Social Policy

New York’s Rent Affordability Crisis Hits Families of Color the Hardest

The United States and New York are in the midst of an affordable housing crisis. Nearly 11 million American households pay over half of their income in rent despite the fact that the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) defines “affordable housing” as housing costing below 30 percent of a family’s income for rent. If a family pays more than 30 percent of their income on rent, they are considered “rent burdened.” In New York State, the affordable housing crisis is particularly severe, especially [...]

2024-12-18T12:26:14-05:00April 11th, 2018|Blog, Fact Sheets, Housing, Social Policy|
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What’s Going On In Your District? The Fiscal Policy Institute’s Congressional District Fact Sheets Are Here!

February 16, 2018. The beginning of the Trump administration initiated a tremendous wave of attacks on government poverty alleviation programs and services like Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). New York State has the highest income equality of all the fifty states with over 2.8 million people living in poverty. These programs and services provide immense relief for lower-income, working families and lift millions of children out of poverty. The Congressional District Fact Sheets (CDFS) contain information about the importance of poverty alleviation and [...]

2024-12-18T12:26:15-05:00February 16th, 2018|Fact Sheets, Social Policy|
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Groups Concerned about Healthcare Cuts

10/20/2017. Fiscal Policy Institutes Executive Director, Ron Deutsch, discusses how proposed federal budget cuts threaten healthcare. He and others rallied outside Glens Falls Hospital on Thursday to protest a possible repeal of the Affordable Care Act, also called Obamacare. “Congress has failed to renew funding for critical healthcare programs, which jeopardizes access to care for low- and middle-income residents and threatens hospitals across the state,” said Greenfield resident Ron Deutsch, Fiscal Policy Institute executive director." Access to full article Here    

2024-12-18T12:26:38-05:00October 24th, 2017|FPI in the News, Healthcare|
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The Push for So Called “Free College”

October 18, 2017. In a radio interview with Sarah Schweinsberg, David Dyssegaard Kallick, FPI's Deputy Director and Director of Immigration Research, discusses Governor Cuomo's Excelsior Scholarship Program. Governor Cuomo expresses that college is a necessity. While people have praised the program, some have expressed concerns. It has been referred to as a last dollar grant, only covering what state and federal grants do not. This mostly helps middle class students, who do not qualify for programs helping low income families. This does not help with the [...]

2024-12-18T12:26:38-05:00October 18th, 2017|Education, FPI in the News|
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Cassidy-Graham Bill Would Deeply Cut Health Coverage Funding for New York

For Immediate Release August 24, 2017                    Media Contact: Ron Deutsch, Executive Director, FPI 518-469-6769  Cassidy-Graham Bill Would Deeply Cut Health Coverage Funding for New York New York Faces Deepest Cuts of All States (Albany, NY)— A new Affordable Care Act (ACA) repeal bill would cut New York’s federal funding by $22 billion for health coverage by 2026, according to a new report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities based in Washington DC. New York would be the hardest-hit state, with an eye-popping estimated [...]

2024-12-18T12:26:39-05:00August 24th, 2017|Healthcare, Press Releases|
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New York’s Public Colleges: An Engine for Economic Mobility

August 23, 2017 Brent Kramer, PhD, Senior Economist kramer@fiscalpolicy.org   Public Colleges Lift Low-Income Students Into the Middle Class Investing in Public Colleges Essential to Boost Economic Mobility Earning a four-year college degree is now considered essential for achieving a “middle-class” lifestyle, even as many new graduates have trouble landing good, full-time jobs in a weak labor market. Despite the weak labor market, graduates still have better chances of finding good jobs than do their peers without degrees. The Fiscal Policy Institute examined the economic [...]

2024-12-18T12:26:39-05:00August 23rd, 2017|Education, Reports, Briefs and Presentations|
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Watchdog Groups to Senate and Assembly: Don’t Come Home Without Passing Comprehensive Clean Contracting Reforms

For immediate release: June 5, 2017 Contact: Ron Deutsch, Executive Director 518-786-3156 (o), 518-469-6769 (c), deutsch@fiscalpolicy.org   Watchdog Groups to Senate and Assembly: Don’t Come Home Without Passing Comprehensive Clean Contracting Reforms Legislature has yet to act on massive corruption risks revealed by biggest bid rigging scandal in New York State history Watchdog groups again called on New York State Senate leader John Flanagan and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie to pass comprehensive Clean Contracting legislation. To date, the legislature has not passed the comprehensive reforms needed [...]

2024-12-18T12:26:42-05:00June 5th, 2017|Press Releases, Social Policy|
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Medicaid Supports New York’s Schools and Children

For immediate release: April 20, 2017 Contact: Ron Deutsch, Executive Director, Fiscal Policy Institute 518-786-3156 (o), 518-469-6769 (c) Christy DeBoe Hicks, State Communications Specialist, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (202) 408-1080; cdhicks@cbpp.org  Medicaid Supports New York’s Schools and Children House Republican Plans to Cut Medicaid Would Jeopardize Critical Health Services for Students [Albany, NY] – New York’s schools receive over $273 million from Medicaid each year, according to data released by the Washington, DC-based Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. This funding pays for [...]

2024-12-18T12:26:43-05:00April 20th, 2017|Blog, Healthcare|
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Proposed EITC Expansion Is No Substitute for Proposed $15 Minimum Wage

March 18, 2016. The state’s EITC is an extremely important benefit to low- and moderate-income working families. There is considerable merit to Assemblyman Kolb’s proposed 50% enhancement to the state’s EITC, raising it form 30% to 45% of the federal EITC. However, the proposal is certainly not a substitute for raising the minimum wage. It is more appropriate to view the EITC and raising the minimum wage as complementary policies. See the complete brief issued jointly by the Fiscal Policy Institute and the National Employment [...]

2024-12-18T12:27:01-05:00March 18th, 2016|Economic Trends & Policy, Labor Market & Workforce, Reports, Briefs and Presentations, Social Policy|
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New York State Economic and Fiscal Outlook FY 2017

February 3, 2016. In its 26th annual New York State budget briefing book, the Fiscal Policy Institute analyzes and comments on Governor Andrew Cuomo’s FY 2017 Executive Budget. The Executive Budget advances some bold and progressive proposals that well reflect the values and needs of New Yorkers. In particular, the governor has shown great leadership and vision in forcefully advocating for a first-in-the nation statewide $15 minimum wage. If enacted, the minimum wage increase would lift the incomes of 3.2 million New Yorkers who desperately [...]

2024-12-18T12:27:02-05:00February 3rd, 2016|City Budget, Economic Outlook, Economic Trends & Policy, Education, Healthcare, Labor Market & Workforce, Reports, Briefs and Presentations, Social Policy, State Budget, Tax Policy|
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No Permanent Extension of Business Tax Credits Without Permanent Extension of EITC/CTC Credits to Working Families

December 7, 2015. Senator Charles Schumer joined with leading anti-poverty advocates today to insist that Congress not permanently extend business tax credits without first making permanent tax credits to working poor families. The improvements to the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC) that were enacted several years ago are extremely important to millions of working families across the country, including nearly 1.5 million children in 755,000 New York families. Yet these improvements are scheduled to expire in 2017—and if they do, [...]

2024-12-18T12:27:02-05:00December 7th, 2015|Press Releases, Social Policy|
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Extend Tax Credits to the Poor

October 12, 2015. The following op-ed by Ron Deutsch appeared in the Times-Union. Millions of Americans go to work each day, sometimes balancing multiple low-wage jobs, and yet they still struggle to make ends meet for themselves and their families. The fact is, far too many hardworking Americans slip into poverty each year. I see this firsthand in my role at the Fiscal Policy Institute. We do, however, have two powerful and effective tools that encourage work and help lift working families out of poverty [...]

2024-12-18T12:27:03-05:00October 12th, 2015|Letters, Social Policy|
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Testimony: The Establishment of a New York City Retirement Security Board

June 23, 2015. James Parrott testified at a New York City Council Committee on Civil Service and Labor on the establishment of a New York City Retirement Security Board. The case for a retirement security fund and program for private-sector workers can be summed up as follows: New York City’s population is aging, many private sector workers do not have employer-provided retirement coverage, and our tax system rewards those who have employer-provided retirement coverage but does relatively little to help those who don’t have such [...]

2024-12-18T12:27:04-05:00June 23rd, 2015|Economic Trends & Policy, Social Policy, Testimony|
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Op-ed: De Blasio’s welfare reform correction: Critics who claim we’re sliding back to the bad old are blind to reality

March 27, 2015. An op-ed by James Parrott, Daily News. Some see the slight increase in New York City's welfare rolls in recent months as cause for alarm, warning that we are on an inevitable slide back to bad old days of chronic government dependency. In fact, the uptick reflects a long overdue policy correction. Changes underway are about making temporary assistance "a leg up and not a hand out," which is exactly what welfare should be. Far from dismantling welfare reform, Mayor de Blasio [...]

2024-12-18T12:27:05-05:00March 27th, 2015|Letters, Social Policy|
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Comparison of the Executive, Assembly, and Senate Education Proposals FY 2015-2016

March 24, 2015. The governor’s Executive Budget proposal would increase school aid by $1.07 billion. The increase in school aid is contingent on passage of a package of changes to teacher evaluation, tenure, and other procedures called the Education Opportunity Agenda. The budget also includes an Education Tax Credit which would provide a large credit for donations to schools and the Dream Act which would provide tuition assistance to undocumented immigrants who came to the country as children. The Assembly’s proposed budget would increase school [...]

2024-12-18T12:27:05-05:00March 24th, 2015|Education, Migration, Reports, Briefs and Presentations, Social Policy, State Budget, Tax & Budget|
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