March 21, 2012, Rockville Centre. A briefing and discussion on the Fiscal Policy Institute's recent report. Participants learned about the economic impact of immigrants on Long Island's economy: facts, questions, and dialogue. Hosted by The Energeia Partnership & Health & Welfare Council of Long Island.
March 21, 2012. With a weak recovery, unemployment remains high and hardships have mounted for many New York City women, families and youth. Prepared for the New York Women's Foundation, this brief finds that three years of state budget cuts have frayed the safety net during a time of growing need, making it harder for low-income women to access income and job supports as well as vital supportive services, and to secure jobs with a future. The governor's proposed budget makes further cuts in many [...]
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 [...]
March 19, 2012. The Counterbudget was compiled by New Yorkers from Fiscal Fairness with input from FPI and other cooperating organizations. Report and press release.
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.
March 9, 2012. This brief quantifies the value of the reduction in retirement benefits to the typical member of the NYS Employees' Retirement System (ERS) under the Tier 6 proposal, and finds that the proposal reduces the employee benefit by 39.8 percent.
March 8, 2012. FPI and 16 other groups delivered a letter to Governor Andrew Cuomo today asking him to drop language included hundreds of times in his executive budget proposal for 2012-2013. The language undercuts legislative authority and effectively removes the public from decisions regarding the use of taxpayer money by giving the Governor power to move money between state agencies without oversight. The language goes even further than that, authorizing suballocations from "on budget" state agencies to "off budget" public authorities. Press release >> [...]
March 6, 2012, Manhattan. The Economic Justice and Social Welfare Network at its monthly meeting hosted FPI's James Parrott, who reviewed the projected impacts of the Mayor's proposal, the interaction between the City and State executive budgets, and the economic factors affecting projected revenue, etc. Useful for anyone involved in city budget advocacy, or who wants to understand more about how funding for social programs fits in to a broader context. At the Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies.
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 [...]
March 4, 2012. An article by Patricia Doxsey, Kingston Daily Freeman. "My position is the cap can hurt people, hurt services, and it doesn't provide the public the relief it needs," said Frank Mauro, executive director of the Fiscal Policy Institute. "I think the problem is even if they can stay within the tax cap, it doesn't mean a homeowner's taxes will only go up by 2 percent," Mauro said.
February 29, 2012, Albany. Frank Mauro of the Fiscal Policy Institute and Robert Ward of the Rockefeller Institute spoke at a meeting of city, county and village managers from throughout New York State hosted by the New York State City/County Management Association.
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.
February 16, 2012. New data show that New York's black and Hispanic workers have been hit especially hard by joblessness during the recession and the weak recovery. According to a report released today by the Economic Policy Institute, No relief in 2012 for high unemployment for African Americans and Latinos, New York is one of 14 states with double digit unemployment rates for both blacks and Hispanics. Press release with New York figures>>
February 15, 2012, Old Westbury. This training with David Dyssegaard Kallick prepared advocates to host their own presentations related to the economic research in the report New Americans on Long Island: A Vital Sixth of the Economy. Topics included how to construct a presentation, how to effectively address an audience, and how to become comfortable talking about economics, with or without previous experience with the subject.
February 13, 2012. Submitted by Carolyn Boldiston, FPI's Senior Fiscal Policy Analyst. Testimony includes: trends in public assistance participation and poverty in New York State, a review of New York's historical utilization of the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant, a review of the impact of the TANF Contingency Fund and Emergency Contingency Fund on TANF funding and spending in New York State, and recommendations for the 2012-2013 state fiscal year.