Blog Archives - Page 2 of 22 - Fiscal Policy Institute

FPI Testifies to Congress on Immigrant Businesses and Economic Recovery

The director of FPI's Immigration Research Initiative, David Dyssegaard Kallick, was invited to testify before the Congressional Small Business Committee about the role of immigrant businesses in the economic recovery after Covid. Kallick talked about two recovery scenarios: A Main Street-centered rebuilding that picks up on some innovations from the Covid period such as outdoor restaurants, expanded pedestrian areas, and bike paths that have transformed many downtowns and urban centers in very positive ways. This scenario would entail Main Streets as vibrant places where people [...]

Anthony Troia2021-04-30T11:30:24-04:00April 30th, 2021|Blog, Migration, Testimony|

Undocumented Women in NYC Particularly Hard Hit by “She-Cession”

Something different has happened during the COVID recession than is typical for other recessions: there has been noticeably more job loss among women than among men. Dr. C Nicole Mason, President of the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, coined the term “she-cession” to describe this gendered pattern of job loss that is the converse of what in 2008-09 was sometimes called a “mancession.” Women of color, as Mason notes, have been even more starkly impacted by job loss, a double impact since they started in [...]

Anthony Troia2021-05-12T10:51:24-04:00April 19th, 2021|Blog, Migration|

A Tax Credit for Working New Yorkers

New York State’s Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is a proven program that working New Yorkers rely on. The EITC keeps more money in workers’ pockets, providing more money to spend on essentials like food, transportation, housing, education, and child care. The EITC is a critical support for workers, their families, local economies, and the state! Before the pandemic, far too many New Yorkers were unable to earn a stable and sufficient income through work. This problem persisted despite the recent increases to our state’s [...]

Anthony Troia2021-03-23T16:46:34-04:00March 23rd, 2021|Blog, Economic Trends & Policy, State Budget, Tax & Budget, Tax Policy|

A Tax Credit for New York State Workers Hit Hardest by the Pandemic

Our state's Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) keeps more money in workers' pockets, helping them pay for essentials including food, transportation, housing, education, and child care, as well as cover extra expenses. This tax credit is even more beneficial during the pandemic. The New York State Assembly's FY 2022 One-House Budget Proposal includes expanding the state EITC from 30 percent of the federal credit to 40 percent of the federal credit beginning in Tax Year 2021. That is a 25 percent increase to the maximum [...]

Anthony Troia2021-03-23T16:43:56-04:00March 23rd, 2021|Blog, State Budget, Tax & Budget, Tax Policy|

Unemployment Compensation for Excluded Workers: $3.5 Billion Needed for 2020 and 2021

The New York State Assembly and Senate both support creating a fund to provide unemployment insurance to workers who are excluded from the unemployment insurance system, primarily undocumented immigrants and people leaving incarceration during the Covid-19 pandemic. Both houses included $2.1 billion in their one-house budgets this week, the starting points for negotiating the final state budget. This is an impressive commitment to a critical priority. However, matching the minimum level of benefits that other unemployed New Yorkers receive and extending the aid through the [...]

Anthony Troia2021-03-18T07:28:43-04:00March 17th, 2021|Blog, Migration, Reports, Briefs and Presentations, State Budget, Tax & Budget, Tax Policy|

Coronavirus Fiscal Recovery Funds: New York State Allocation by County, 2021

The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 includes $350 billion in aid for the purpose of alleviating the fiscal stress caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. New York is estimated to receive a total of $24 billion, or seven percent of these coronavirus relief funds. Specifically, $13 billion has been allocated for the New York State government, $6 billion for metropolitan cities, $4 billion for counties, $825 million for local governments, and $350 million for state capital projects. These Coronavirus recovery funds can be used to [...]

Anthony Troia2021-03-12T21:30:50-05:00March 12th, 2021|Blog, Tax & Budget|

The American Rescue Plan and the New York State Budget

The year 2021 began under the threat of a historic state budget shortfall of $15 billion. Compounded by municipal and county-level fiscal stress, it imperiled funding for public services and employees – a terrible risk as New York continued to experience the social, emotional, and fiscal impacts from the pandemic. The governor’s proposed Executive Budget featured an “if-then” scenario that reflected a minimum level of $6 billion in federal aid and assumed a remaining $9 billion difference. At the same time, the governor requested $15 [...]

Anthony Troia2021-03-11T16:54:05-05:00March 11th, 2021|Blog, Economic Trends & Policy, State Budget, Tax & Budget|

Legal Status for Undocumented Essential Workers: New York Gains

The Biden-Harris administration is being urged to grant legal status to the roughly 5 million undocumented immigrants in the United States who served as essential workers during the Covid pandemic. This is simply the right thing to do for people who have lived in this country for years and served heroically during a time of need. In this case, doing the right thing would also have economic benefits for immigrants who would newly have work authorization and for government revenues that would increase as well. [...]

Anthony Troia2021-03-09T10:03:30-05:00March 9th, 2021|Blog, Migration|

EITC Helps Workers, Their Families, Communities and the State

Our state’s Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is a proven program that working New Yorkers rely on. The EITC keeps more money in workers’ pockets, providing more money to spend on essentials like food, transportation, housing, education, and child care. The EITC provides critical support for workers, their families, local economies, and the state! Before the pandemic, far too many New Yorkers were unable to earn a stable and sufficient income through work. This problem persisted despite the recent increases to our state’s minimum wage. [...]

Anthony Troia2021-03-04T16:51:38-05:00March 4th, 2021|Blog, Tax & Budget, Tax Policy|

Public Testimony Integral to New York’s State Budget Process

New York State’s constitution requires the governor to provide the state legislature with a yearly balanced budget proposal including the necessary appropriation bills and legislation. The Legislature reviews the proposed executive budget and offers changes or modifications and enacts the state budget. As is customary, Governor Cuomo presented his proposed Executive Budget for FY 21-22 in January which was followed by a review and analysis from both legislative houses. The Assembly Ways and Means Committee’s Review and Analysis of the 2021-22 Executive Budget is known [...]

Anthony Troia2021-02-23T16:26:23-05:00February 23rd, 2021|Blog, State Budget, Tax & Budget, Tax Policy, Testimony|

After the Applause: Legal Status for Essential Workers

In the throes of the Covid-19 pandemic last spring, Americans embraced a new concept: Essential Workers. In many areas, we applauded for them every night at 7pm: they kept us going through this difficult period, and we knew they were taking a risk to their own health in doing it. We also knew that many of those workers are undocumented. In recognition of the service they provided to this country during a time of crisis, congress and the president should act today to give those [...]

Anthony Troia2021-02-12T16:14:55-05:00February 12th, 2021|Blog, Migration|

NYS Enhanced Services for Refugees: Now Is the Time to Expand

The New York State Enhanced Services to Refugees Program (NYSESRP) began in 2017 as a response to the federal government’s retreat from refugee resettlement. New York State was first in the nation to provide state funding to support refugee integration, a valuable investment in the refugees and asylees who call New York home. New York for Refugees—a coalition of refugee serving agencies, the Fiscal Policy Institute and the New York Immigration Coalition—seeks $5 million in the 2021 budget to expand NYSESRP and grow support for [...]

Anthony Troia2021-02-10T18:17:16-05:00February 10th, 2021|Blog, Migration|

Military Coup in Myanmar Reverberates in California, Indiana, New York, and Texas

Over the past week, the military in Myanmar, the country also known as Burma, overthrew the democratically elected government and arrested the top civilian leaders. The United States state department condemned the action, saying “the military must reverse these actions immediately.” These actions are being watched closely, and in horror, by Burmese communities in the United States. To help understand what this means in Burmese communities in the United States, the Fiscal Policy Institute presents here data showing that of the 151,000 people born in [...]

Anthony Troia2021-02-05T14:24:49-05:00February 5th, 2021|Blog, Migration|

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 [...]

Anthony Troia2021-01-19T12:19:29-05:00January 19th, 2021|Blog, Economic Trends & Policy, State Budget|

Long Island’s Immigrants are Integral for its Economic Recovery

County Executive Steve Bellone's editorial in the Long Island Press pointed out the contributions that immigrants make to the area, including the boost they provide to the economy. The Long Island immigrant community is a vital part of our workforce and economy as a whole, with more than half working in white-collar jobs as of 2015. Immigrants make up 18 percent of the combined population of Nassau and Suffolk counties, generating 20 percent of total economic output, according to the Fiscal Policy Institute. Learn more [...]

Anthony Troia2021-03-16T15:59:04-04:00January 3rd, 2021|Blog, Economic Trends & Policy, FPI in the News, Labor Market & Workforce, Migration|