Recent Work
FPI Testimony to New York City Council on Impacts of the OBBBA
My name is Emily Eisner, and I am an Economist working with the Fiscal Policy Institute. I am testifying in support of the “City of Yes” plan. The City must pass the zoning reforms included in City of Yes, and, in addition, the City must increase investment in housing affordability through expanded fiscal measures. These two sets of policies — zoning reform to allow for increased supply, and fiscal support for housing affordability — work together.
Making Sense of Federal Funding Cuts in New York
A Q&A about federal funding cuts
Financial Plan Analysis of FY 2026 Enacted Budget
On Friday, June 13, New York State’s Division of the Budget released its financial plan for this year’s enacted State budget. The financial plan forecasts a national economic slowdown over the next four years as well as dramatic federal budget cuts. These forecasts indicate that the State will likely need to implement tax increases to manage the fallout from federal economic and fiscal policy.
Education and Childcare Policy in the Enacted Budget for Fiscal Year 2026
The fiscal year 2026 budget process featured negotiations around major education and child policy matters. Most significantly, lawmakers considered changes to the State’s $26 billion Foundation Aid formula, enacting changes that shift substantial funding away from New York City.
Fact Sheet: SNAP Cuts in New York
3.5 million New Yorkers – 18 percent of the state population – depend on SNAP benefits, which average $209 per month for a participant (about $2,500 per year). The OBBBA would threaten SNAP benefits for over 1 million New Yorkers, including 363,000 children.
What to Look for in New York City’s Executive Budget
The Adopted Budget should anticipate realistic revenue and spending on core services while maintaining a flexible reserve to prepare for fiscal uncertainty. The budget response put forward by the City Council takes important steps toward these goals.
Ensuring Adequate Funding for Childcare
New York State has enacted substantial expansions to its childcare subsidy program in recent years, supporting more families than ever. Yet the State risks undermining these gains by underfunding the program in fiscal year 2026, forcing New York City and other localities across the state to deny service to eligible families beginning as early as April 2025, putting them on a waitlist.
How to Fund the MTA
Lawmakers must look to progressive revenue sources for MTA funding
Fact Sheet: The 2026 Executive Budget’s Fiscal Outlook
The executive budget makes significant upward revisions to its expected revenue for both the current and upcoming fiscal years (fiscal years 2025 and 2026, respectively), raising anticipated tax receipts by $4.6 billion and $4.1 billion from the levels projected in the fiscal year 2025 enacted budget financial plan. Strong personal income tax receipts drive higher-than-anticipated revenue.
New Census Data Show Population Growth as well as Continuing Affordability Challenges
Census data released last month show that New York’s population growth has returned to pre-Covid patterns, characterized by both overall population growth and affordability pressure driving many working and middle-income New Yorkers to leave the state.
Does New York State Have Universal Pre-K?
By the State’s account, it currently provides enough UPK funding to provide a UPK seat to every four-year-old in the State. Nevertheless, the program remains far short of universal, with incomplete coverage of four-year-olds outside of the state’s major cities and limited provision for three-year-olds across the state.
Understanding Childcare Policy in New York
Childcare in New York State is unaffordable for many families, yet inadequately supports its workers. The State’s childcare costs are the third highest in the U.S., putting a strain on family budgets across the income distribution. The Bronx and Brooklyn have the costliest childcare as a share of family income of any county in the U.S.
The State of New York’s Fiscal Outlook
With revenue higher than projections by 2.7 percent, and spending below projections by 1.7 percent, the State is on track to have a surplus in the current fiscal year.
Understanding Foundation Aid: How Public School Funding Works in New York State
Public school funding is allocated to local school districts based on formulas specified in state law, primarily through a formula known as Foundation Aid. This brief explains the State’s rules that govern public school funding.
The Education Debate
Support for local school districts is New York’s largest single spending program, accounting for more than one-quarter of State spending. After fast spending growth over the last three years, the fiscal year 2025 executive budget aims to curb school aid spending growth. The legislative budget proposals would roll back the executive budget’s proposed cuts to school aid and provide additional support for public higher education. This funding would preserve the current scope of New York’s education system, rather than representing transformative new investments.