FPI's Chief Economist, Jonas Shaende, was invited to testify before the New York State Senate Standing Committee on Codes and the New York State Senate Standing Committee on Crime Victims, Crime, and Corrections. Dr. Shaende spoke in support of the proposed S.3979C (Salazar)/A.2348B (Niou), the End Predatory Court Fees Act. Testimony: Full Text
Many local governments across New York State ‐ particularly small town and village governments ‐ rely on fine and fee revenue as part of their annual budget, with more than 30 towns and villages having a reliance of ten percent or greater on this type of revenue. Much of it is generated through Justice Courts which have jurisdiction over vehicle and traffic violations, evictions, small claims, and certain criminal offenses. Click here to read the full report: Local Governments Across New York State Must Re‐examine [...]
Data is increasingly in the focus of policymakers globally. The Fiscal Policy Institute estimates that by introducing a small tax on data the state would boost its revenue by a billion dollars in the immediate future. The potential for further revenue is particularly important, as the tax is future proof and is well positioned to capture additional gains while the overall business environment transitions to elevated data intensity. Click here to read the full report: The Fiscal Significance of Data: a billion-dollar policy innovation On [...]
New York State relies on fine, fee, and surcharge revenue to fund government operations- including the functions of the courts and state agencies providing criminal justice, public safety, and victim services. This funding is generated via a complex set of state statutes, including penal, vehicle and traffic, environmental conservation, judiciary, and finance laws and is spent through the General Fund and a bevy of State Special Revenue Funds. No one state government entity or agency is charged with comprehensively reporting on the imposition, collection, and [...]
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 [...]
THE COVID‐19 PANDEMIC HAD AN UNPRECEDENTED EFFECT ON THE JOBS AND INCOMES OF NEW YORK STATE RESIDENTS, in addition to upending social norms and taking the lives of thousands. However, the pandemic’s burden was not evenly distributed across our population. The Fiscal Policy Institute found that Black workers statewide, who already had a higher rate of unemployment prior to the pandemic, experienced even greater losses. Our first analysis compares the employment measures among Black New Yorkers between March to November 2019 and March to November [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
The Social Assistance subsector includes workers who provide direct and vital social assistance services to consumers, including vulnerable and at-risk populations and communities. It consists of the following industry groups: Individual and Family Services; Community Food and Housing, and Emergency and Other Relief Services; Vocational Rehabilitation Services; Child Day Care Services.1 In 2019, there were nearly 380,000 people estimated to be employed in New York’s social assistance subsector by not-for-profit, government, and private employers, 133,000 of whom (35 percent) were employed by not-for-profits. In New York State, total not-for-profit employment is largest in the Individual and Family Services and Child and Day [...]
This Gothamist article tells the personal story of an excluded worker and the on-going efforts in New York State to create an excluded worker fund. Excluded workers are those who have lost work due to COVID, but have been excluded from any federal or state relief (federal stimulus or state unemployment due to their immigration status or recent incarceration. “The need is urgent,” said David Dyssegaard Kallick, director of the Fiscal Policy Institute’s Immigration Research Initiative. “Unemployment insurance has been a lifesaver to so many [...]
The New York State Senate and Assembly both supported 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. The report shows that while $2.1 billion is an impressive signal from the legislature, $3.5 billion is the amount that is needed to match the minimum benefits other workers receive and to continue that aid through the end of [...]
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 [...]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 18, 2021 Media Contact: communications@fiscalpolicy.org, 518-786-3156 “Legislature Supports $2.1 Billion in Aid to Excluded Workers; Report Shows $3.5 is Needed” Read FPI’s report: Unemployment Compensation for Excluded Workers: $3.5 Billion Needed for 2020 and 2021 (Albany, NY) – New York State may be on the brink of providing unemployment benefits to workers who are currently excluded from the state’s unemployment insurance fund. The New York State Assembly and Senate both support a fund of $2.1 billion to extend benefits to undocumented [...]
The New York State Senate passed its one-house budget resolution which includes raising the tax rate on those earning over $1 million a year. The Assembly supports this tax reform as well. "Big challenges require bold action and demand a combination of transformative vision and concrete commonsense response," said Jonas Shaende, chief economist for the Fiscal Policy Institute, a liberal think tank in Albany. "The Legislature’s proposals show their willingness to consider a broad array of measures to ensure New Yorkers’ health and well-being." Read the Gannett article which appears in lohud and [...]
As the state budget process progresses, both houses released their one-house budget proposals which include increased taxes for top earners and corporations. Critics contend these tax reforms are not needed due to federal aid. Advocates point out the long-standing need for tax reform to set the state on the right course. "The legislature’s proposals recognize the need for support to ensure all New Yorkers can live, work, access health care, and receive a sound education," the labor-backed Fiscal Policy Institute said. Read the Newsday article [...]