Fern

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So far Fern Whyland has created 94 blog entries.

Arts Central to New York City’s Recovery

As New York looks to restart our economic engine after the pandemic, the arts and culture play a critical role, especially in New York City. Governor Cuomo underscored that connection in his State of the State and New York State budget announcements. "Cities are by definition centers of energy, entertainment, theatre, and cuisine. Without that activity and attraction, cities lose much of their appeal. What is a city without social, cultural, and creative synergies? New York City is not New York without Broadway.” The coronavirus [...]

Fern Whyland2021-01-19T12:19:29-05:00January 19th, 2021|Blog, Economic Trends & Policy, NYS Budget|

Fiscal Policy Institute Reacts to Governor Cuomo’s State of the State

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 11, 2020 Media Contact: Fern Whyland: whyland@fiscalpolicy.org, 315-436-0558, The Fiscal Policy Institute (Albany, NY)  Today Governor Cuomo laid out his priorities at the beginning of the New York State 2021 legislative session. Statement from Jonas Shaende, Ph.D., Chief Economist "The 2021 state legislative session will be driven by the pandemic health crisis and economic hurdles. Governor Cuomo highlighted the federal government's role and responsibility to meet the full scope of COVID-19's health and fiscal challenges. That notwithstanding, our state government has a duty to meet all new Yorkers' needs, many of whom were struggling even before the pandemic. The need [...]

Fern Whyland2021-01-11T17:59:41-05:00January 11th, 2021|Press releases|

Taxes Fuel Our Communities

You may have heard that New York is a high-tax state. But what does that really mean? If we concentrate solely on personal income taxes in 2019, California tops the list with the highest top rate of 13.3 percent. New York is in the ninth spot with its 8.82 percent. California 13.3% Hawaii 11% Oregon 9.9% Minnesota 9.85% Iowa 8.98% New Jersey 8.97% Vermont 8.95% District of Columbia 8.95% New York 8.82% Wisconsin 7.65% With New York needing to raise revenue to fund [...]

Fern Whyland2021-01-11T17:54:07-05:00January 11th, 2021|Blog, NYS Tax Policy|

Tax Revenue Keeps States Running

December 21, 2020 New York, like every other state, relies on tax revenue to provide stable funding for necessary public services. The COVID-19 pandemic has been particularly damaging to the state and local governments’ budgets as the necessary mitigation measures have continued to curtail business activity, which in turn depressed tax revenues. Among the most impacted industries are hospitality, tourism, and leisure sectors that employ many low-skilled and immigrant workers. When many workers permanently lose their jobs, the impact is both local and statewide. As [...]

Fern Whyland2020-12-30T09:41:16-05:00December 20th, 2020|Blog, NYS Tax Policy|

Factsheet: Expiration of CARES Act Unemployment Benefits Will Harm New Yorkers and the Economy

Unemployment claims for the weeks ending December 5 and 12, 2020, are 23 percent higher than claims from the two prior weeks, November 21 and 28. Unemployment in New York State remains historically high, with initial claims for the week of December 12 rising by as much as 400 and 500 percent in some counties. The remaining enhanced unemployment insurance (UI) programs established under the CARES Act will expire on December 26, 2020. Over 1 million New Yorkers will lose benefits when Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) expire. These programs help workers who [...]

Fern Whyland2020-12-30T09:42:54-05:00December 18th, 2020|Employment, Unemployment & Job Quality, Fact Sheets|

New York State’s Tenants Need Immediate Relief

December 2020 The coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated New York State’s affordable housing crisis. This year’s high unemployment has most affected our state’s minimum wage workers and gig economy workers and has intersected with our state’s lack of safe, decent, and affordable rentals, particularly for those earning at or below 50 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI). To help struggling renters and protect public health, the state legislature passed the Emergency Rent Relief Act of 2020 on May 28, 2020. It created a $100 million [...]

Fern Whyland2020-12-30T09:43:49-05:00December 18th, 2020|Blog, Housing|

Cuts to Employment in the State and Local Public Sector will Disproportionately Harm Women and Black Workers

Governor Cuomo supports reducing state spending citing revenue shortfalls that have been fueled by the economic recession that followed the COVID-19 pandemic. Reduced or eliminated state funding could mean losing public sector jobs that employ workers in communities statewide. This loss would disproportionately impact women and Black workers who constitute the majority of public sector employees. Historically, the public sector has been an essential employer for women and people of color. Public sector employment has offered a stable path into the middle class with regulated [...]

Fern Whyland2020-12-30T09:45:19-05:00December 18th, 2020|Blog, Employment, Unemployment & Job Quality|

Recognizing the 10th Anniversary of the Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights

The Fiscal Policy Institute was honored to be part of the New York State chapter of the National Domestic Workers Alliance celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights on Saturday, December 12th. The NDWA is a strong voice for domestic workers across the nation. Domestic workers provide essential work within our homes, from child-care and caregiving to keeping our homes clean and functioning. The majority of domestic workers are women, mostly immigrants, and women of color. FPI will be releasing [...]

Fern Whyland2020-12-30T09:45:54-05:00December 12th, 2020|Blog, Education|

December Media

FPI is part of the story statewide and nationally. Dominican Today 12/24/2020, FPI cited in "Dominicans in New York are confident in the efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccine" State of Politics 12/21/2020, FPI cited in "Who Wants to Tax the Rich? These Assembly Lawmakers" Daily News 12/22/2020, FPI cited in "Fiscal watchdogs want transparency from N.Y. over withheld funds" Daily News 12/21/2020, link to FPI provided in "Down to brass tax: Gov. Cuomo is right in a fiscal standoff with the state Assembly speaker" Press-Republication [...]

Fern Whyland2021-01-22T14:32:20-05:00December 11th, 2020|FPI in the News|

What Does the December Jobs Report Mean for New Yorkers?

December 2020 The monthly jobs report from the U.S. Department of Labor reflected the pandemic’s continuing impact on the job market and the economy. A triad of trouble included job growth remaining slow for the fifth straight month, employers scaling back hiring last month, and a stubbornly high unemployment rate of 6.7%, a slight decrease from October’s 6.9% New York State’s latest jobs report won’t be released until the end of December but looking at the last available report from October makes evident our state follows the same trend [...]

Fern Whyland2020-12-30T09:46:32-05:00December 4th, 2020|Blog, Employment, Unemployment & Job Quality|

The Universal Burden of Education Debt

December 2020 What do you call a loan that has been obtained for the purpose of financing the costs of higher education? A student loan. However, considering the fastest-growing age segment of student loan borrowers are over the age of 60 and are not students themselves, perhaps there is a more suitable term that can be used–education debt. Much like auto debt, mortgages, and credit debt, the term education debt places emphasis on what the debt has been used for, instead of who has used [...]

Fern Whyland2020-12-30T09:47:04-05:00December 3rd, 2020|Blog, Education|

Student Loan Debt Shortchanges Us All

Economic Recovery Depends on Our Ability to Contribute to the Economy Read the report: “The Rising Burden of Education Debt on Older New Yorkers” December 3, 2020 (Albany, NY) The burden of education debt is not limited to students, it includes their parents and grandparents. Currently, the fastest-growing age-segment of the student loan market is age 60 and older. With New York looking for a speedy economic recovery, solving the education debt crisis means a healthier and more productive state. "Higher education has been portrayed as the key to unlock the door to opportunity [...]

Fern Whyland2020-12-30T09:47:36-05:00December 3rd, 2020|Education, Reports, briefs and presentations|

November Media

Round-up of November media. State of Politics 11/25: FPI report quoted and a link provided to the FPI's new brief "The Pandemic Recession: Hitting Immigrants and People of Color Hardest." in the article “Pandemic Has Hit Immigrants, People of Color Hardest, Report Finds” Capital Tonight 11/25: Interview with David Dyssegaard Kallick, FPI’s Deputy Director and Director of Immigration Research on the new brief "The Pandemic Recession: Hitting Immigrants and People of Color Hardest." Watch the interview. Explica 11/24: FPI quoted and data from “The Pandemic Recession: [...]

Fern Whyland2021-01-22T14:19:34-05:00December 1st, 2020|FPI in the News|

Holiday Season Underscores the New Yorkers’ Need for Support as Pandemic Deepens Inequity

Read the report: The Pandemic Recession: Hitting Immigrants and People of Color Hardest The Pandemic Recession: Hitting Immigrants and People of Color Hardest (Albany, NY) — The holiday season is beginning in our state as never before with a second COVID wave bearing down on the health and financial stability of New Yorkers. While the COVID-19 is a threat to us all, immigrants and people of color are by far hit the hardest. And undocumented immigrants may be hit harder still since they are concentrated in several of the industries that have seen the biggest employment decline. “New Yorkers across the [...]

Fern Whyland2020-12-30T09:48:33-05:00November 24th, 2020|Economic Outlook, Press releases|

COVID-19 Revenue Shortfalls Threaten Increase to Fines and Fees

November 2020 Declining revenues threaten New York State’s Local Governments, starting with steep declines in sales tax revenue collections. This revenue stream, which annually totals just over $16 billion for New York State’s counties, cities, towns, villages, and school districts, is expected to shrink precipitously in 2020 and into 2021, exceeding the six percent decline realized during The Great Recession.[i] At the same time, the state’s property tax cap limits local governments’ ability to bolster local revenues. Moreover, Congress’s continued decision not to pass a [...]

Fern Whyland2020-12-30T09:49:26-05:00November 23rd, 2020|Good Governance, Reports, briefs and presentations|

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