Social Policy

Fact Sheet: State and Local Government Employment Has Been Largely Static, With Full-Time Jobs Eliminated in Critical Areas

Full-time employment in state government jobs grew by only 1 percent in New York State between 2010-2019, with the number of those employed totaling just over 236,000 in 2019. At the same time, local government employment decreased by 1 percent for full-time employees, with the number of employed totaling just over 882,000 in 2019, down from 893,000 in 2010. Full-time employment losses in both state and local government affected the areas of health, natural resources, and social and public welfare. Employment losses in health and [...]

Anthony Troia2021-03-26T16:27:58-04:00March 26th, 2021|City Budget, Economic Outlook, Economic Trends & Policy, Labor Market & Workforce, Policy & Research, Social Policy, State Budget, Tax Policy|

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 [...]

Anthony Troia2020-12-30T09:43:49-05:00December 18th, 2020|Blog, Housing|

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 [...]

Anthony Troia2021-04-06T09:50:13-04:00December 12th, 2020|Blog, Education, Migration|

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 [...]

Anthony Troia2020-12-30T09:47:04-05:00December 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 [...]

Anthony Troia2020-12-30T09:47:36-05:00December 3rd, 2020|Education, Reports, Briefs and Presentations|

Medicaid Cuts Would Put 554,000 Essential Workers in New York at Risk

October 14, 2020 Many of New York’s “essential workers,” people working in jobs deemed necessary throughout the COVID pandemic, rely on Medicaid for their own health care. They risk severe hardship if federal policymakers fail to provide appropriate increases in Medicaid funding or weaken protections for program enrollees, according to a new analysis from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. In New York State over half a million, 554,000, essential workers rely on Medicaid. The economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic led to a [...]

Anthony Troia2020-12-30T09:54:20-05:00October 14th, 2020|Blog, Healthcare, Labor Market & Workforce, Reports, Briefs and Presentations|

Robust Rental Assistance Needed to Protect Tenants

August 2020 Download the full brief Governor Cuomo has extended the state’s limited eviction moratorium until September 4, 2020 but the application window for the state’s $100 million COVID Rent Relief program closed on August 6, 2020. Many of New York State’s renters require assistance above and beyond the programs and protections currently in place. The COVID Rent Relief program has limitations. It will only provide up to four months of rental assistance for those earning below 80 percent of the area median income (AMI [...]

Anthony Troia2020-12-30T09:55:55-05:00August 26th, 2020|Blog, Housing, Reports, Briefs and Presentations|

Federal Funding is Essential to Health Care Coverage for New Yorkers

Strengthening Medicaid and protecting health coverage for New Yorkers is critical to ensuring that our state can respond effectively to the coronavirus public health crisis and the current economic recession. The Urban Institute has projected that Medicaid caseloads could increase by as much as 1,204,000, or 22.5 percent, through FY 2021—an unprecedented spike. New York needs help to cover those who are newly unemployed and expected to enroll in Medicaid and offset extra Medicaid costs related to coronavirus. Without proper funding, the state will be [...]

Anthony Troia2020-12-30T10:07:31-05:00June 20th, 2020|Blog, Fact Sheets, Healthcare|

Strengthen Medicaid and Protect Health Coverage for New Yorkers

May 20, 2020 This time last year, New York celebrated its lowest rate of residents without health insurance to date at 5 percent. A historic low that is a continuation of nearly a decade of decline in people who lack health insurance, this record-breaking success set New York apart from the national trend of rising uninsured rates. The public health and economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic threatens past success in reducing the rate of the uninsured in New York State. We must strengthen [...]

Anthony Troia2020-12-30T13:40:32-05:00May 15th, 2020|Blog, Healthcare, Reports, Briefs and Presentations|

Unemployment Insurance Taxes Paid for Undocumented Workers in NYS

May 14, 2020 In the midst of a pandemic, there has been a growing call for undocumented immigrants, who make up five percent of the New York State labor force, to be covered by some form of unemployment insurance. What is often overlooked in discussions of unemployment insurance is the extent to which undocumented immigrants are already part of paying into the existing system, even when they are excluded from collecting benefits. Undocumented immigrants face the same challenges as other workers. It does not serve [...]

Anthony Troia2021-04-06T09:48:24-04:00May 13th, 2020|Blog, Healthcare, Labor Market & Workforce, Migration, Reports, Briefs and Presentations|

With “rent burdens” on the rise, advocates urge changes to state laws

May 1, 2019. This article looks at the problem of rent burdens in the Rochester area in advance of the NYS Assembly hearing on May 10. The article highlighted the disparities "2 out of 5 renters -- and 60% of minorities -- in the Rochester area are rent-burdened. Others upstate cities face similar numbers, but Rochester’s are the highest." A recent study by the nonpartisan Fiscal Policy Institute says nearly half of New York renters are “rent-burdened. Ron Deutsch, the group’s executive director, said housing – not [...]

Anthony Troia2021-01-06T10:28:06-05:00May 1st, 2019|FPI in the News, Housing|