, 2008.  PILOT would just subsidize resort. An op ed by John K. Mullen, a professor of economics and finance at Clarkson University, in the Adirondack Daily Enterprise.

April 28, 2008.  History Hints a Recession Would Hit City Hard. By Patrick McGeehan, New York Times.

April 28, 2008.  Real Estate Slump Hits New York. By Steve Josselson, Gotham Gazette.

April 21, 2008.  New Jersey town offers immigration insights. A column by FPI senior fellow David Dyssegaard Kallick, Newsday.

April 20, 2008.  Never mind the crunch, Wall Street rich get richer. By Dominic Rushe, London Sunday Times.

April 18, 2008.  A Hotbed of Sins, Old or New. By Clyde Haberman, New York Times.

Social inequality and injustice form another sin. A glance around the city and the state makes the point quickly enough.

Underlining that reality is a new study by an Albany-based research group, the Fiscal Policy Institute. It shows that the gap between rich and poor in New York State keeps widening. A chasm is more like it. In the late 1980s, the study said, families in the top 20 percent of earners made about seven times as much as those in the bottom 20 percent. By the middle of this decade, they were making about nine times as much.

April 18, 2008.  New York City May Consider Taxing Carried Interest. By Christopher Faille, HedgeWorld.com.

April 17, 2008.  Think tank proposes NYC tax on carry. By Amanda Janis, Private Equity Online.

April 17, 2008.  The NY Tax Proposal: Pushing More Hedgies to Greenwich? Posted by Shasha Daid, Deal Journal Blog, Wall Street Journal.

April 16, 2008.  Businesses Could Leave City Under New Tax, Opponents Warn. By Benjamin Sarlin, New York Sun.

April 16, 2008.  Council Members Push for Hedge Fund Tax. WNYC.

April 16, 2008.  Big Apple May Go For Bigger Hedge Fund Tax. FINalternatives - Hedge Fund & Private Equity News.

April 16, 2008.  Pols call for hedge fund taxation. Bloomberg, New York Metro.

New York - Six New York City Council members endorsed a proposal to extend the city’s tax on unincorporated businesses to include private equity and hedge fund managers, saying it would raise as much as $225 million.

The lawmakers joined with janitors representing the Service Employees International Union, members of the Working Families Party and the laborfunded Fiscal Policy Institute to call for the taxation of performance fees managers take.

April 15, 2008.  Plenty of wheeling and dealing. By Stan Bergstein, Daily Racing Form.

April 15, 2008.  NYC hedge fund profits show tax system flaw -study. By Joan Gralla, Reuters.

April 15, 2008.  City council members endorse plan to extend taxes on hedge fund earnings. Daily News (Bloomberg).

April 15, 2008.  A Taxing Debate Gets New Life. Deal Book Blog, edited by Andrew Ross Sorkin of the New York Times.

April 15, 2008.  City, State Eye New Taxes on Hedge Fund Managers. By Jacob Gershman, New York Sun.

April 14, 2008.  Foreclosure Moratorium Bill Gains Traction in Both Houses: Padavan and Brennan say time is right for Legislature to tackle sub-prime crisis. By Rachel Breitman, City Hall News.

April 11, 2008.  Budgeting in Albany in Hard Times. By Clyde Haberman, New York Times.

April 11, 2008.  Lighter Tax Burdens - Panel: Circuit breaker, exemptions may relieve property costs. By John Mariani, Syracuse Post-Standard.

April 11, 2008.  Gap Between Rich & Poor in NY Grows Wider. Reported by Dave Lucas for WAMC.

April 11, 2008.  Rich Get Richer, Poor Get Poorer in New York State, Study Finds. PND-Philanthropy News Digest.

April 10, 2008.  Legislators Back Spending Rise in State’s Budget. By Jeremy W. Peters, New York Times.

April 10, 2008.  An Agent of Change in an Age of Chaos. A podcast by Sam Roberts, New York Times. In a tribute to Barry Gottehrer, Sam alludes to FPI's recent report, Pulling Apart, to show that problems facing the city - unmasked more than forty years ago by Gottehrer's award-winning reporting for the Herald Tribune - still persist today despite greater public order.

April 10, 2008.  Gap between rich, poor families in state still widest in nation. By James Schlett, Schenectady Daily Gazette.

April 10, 2008.  Fair wage engenders basic human dignity. An op ed by C. Melissa Snarr, Pd.D., in the Nashville Tennessean.

April 9, 2008.  Study Finds Third of City’s Income on the Top Rung. By Jennifer 8. Lee, City Room Blog (New York Times).

April 9, 2008.  Gap widens between state’s wealthy, poor. By Eric Anderson, The Buzz: Business News Blog (Albany Times Union).

April 9, 2008.  Report: NY's lowest-paid worker's wages increase faster than average. AP, Plattsburgh Press-Republican. Also on WHAM-TV and R News in Rochester; WSYR-TV and WSTM-TV in Syracuse; WNYT-TV and WXXA - FOX23 in Albany; News Channel 34 in Binghamton; WETM-TV in Elmira; WWTI/Newswatch 50 in Watertown; and WCAX in Burlington, VT.

April 3, 2008.  $600M Concord package won't be in state budget. By Victor Whitman, Middletown Times Herald-Record.

April 3, 2008.  NY Labor Unions Helping Fulfill MLK's Dream of Equality. John Robinson/Don Mathisen, Public News Service - NY. Also ran in Tennessee.

April 1, 2008.  Is America becoming a lottery society? An op ed by FPI senior fellow David Dyssegaard Kallick, New York Metro.

March 31, 2008.  Bill would repeal mortgage tax. By Adam Pincus, The Real Deal.

March 31, 2008.  Global, national factors put squeeze on consumers. By Keiko Morris, Newsday.

March 30, 2008.  A state budget built on hope: Increased spending plan relies on revenues that may not materialize. By Jim Odato, Albany Times Union.

March 28, 2008.  Job Total Dips in State, but the City Gains a Bit. By Patrick McGeehan, New York Times.

March 27, 2008.  What the state budget means for upstate families. Reported by Jasmyn Belcher for WVRO Oswego.

March 27, 2007.  Lobbyists push for tax increases to offset budget shortfall. By Valerie Bauman, Newsday.

March 27, 2008.  Coalition of New York Groups Calls For Higher Income Tax on Millionaires. By Gerald B. Silverman, BNA's Daily Tax Report.

March 27, 2008.  Schenectady feeling the budget pinch. Reported by Britt Godshalk for Capital News 9.

March 27, 2008.  Job cuts shake Wall Street nerves. By Dumeetha Luthra, BBC News.

March 26, 2008.  Multistate Business Tax Ruling Will Help New York's Bottom Line. By David Pomerantz, New York Sun.

March 26, 2008.  Don't break promise of school aid. An op ed by Rosemary Rivera of the Alliance for Quality Education, Rochester Democrat & Chronicle.

March 26, 2008.  Good government groups will analyze the state budget for the public. By Delen Goldberg, Syracuse Post-Standard.

March 23, 2008.  $4.9M hole in budget for '08: Lawmakers have tough task. By Sara Foss, Schenectady Daily Gazette.

March 20, 2008.  Great address, near Capitol, tax advantages: Empire Zone status offers businesses breaks just blocks from power. By Rick Karlin, Albany Times Union.

March 19, 2008.  Ten Reasons We Don't Have the Economy We Thought We Had. By James Parrott, Gotham Gazette.

March 17, 2008.  And Now: The Paterson Administration. By Courtney Gross and Gail Robinson, Gotham Gazette.

March 14, 2008.  State must work to fix property tax problem. By FPI senior economist Trudi Renwick, The Saratogian.

March 9, 2008.  Film Study Misinterpreted. By FPI deputy director and chief economist James A. Parrott, The Hartford Courant.

March 7, 2008.  New York Assembly Democrats Considering Higher Income Tax on Wealthy. By John Buhl, State Tax Notes from Tax Analysts.

March 7, 2008.  Meeting explores options for property-tax reform. By Christine Pizzuti, Poughkeepsie Journal.

March 6, 2008.  Assembly Plan Would Add to Taxes of More Affluent. By Jeremy W. Peters, New York Times.

March 6, 2008.  Immigrant issues growing in county. By Fritz Mayer, Narrowsburg River Reporter.

February 29, 2008.  What's wrong with the CGR critique of prevailing wage requirements. By FPI deputy director and chief economist James A. Parrott, Long Island Business News.

February 28, 2008.  Watchdog groups to address state spending: Some want redesign of N.Y. tax structure. By Brian Liberatore, Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin.

February 27, 2008.  Economists warn of worsening sub-prime loan problem in N.Y. By Jay Gallagher, Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin. Also in the Poughkeepsie Journal.

February 22, 2008.  Bush budget stiffs New York: report. President George Bush's 2009 budget could cost New York State $1.7 billion in federal support, according to the Fiscal Policy Institute. By Tommy Fernandez, Crain's New York Business.

February 21, 2008.  There's a way to restore aid to education. Commentary by Rod Watson, Buffalo News.

The Fiscal Policy Institute has an easy remedy for Gov. Eliot L. Spitzer's decision to trim aid increases he promised schools as part of a four-year plan. The institute calculates that the slowdown would cost Buffalo $5.6 million. That's a lot of teachers, books and other necessities in a district with lots of poor students - in both senses of the word.

The answer: temporarily increasing the top income tax rates on the state's highest earners, as the Legislature did in 2003 when it passed a three-year surcharge over the veto of then-Gov. George E. Pataki.

Granted, it's a radical notion, expecting those with the most to help those with the least.

But Frank Mauro, institute executive director, recalled Pataki singing the same "sky will fall" song the well-off always sing when we talk about helping poor kids. The threat was that raising taxes on those who benefit most would slow the economy and make people flee the state.

"Neither of those things happened," Mauro said at last weekend's New York State Association of Black & Puerto Rican Legislators conference in Albany.

...

Beyond dealing with the current problem, Mauro said, a permanent surcharge on the highest earners also would reduce property tax pressures on low-and middle-income homeowners. That would be a permanent benefit.

February 20, 2008.  New York to lose $1.7 billion in Bush's new budget. By Irene Liu, Capitol Confidential.

February 15, 2008.  Education advocates criticize Spitzer. By Dan Osburn, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. Also in the Journal News, the Elmira Star-Gazette, and the Ithaca Journal.

February 15, 2008.  Time to short-circuit excessive spending. An editorial from the Glens Falls Post-Star.

The non-partisan Fiscal Policy Institute endorsed the circuit breaker concept as a mechanism for temporary tax relief. But in doing so, it also called on the state to stop shifting the tax burden to local governments and to enact systematic changes in fiscal policy to correct what created the high taxes.

February 14, 2008.  Education advocates: Spitzer backing off funding pledge. By Dan Osburn, Elmira Star-Gazette. Also in the Binghamton Press and Sun-Bulletin and the Poughkeepsie Journal.

February 14, 2008.  Griffo cosponsors legislation to cap property taxes for homeowners. Rome Observer.

February 12, 2008.  Study Sees Non-Hispanic Whites Shrinking to Minority Status in U.S. By Sarah Garland, New York Sun.

February 11, 2008.  New kind of property tax cap suggested. By Maria Brandecker, Legislative Gazette.

February 11, 2008.  'Circuit breaker' program may ease taxes. By Maury Thompson, Glens Falls Post-Star.

February 11, 2008.  Griffo boosts bill to limit property taxes based on homeowner income. Rome Sentinel.

February 10, 2008.  Fears of recession for nation, Long Island worsen. By Randi F. Marshall, Newsday.

February 7, 2008.  Empire Zone board shake up: Changes prompted in part by citizen activist. By Fritz Mayer, Narrowsburg River Reporter.

February 7, 2008.  Little pushes bill to cap property taxes. By Heather Sackett, Adirondack Daily Enterprise.

February 6, 2008.  Catholic Charities to host N.Y. budget, economy briefing. Elmira Star-Gazette.

February 5, 2008.  Plan to link tax breaks to income: Lawmakers propose "circuit breaker" that gives rebates to those who need it most. By Rick Karlin, Albany Times Union.

February 5, 2008.  N.Y. lawmakers have plan to limit property taxes. By Jay Gallagher, Gannett News Service. Also in the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, the Journal News, the Poughkeepsie Journal, and the Ithaca Journal.

February 5, 2008.  Lawmakers plan to limit property tax rebates. By James T. Madore, Newsday.

February 5, 2008.  Little property tax bill gets support. By Maury Thompson, Glens Falls Post-Star.

February 4, 2008.  Lawmakers Offer New Property Tax Relief Proposal. Reported by Walt McClure, WXXA Fox News 23 Albany.

February 4, 2008.  Galef, Little Bill Would Tie Property Taxes to Income: Legislation gains support of tax groups, Fiscal Policy Institute. Press Release, Office of Assemblywoman Sandy Galef.

February 4, 2008.  The Stench of '89: The last great New York recession was prolonged and deep. And it’s eerily familiar. By Michael Idov, New York Magazine.

February 4, 2008.  Real Estate Round-Up. By Jacqui Ryan, Brooklyn Eagle.

February 1, 2008.  City Economy Hinges on Multiple Factors: At Jobs Forum, Panelists Disagree About How Deep Slowdown Will Be. NYC Workforce Weekly.

January 31, 2008.  Babylon, N.Y.: Pocketbook Issues Are Central. The immigration debate has given way to money matters. By Kirk Shinkle, U.S. News and World Report.

January 31, 2008.  多团体发起移民教育运动.  The Epoch Times (Australia).

January 31, 2008.  Tax reform long overdue. A letter to the editor by Robin Vaccai Yess, Middletown Times Herald-Record.

Funding schools through property taxes is inequitable, unfair and unrelated to a person's ability to pay. Until it changes to an income-based tax to fund schools, our seniors and young families will continue to be forced out.

It's a two-part problem - the funding mechanism and school district spending. If district budgets continue to rise by more than twice the rate of inflation, the tax must continually increase. So, yes, we need a different, equitable method to fund schools, but school spending must simultaneously be brought under control.

The commission should seek help from the Fiscal Policy Institute, the Public Policy Institute and the numerous tax reform groups throughout the state for tax reform solutions that have already been developed. Many members of the Assembly and Senate, who are paid with taxpayer dollars, have drafted proposed legislation.

January 30, 2008.  Campaña contra mitos antiinmigrantes. By Judith Torrea, El Diario/La Prensa.

January 29, 2008.  ECONOMICS: Spitzer's budget: SOS from the middle class. By Christine Carrie Fien, Rochester City Newspaper.

January 28, 2008.  Trying to make it safer to do a dangerous job. By Jillian Jonas, CityLimits.org.

January 28, 2008.  Labor groups, lawmakers ask for IDA reforms. By Heather Senison, Legislative Gazette.

January 24, 2008.  An economy wrapped in uncertainty. By Randi Marshall, Newsday.

January 22, 2008.  City Comptroller urges IDA reform. By Diane Hess, Crains.com.

January 18, 2008.  Wall Street dip threatens state tax revenue. By Jay Gallagher, Journal News.

January 17, 2008.  We Want Higher Taxes. [Thanks Jay for the snappy headline. What we really want is to take a fresh look at rolling back all the tax cuts enjoyed by those with the highest incomes - in order to ease the pressure of property taxes as well as income taxes on those of more modest means.] By Jay Jochnowitz, Capitol Confidential.

January 17, 2008.  Recession is here or coming, say pros. By Rich Schapiro, New York Daily News.

January 17, 2008.  Bloomberg won't call for property tax hike. By Karla Schuster, Newsday.

January 15, 2008.  Assessing the Economic Impact of Immigration at the State and Local Level. From the American Immigration Law Foundation's Immigration Policy Center.

January 15, 2008.  For Bloomberg, recession could be campaign theme. By Karla Schuster, Newsday.

January 14, 2008.  Can Bloomberg Save Wall Street? By Andrew J. Hawkins, City Hall News.

January 12, 2008.  D.A.'s target employers who skirt labor, tax laws. By David Schepp, Journal News.

January 10, 2008.  City Is Facing Big Hike in Property Tax. By Grace Rauh, New York Sun.

January 9, 2008.  Tax reform on Spitzer's agenda for speech. By Tami Luhby and Mark Harrington, Newsday.

January 5, 2008.  Anti-immigration fervor casts city out. Nation wants fewer workers, while NYC needs more; political heat intensifies split. By Elizabeth MacBride, Crain's New York Business.

January 5, 2008.  City on tenterhooks: Uncertainty looms. NYC better off than in former downturns, but importance of Wall Street still pervasive. By Tom Frederickson, Crain's New York Business.

January 5, 2008.  School Officials Hear Same Aid Story. By S. Alexander Gerould, Jamestown Post-Journal.

January 4, 2008.  Businesses warm to idea of universal health care: Getting there will be contentious journey as groups jostle over competing paths. By Barbara Pinckney, Albany Business Review.

January 1, 2008.  Funding special districts: The perks your tax dollars pay for. By Sandra Peddie, Newsday.

December 26, 2007.  Immigrants Make Their Mark On New York City. By Richard Gentil Viso, Queens Gazette.

December 24, 2007.  On the move: Immigrants an economic force in the suburbs. By John Golden, Westchester County Business Journal.

December 24, 2007.  Schools expected to get $47M in state aid. By Paul Brooks, Middletown Times Herald-Record.

December 23, 2007.  Estudio: explotan a obreros de construcción. By Maria Vega, El Diario/La Prensa.

December 23, 2007.  N.Y.C. ‘Underground’ Construction Economy Costs Workers and Taxpayers. By Mike Hall, AFL-CIO Now News Blog. Also bay area indy media.

December 21, 2007.  New York City at year's end. By Leonard Quart, Berkshire Eagle.

December 19, 2007.  Parker seeks an edge for upstate. By Jay Gallagher, Rochester Democrat & Chronicle.

December 19, 2007.  Groups testify to Empire Zone failure: Momentum grows to end costly program that has been unable to produce jobs. By Delen Goldberg, Syracuse Post-Standard.

December 15, 2007.  Projection Shows Districts Receiving More State Money. By S. Alexander Gerould, Jamestown Post-Journal.

December 10, 2007.  Many New York City Construction Workers Part of Underground Economy, Study Says. By John Herzfeld, Daily Labor Report, Bureau of National Affairs.

December 7, 2007.  New Yorkers hit by growing debt. By Elizabeth Lazarowitz, New York Daily News.

December 6, 2007.  N.Y. homeowner rebate nears $800M. By Jay Gallagher, Journal News.

December 6, 2007.  Construction Workers Off The Books. WNYC.

December 6, 2007.  Off-the-books work booms. Report: 'Illegal economy' tracks building surge. By Amy Zimmer, Metro New York.

December 6, 2007.  The Other Side of Immigration. Queens TimesLedger Newspapers.

Immigration is much more a blessing than a problem in New York. New immigrants have made a marked contribution to virtually every community in Queens. In Jackson Heights, Elmhurst and Flushing, immigrant-owned businesses have flourished, creating jobs and raising property values. These businesses pay taxes that enable the city to build schools and pay for health care for the poor.

December 5, 2007.  Some 50,000 NYC building workers paid off the books. By Joan Gralla, Reuters.

December 5, 2007.  25% of NYC construction jobs are 'off the books.' The fiscal costs to taxpayers were $489 million in 2005 and are likely to reach $557 million in 2008, according to a report. By Tom Frederickson, Crain's New York Business.

December 5, 2007.  Underground Construction Economy Booms in NYC. By Michael Whitely, workcompcentral.com.

December 5, 2007.  Epidemic Of Illegal Construction Employment Is Hurting Taxpayers. By Doug Cunningham, Workers Independent News.

December 4, 2007.  Cutting consultants key to balanced budget. By Senator Neil Breslin. An op ed in the Albany Times Union.

December 4, 2007.  Myth-buster reveals depth of immigrants' contribution to NY. By Rong Xiaoqing, South China Morning Post.

December 3, 2007.  What Three Million Immigrants Do. By Larry Tung, Gotham Gazette.

December 3, 2007.  Immigrants Create Nearly a Quarter of New York State's Economic Output, Report Finds. PND-Philanthropy News Digest.

December 2, 2007.  An Immigration Red Herring. An editorial from the New York Post.

FPI's study concluded that immigrants contributed $229 billion to the New York state economy in 2006; that's about 22.4 percent of the state's GDP.

According to David Dyssegaard Kallick, an author of the report, "These figures should wipe away any impression that immigrants are holding the New York economy back; in fact, immigrants are a central component of New York's economic growth."

Well, duh.

November 30, 2007.  A portrait of immigration: Regional profile adds to the debate. An editorial from Newsday.

November 30, 2007.  Spending by MTA on track to soar 43% over '04 budget, documents show. By Pete Donohue, New York Daily News.

November 30, 2007.  La contribucion economica y laboral de los inmigrantes. By Monica Bastidas, El Correo de Queens.

November 29, 2007.  Sanctuary Was a Lovely Word. Then the G.O.P. Got Hold of It. By Clyde Haberman, New York Times.

November 29, 2007.  The Brian Lehrer Show: An Economy without Mexicans.  WNYC. (37:36)

November 29, 2007.  Why don't you teach English? An editorial from El Diario/La Prensa.

November 29, 2007.  Latinos son clave para economía de Nueva York. By Jose Acosta, El Diario/La Prensa.

November 29, 2007.  Immigrants add billions to NY economy. By Pete Davis, Queens Courier.

November 29, 2007.  Immigrants boosting boro economy: Study. By Jeremy Walsh, Flushing Times Ledger.

November 29, 2007.  Reports Add Depth To Illegal Immigration Picture. By Sarah Garland, New York Sun.

November 27, 2007.  City of immigrants. An editorial from the New York Daily News.

New York's burgeoning immigrant population is helping to build just what this city needs to prosper: a thriving middle class. So says a new study that examined in detail the economic impact that the foreign-born are having on the Big Apple.

Any way the Fiscal Policy Institute researchers sliced the data, they found the city's 3 million immigrants - legal and illegal - are pulling their load. The researchers also uncovered how the immigrants have become deeply woven into the fabric of life.

...

The numbers add up to the fact that the 3 million New Yorkers born overseas have had surprisingly positive impacts on a city whose neighborhoods would wither without them. They are opening large numbers of small businesses, and more than half have become U.S. citizens. They can vote and they will surely remember politicians who play on nativist fears.

November 27, 2007.  A fuller view of immigrants. An editorial from the Schenectady Gazette.

November 27, 2007.  Report Profiles Immigrants' Impact On New York’s Economy, Workforce. By Gerald Silverman, Daily Labor Report, Bureau of National Affairs.

November 27, 2007.  Immigrants help fill upstate college, medical ranks: Their contributions critical to New York's economy, report says. By Michael Hill, with Chris Swingle, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.

November 27, 2007.  Immigrants hold many of upstate's top jobs: 35% of doctors are foreign-born. By Dan Osburn, Binghamton Press and Sun-Bulletin.

November 27, 2007.  Positive Report on Immigrants Fails To Cool a Fiery Debate. By Sarah Garland, New York Sun.

November 27, 2007.  Caribbean Migrants Moving Up 'Down State.' hardbeatnews.com

November 27, 2007.  Immigrants aid state economy: They pumped in $229 billion, report says. By Joshua Rhett Miller, New York Metro.

November 26, 2007.  New Report: Immigrant Impact on New York. Reported by Craig Lewis and Mike Clifford, New York Public News Service.

November 26, 2007.  Immigrants Contribute $229B to State's Economy. By Karen DeWitt, WXXI.

November 26, 2007.  Immigration Battle: Do They Help or Hurt the Economy? By Richard French and Carolyn Rowe, RNN-TV.

November 26, 2007.  A Profile of Immigration. By Katrina vanden Heuvel, The Nation's "The Notion."

November 26, 2007.  Immigrants Pull Weight in Economy, Study Finds. By Patrick McGeehan, New York Times.

November 26, 2007.  An economic engine in immigration: Study by New York state labor, immigrant groups emphasizes contributions by those born elsewhere. By Rick Karlin, Albany Times Union.

November 26, 2007.  Report: Immigrants play significant role in N.Y. economy. By Leah Rae, The Journal News.

November 26, 2007.  Report: NY immigrants doctors as well as low-wage workers. By Michael Hill, Newsday.

November 26, 2007. Muchos doctores y profesores inmigrantes. By Michael Hill, El Diario.

November 26, 2007.