Meeting Basic Needs

NYS Can Help Low-income Working Families with Children by Increasing its Earned Income Tax Credit

May 20, 2014. It comes as no surprise to working families that New York State’s tax system is fundamentally unfair. Low- and middle-income workers pay, on average, a much higher share of their income in state and local taxes than the highest income earners. According to analysis by the Washington, D.C.-based Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, the 40% of New York’s tax filers with the lowest incomes pay at least 10% of their income in state and local taxes and the 20% of households [...]

2020-11-13T15:11:23-05:00May 20th, 2014|Federal Tax & Budget, Meeting Basic Needs, Social Policy, State Tax Policy, Tax & Budget|
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Testimony at the Joint Legislative Public Hearing on the 2014-2015 Executive Budget Proposal – Human Services

February 4, 2014. Submitted by Carolyn Boldiston, FPI’s Senior Fiscal Policy Analyst. Testimony includes: recommendations for the 2014-2015 state fiscal year; review of actual and proposed reductions in human services spending; use of federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funding in the 2014-2015 Executive Budget; and, the impact of decline in the purchasing power of the monthly cash assistance grant.

2020-11-13T15:12:43-05:00February 4th, 2014|Meeting Basic Needs, Social Policy, State Budget, Tax & Budget, Testimony|
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Almost 3.2 million New Yorkers to See a Cut in Food Assistance Beginning Today

November 1, 2013. Beginning today, almost 3.2 million people in New York will see their food assistance benefits cut as the federal government ends a temporary boost to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The New Yorkers affected by this cut—in what used to be known as the “food stamps” program—include more than 1.2 million children and over 1 million elderly and disabled individuals. Overall, New York residents will receive $332 million less in SNAP benefits in the 11 months from November 1, 2013 through [...]

2020-11-13T15:11:23-05:00November 1st, 2013|Blog, Federal Tax & Budget, Meeting Basic Needs, Social Policy, Tax & Budget|
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The Taxpayer Costs of Low-Wage Fast Food Jobs in New York State

October 16, 2013. Fast food jobs are by far the biggest source of job growth in New York State and New York City in this recovery and over the past decade. But, with a median hourly pay of only $8.90 an hour in NYC, this growth in fast food jobs is one of the reasons that poverty has risen sharply during the recovery. NYC has a record number of working poor—one out of every 10 workers in NYC works, but can’t earn enough to lift [...]

2020-11-13T15:12:43-05:00October 16th, 2013|Blog, Economic Outlook, Economic Trends & Policy, Employment, Unemployment & Job Quality, Meeting Basic Needs, Social Policy|
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Federal tax credits for working families need to be protected and strengthened as part of tax reform efforts

April 10, 2013. With policymakers in Washington calling for federal tax reform, the Fiscal Policy Institute said it is essential that members of Congress consider the beneficial long-term impacts of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Child Tax Credit (CTC) as well as these credits’ short-run benefits. In emphasizing the importance of making the current temporary enhancements of these credits permanent, FPI pointed to a new report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities that pulls together and examines the body of [...]

2020-11-13T15:11:23-05:00April 4th, 2013|Federal Tax & Budget, Meeting Basic Needs, Must Read, Press Releases, Reports, Briefs and Presentations, Social Policy, Tax & Budget|
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FPI on New York’s 2013-14 State Budget

February 12, 2013. We have updated the Economic and Fiscal Outlook 2013-2014 briefing book that was originally released at FPI’s 23rd annual budget briefing on January 29, and submitted testimony by Carolyn Boldiston on the implications for Human Services of the Governor’s 2013-2014 Executive Budget and testimony by Frank Mauro on Tax Issues related to the Legislature’s consideration of the Executive Budget. We have also completed an analysis, with the New York Women's Foundation, of the impact of the Governor's budget on women, children and [...]

2020-11-13T15:12:43-05:00February 12th, 2013|Meeting Basic Needs, Reports, Briefs and Presentations, Social Policy, State Budget, State Tax Policy, Tax & Budget, Testimony|
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Testimony at the Joint Legislative Public Hearing on the 2013-2014 Executive Budget Proposal – Human Services

February 5, 2013. 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 state's maintenance-of-effort spending, and recommendations for the 2013-2014 state fiscal year.

2020-11-13T15:12:43-05:00February 5th, 2013|Meeting Basic Needs, Social Policy, State Budget, Tax & Budget, Testimony|
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Social Security and Medicare programs speak to American values

August 9, 2012. An op ed by Dr. Brent Kramer and Dr. Susan Birns from the Berkshire Eagle. Kramer is an adjunct assistant professor of economics at the City University of New York and a research associate at FPI. Birns is professor of Sociology/Anthropology/Social Work at MCLA and board president of the Elizabeth Freeman Center.

2020-11-13T15:14:17-05:00August 9th, 2012|Letters, Meeting Basic Needs, Social Policy|
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What’s happening with temporary assistance for New York State’s neediest families?

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 [...]

2020-11-13T15:12:43-05:00March 19th, 2012|Meeting Basic Needs, Reports, Briefs and Presentations, Social Policy|
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Testimony at the Joint Legislative Public Hearing on the 2012-2013 Executive Budget Proposal – Human Services

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.

2020-11-13T15:12:43-05:00February 13th, 2012|Meeting Basic Needs, Social Policy, State Budget, Tax & Budget, Testimony|
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Comments on USDA’s proposed Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) regulations

July 5, 2011. Comments on regulations implementing the eligibility, certification and employment and training provisions of the 2008 Farm Bill. In general, USDA's overall approach to the Food, Conservation and Energy Act (FCEA) provisions is laudable. However, these comments outline several important changes should be made in the final regulations. Without these changes, the regulations would fall far short of what the legislation intended and would miss important opportunities to improve the program for the millions of Americans who rely upon its help to meet [...]

2020-11-13T15:11:23-05:00July 5th, 2011|Meeting Basic Needs, Social Policy, Testimony|
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Wrenching Choices for New York City’s Working Families: Child Care Funding Slashed as Need Grows

May 11, 2011. Right now, the need for subsidized child care among low-income families is five times as great as what the city funds. The Executive Budget will cut child care funding considerably below the annual average level for 2008-2010, and further shifts $13 million in costs to low-income families in the form of co-pays. This brief details the impact on working families and child care providers - noting that single parents, whose households include 60 percent of the children in low-income families, will be [...]

2020-11-13T15:11:23-05:00May 11th, 2011|Meeting Basic Needs, Reports, Briefs and Presentations, Social Policy|
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SNAP Benefits in Paul Ryan’s Budget Plan

April 12, 2011. A new report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) points out that House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan's budget plan would cut the SNAP program (formerly known as food stamps) by $127 billion - almost 20 percent - over the next ten years (2012-2021), $8.78 billion in New York alone. FPI has estimated the impact on New York City and each of the counties outside New York City. FPI's press release with New York data, and full report from [...]

2020-11-13T15:11:23-05:00April 12th, 2011|Federal Tax & Budget, Meeting Basic Needs, Press Releases, Social Policy, Tax & Budget|
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New Federal Dollars for New York: The TANF Emergency Contingency Fund in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009

February 28, 2011. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) established the Emergency Contingency Fund within the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program for states to provide more support to needy families. The new fund would supplement a prior existing contingency fund (called the regular Contingency Fund), which in New York's case was soon to be exhausted. An ongoing series of briefs from the Fiscal Policy Institute, collected here together with related testimony, looks into the rules governing the new Emergency [...]

2020-11-13T15:12:43-05:00February 28th, 2011|Meeting Basic Needs, Reports, Briefs and Presentations, Social Policy, Testimony|
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