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An Open Letter from New
York's Religious Leaders to the New York State Legislature and Governor David
Paterson
Over 100 New York faith leaders signed
on to an open letter to the legislature urging them to support a budget that
protects families and public services in New York State. The faith leaders are
concerned that our leaders are making cuts to vital public services that will
drive families deeper into poverty, diminish their chances for a quality
education and affect their ability to access affordable healthcare.
Letter (PDF) >>
Press release (html) >>
A
Balanced Approach to Closing State Deficits
Most states are heading into their third year of fiscal crisis facing severe
revenue shortfalls that require closing huge deficits.
The
choices states make about how to close those deficits have serious
implications both in the short and long term. States that rely solely or
primarily on widespread budget cuts to close deficits are harming residents and
businesses that need immediate assistance; they also are reducing demand in the
economy and impeding their state's economic recovery.
This paper by
Iris J. Lav of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities discusses the
challenges.
Federal Fiscal Relief Is
Working as Intended
A study from the
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities profiles the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act (ARRA) in New York and Virginia. The experience of these two
states suggests that the state fiscal assistance in the economic recovery
legislation is having its intended effect: enabling states to balance their
budgets with fewer cuts in public services that would harm residents and further
slow the economy. More >>
Nobel Economist:
Millionaires' Tax Is Economically Preferable
In a
March 27, 2008 letter
to Governor Paterson, Majority Leader Bruno and
Speaker Silver, Nobel economist Joseph Stiglitz makes a compelling case that the
millionaires' tax is "economically preferable" to raising regressive fees or
cutting state spending. Also see:
Voters Support Income Tax on Those Making $250K or More to Replace Budget Cuts,
a Siena Research Institute poll released January 26, 2009;
Closing
state deficit requires prudence, by former budget director Dall Forsythe and
Shanna Rose (Albany Times Union, December 10, 2008) and
How Not to Deal
with the Oncoming Depression: The Case of New York State,
by
Lawrence S. Wittner,
Professor
of History at SUNY Albany (History News Network, December 1,
2008).
Related:
Look to the rich for a budget fix, by Fred LeBrun (August 3, 2008 Albany Times
Union), Voters
Back Millionaire's Tax 4 - 1 (Quinnipiac poll, August 6, 2008).
More >>
Budget Cuts vs. Tax Increases at the State Level: Is One
More Counter-Productive than the Other During a Recession?
In this 2001 essay, Dr. Joseph Stiglitz, University Professor of Economics at
Columbia University and one of the recipients of the 2001 Nobel Prize in
Economics, and Dr. Peter Orszag, who is now the Director of the Congressional
Budget Office, explain why budget cuts and tax increases are both
counterproductive during a recession and how economic reasoning can help state
policy makers in selecting the least damaging mix of budget balancing strategies
during economic downturns. More >>
New York Shouldn't Look to Massachusetts as a
Model for Property Tax Reform
With the Commission on Property Tax Relief poised to recommend that the state
impose a rigid cap on property taxes for education based on Massachusetts'
Proposition 2 ½, a report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
(May 21, 2008) describes the problems the law has created in Massachusetts and explains that
the impact in New York could be even more severe.
More about Hidden Consequences:
Press release -
html,
pdf
Executive summary -
html
Full report -
pdf
Among the key lessons:
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A tax cap won't make government
services cost less.
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Claims that caps will produce large
savings through “efficiencies” are overblown.
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Tax caps can be particularly
harmful if adopted during a weak economy.
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State aid can't be relied upon to
fill the gap.
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Changes in school enrollment can
have a big impact.
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Without effectively targeted state
aid, low-income communities will fall even further behind.
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Wealthier communities will override
a tax cap more frequently than poorer ones.
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Middle-income communities might end
up bearing the brunt of a cap.
Working for a
Better Life: Immigrants in New York's Economy
What
role do immigrants play in the New York State economy? This profile of
immigrants in the state economy shows that
in 2006, they added $229 billion in economic
activity - fully 22.4 percent of the state's gross domestic
product. FPI also examines what countries immigrants come
from, where they work and how well they are doing. The report includes detailed
analysis of the role of immigrant workers and families in three distinct
regional economies: New York City, the downstate suburbs, and upstate.
 An
Agenda for Shared Prosperity
With a new governor in Albany for the
first time in 12 years, New Yorkers have high expectations for the future,
seeing a rare opportunity for the state to reevaluate its policies in a wide
variety of areas.
Explore
One New York
to learn more about FPI's contribution to this much-needed effort, from November
2006.
Danger & ripoffs are on the rise: How hot construction biz brings a black
market, scams & death. A series of stories in the Daily News
describes the human side of FPI's recent report,
The Underground
Economy in NYC's Affordable Housing Construction Industry.
Also see the
follow up story on Mayor Bloomberg's reaction:
We'll make quick fix, Mike vows.
Corporate Tax Policy and the Right to Know: Improving State Tax Policymaking by
Enhancing Legislative and Public Access (PDF).
Prepared for the
Fiscal Policy Institute in 1993 by
Richard D. Pomp, the Alva P. Loiselle Professor of Law at the University of
Connecticut's School of Law and the former Executive Director of New York
State's Legislative Tax Study Commission.
BEHIND THE NEWS: What is the Regional Greenhouse Gas
Initiative (RGGI) and how can it be most effectively implemented? To better understand the economics
of the implementation of the RGGI, which was adopted in
December 2005 by the Governors of seven Northeastern states under
Governor Pataki's leadership, read the following paper by J. Andrew Hoerner
of Redefining Progress: Regional Initiatives to Reduce Greenhouse
Gasses: The Crucial Importance of Auctioning Permits for Jobs,
Competitiveness, and Equity
(PDF).
Also worth reading on this subject are the
Preliminary Oral
Comments of New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer on the
Allocation of Carbon Dioxide Allowances Pursuant to the Regional
Greenhouse Gas Initiative Cap-and-Trade Program
(HTML) as delivered
by New York State Assistant Attorney General J. Jared Snyder to a
meeting of the RGGI's Stakeholder Group in Hartford, CT on May 2, 2006.
The
Great American Jobs Scam: Corporate Tax Dodging and the Myth of Job
Creation
by Greg LeRoy (published July 21, 2005 by Berrett-Koehler
Publishers, Inc.) Available in most local bookstores and online through
all book selling services.
Charlotte Cuno et
al., v. DaimlerChrysler et al. (PDF). In a landmark decision issued on
September 2, 2004, the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled that the
State of Ohio's investment tax credit violated the Commerce Clause of the US
Constitution. Rather than immediately appealing this decision to the US Supreme Court,
DaimlerChrysler asked the Sixth Circuit to take the unusual step of rehearing the the
case en banc.
Click here for
Appellants' Memorandum in Opposition to Petitions for Rehearing En Banc in the Case of
Charlotte Cuno et al., v. DaimlerChrysler et al. (PDF)
The Sixth Circuit subsequently declined this request and
DaimlerChrysler then asked the Supreme Court to hear its appeal of the
Sixth Circuit's decision. That request was granted and DaimlerChrysler
et al. filed their briefs with the Supreme Court on December 5, 2005.
The plaintiffs/respondents filed their briefs by January 23, 2006. The
Fiscal Policy Institute was among the various organizations that filed
amicus briefs with the Supreme Court in this case.
Click here for a copy of the
amicus curiae brief filed by the Fiscal Policy Institute together with
Connecticut Voices for Children and Good Jobs First. Oral
arguments were heard by the Supreme Court on march 1, 2006. If the
Sixth Circuit's decision is upheld by the Supreme Court, it would serve
to substantially de-escalate the current economic war among the states;
in effect, serving to save the states from themselves. For a
general discussion of this issue see
Ideas for Ending (or, At
Least, De-escalating) the Economic War Among the States (PDF), a
paper presented by FPI Executive Director Frank Mauro at symposium on
the Economic War Among the States co-sponsored by FPI and Good Jobs
First at Georgetown Law Center, June 26, 2003.
Chapter 40 of the Laws of 2004 of the
State of New Jersey (PDF) In this new law which was approved on June 28,
2004, New Jersey increased its top income tax rate, for tax years beginning on and after
January 1, 2004, from 6.37% on the portion of taxable income above $75,000 for single
individuals and $150,000 for married couples to 8.97% on the portion of taxable income
above $500,000 regardless of filing status. This represents a significant shift in
the traditional relationship between the top income tax rates in New York and New
Jersey. For the first time in history, the top New Jersey rates are now
substantially higher than the top New York rates. New York State's
temporary top rate
of 7.7% on taxpayers with taxable incomes of $500,000 or more is schedule
expired on December 31, 2005. New York's current top income tax
rate is 6.85% for married taxpayers with taxable incomes above $40,000 and single
taxpayers with incomes above $20,000. The 6.85% top rate is more
than 55% lower than the state's top income tax rate in 1974.
Rethinking Growth Strategies
(HTML). Professor Robert Lynch's comprehensive review of all the academic research
on How State and Local Taxes and Services Affect Economic
Development (HTML). Published in March 2004 by the Economic Policy
Institute. Robert Lynch is Chair of the Economics Department at Washington College in
Chestertown, Maryland, and former chair of the Economics Department at SUNY
Cortland.
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For the latest about FPI, please visit
FPI in the news.
October 27, 2010.
Background on the Economists Selected by the New York City Economic Development
Corporation for Its Living Wage Study. City policymakers deserve the benefit
of a rigorous study that looks at the actual costs and benefits of extending
living wage standards to subsidized development projects. This brief looks at
the track record of the lead economist, David Neumark, for the management
consulting firm selected by the New York City Economic Development Corporation
to conduct a study of the possible economic impact of wage requirements on
projects subsidized by the City. The brief examines the extensive criticism of
Neumark's past labor market analyses and calls for an external review panel of
prominent economists to provide critical feedback on the EDC living wage study.
October 22, 2010.
High unemployment
persists, but New York has not fared as badly as most states in the downturn.
A new report from the U.S. Department of Labor shows that from the start
of the national recession through September 2010, New York's 3.3 percent total
job loss ranked it 39th among all states. New Yorkers have certainly not been
spared the recession's devastating effects; however, New York was hit less hard
than most parts of the country. Still, there were 800,000 New Yorkers officially
unemployed in September, a number nearly 75 percent higher than when the
recession began in New York in the spring of 2008.
Release with state rankings >>
October 8, 2010.
Stiglitz calls for a second stimulus at FPI event. FPI presented its Frances
Perkins Working People's award to Nobel economist Joseph Stiglitz at an event in
Manhattan on October 7. In his acceptance remarks, Stiglitz made a strong case
for additional economic stimulus to put the country firmly on the road to
recovery. A good summary of Stiglitz's remarks by Kathy Brady of the
New York City Employment and Training Coalition is available in the October
8
edition of NYCETC's newsletter, the NYC Workforce Weekly.
Article >>
September 28, 2010.
Hundreds of millions at
stake for New York’s working families: Current tax debate to determine future of
key work-supporting tax credits. Low- and moderate-income New Yorkers have a
huge stake in the tax debate now going on at the national level: over $600
million annually in work-supporting tax credits. Enhancements to the Earned
Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Child Tax Credit (CTC) that were made by the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) will expire at the end of 2010
unless extended by Congress. A new report from the Fiscal Policy Institute
reviews the workings of these two tax credits, how they were changed by the
Recovery Act, and why those changes should be made permanent.
Press release >> and
full report >>
September 27, 2010.
City
Poverty Rate Jumped as the Economy Slumped.
By James Parrott, FPI's deputy director and chief economist, who writes regularly for Gotham
Gazette's Economy
section.
September 21, 2010.
Federal Tax Policy at a Crossroads. This policy brief compares the
distributional impacts on New York taxpayers of President Obama's plan and an
alternative plan laid our in the Senate Republican leadership bill S.3773 - and
looks at the impact of the same two proposals on programs and services.
Conclusion? There are five reasons that the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy should
be allowed to expire as scheduled, and the modifications of those tax cuts
enacted as part of the Recovery Act should be made permanent.
September 21, 2010.
True/False: Public Employees Have Too Many Benefits. In this installment of
"Wonk Wars," FPI's James Parrott discusses labor compensation with the Manhattan
Institute's Steve Malanga.
On the web >> and
on the air >>
September 20, 2010.
Statement from James Parrott on the National Bureau of Economic Research
Announcement on the Business Cycle. Most New York workers remain mired in a
high unemployment, unacceptably slow recovery, despite
today's announcement by the
NBER that the national recession bottomed out in June 2009, 15 months ago.
By the most optimistic projections, three to four years of faster job growth are
required to bring the unemployment rate back down to the pre-recession. More
forceful economic stimulus measures must be applied to prevent this Great
Recession from turning into another Great Depression.
September 17, 2010. Extension of the
TANF Emergency Contingency Fund is Essential to Bringing More Jobs and Needed
Financial Support to New York State. The very tight budget situations that
state and local governments continue to face may force them to reduce or
eliminate services for needy families. An extension of the TANF Emergency
Contingency Fund will help New York and the other states to continue their
safety net programs without ravaging other parts of their budgets. The latest in
an ongoing series of briefs and reports from FPI.
More >>
September 16, 2010.
Poverty on the Rise in
New York and Nation in 2009: Federal Assistance Lessened Recession's Impact.
The Census Bureau today released state-level data showing that the poverty rate
in New York State rose dramatically from 14.2 percent in 2008 to 15.8 percent in
2009. The number of New Yorkers in poverty jumped by 284,000 to a little over
three million. Only once since 1980 - from 1989 to 1990 - has the poverty rate
risen more than it did in 2009. The new data also show that 2009 brought a large
increase in the national poverty rate, which
jumped to 14.3 percent from 13.2 percent in 2008.
September 15, 2010.
The Great
Recession Lingers in New York City and its Neighborhoods. Economic overview
and outlook for New York City - a presentation by FPI's deputy director and
chief economist, James Parrott.
September 5, 2010. New York starting to
see job growth but not yet recovery. While New York and the nation have
begun to see some modest job growth, unemployment rates remain unacceptably high
and recovery is not yet helping most New York workers. New York is hardly
unique; from December 2007 through December 2009, the state lost 250,000 jobs, a
2.8 percent job decline. Forty states had even worse job performance over that
period.
Those with managerial/professional occupations are earning more in New York
City, while those in non-managerial/non-professional occupations are earning
less. Both groups are making less in areas outside the city.
August 30, 2010.
Looking to a National Recovery. By James Parrott, New York Times. Part of
"Room for Debate" -
How Healthy Is New York City's Economy?
August 2, 2010.
Immigrant unemployment rates up less than for
U.S.-born. Data
released by FPI shows that immigrants, who make up nearly half of the New York
City labor force, have an unemployment rate that is slightly lower than for
U.S.-born workers. First, immigration is sensitive to labor market demand, so
when there are fewer jobs, immigration slows. Second, lacking a safety net,
immigrants are more likely to work at whatever jobs they can get. U.S.-born
workers may have the resources to search longer for jobs that better match their
skill level.
More
>>
July 8, 2010.
Measuring New York City's Wage Adequacy. By Michele Mattingly, Huffington
Post.
The findings of the report
[The Self Sufficiency
Standard for New York City 2010] imply a stark future for the city if
most of its largest occupations do not pay median wages that allow an adult
employed full-time to meet basic needs, let alone to support a family. Public
policy in recent years has stressed the primacy of employment over public
support to address poverty, yet too many of New York's jobs simply do not pay
enough for workers to raise themselves and their families to a modest standard
of living.
June 30, 2010.
Testimony by David Dyssegaard Kallick before the National Commission on Fiscal
Responsibility and Reform.
Senior fellow David Dyssegaard Kallick testified at a public hearing held by the
National Commission on Fiscal
Responsibility and Reform to hear ideas from members of the public. He
testified
about the relationship between immigration and economic growth and
about the importance of federal support for state and local governments.
June 29, 2010.
The Self Sufficiency Standard for New York 2010. The
Self Sufficiency Standard defines the income that working adults in New York
need to meet their families' basic needs for housing, food, transportation,
child care, medical care and taxes. The Self-Sufficiency Standard for
2010 shows that for most workers - across the state and in New York City -
earnings well above the official Federal Poverty Level (FPL) are nevertheless
far below what is needed to meet families' basic needs.
Detailed information provided for a range of family profiles, for each county
and New York City borough. More >>
June 18, 2010.
Strike a Fairer Balance In Balancing City Budget: Trim Hedge Funds, Not
Services. An op ed by James A. Parrott, The Chief. PDF.
June 8, 2010. Groups Call Upon Schumer and Gillibrand to Restore Medicaid
and COBRA Health Insurance Funding. This press release from coalition partners
highlights FPI's analysis of the impact on New York State and New York City of a
6-month extension of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act's increased share of state Medicaid costs.
The groups also call for extension of ARRA's assistance with COBRA
premiums.
Material distributed at press conference >>
June 7, 2010.
Mayor's Executive Budget Proposal. Testimony presented by James Parrott before
the New York City Council
Committee on Finance.
May 28, 2010. An Overview of Job Quality and Discretionary Economic
Development Subsidies in New York City. This brief from FPI together with Good
Jobs New York and the National Employment Law Project examines the low wages
typically paid for many of the permanent jobs at city-subsidized economic
development projects such as Bronx Gateway Mall, Fresh Direct and Yankee
Stadium.
May 20, 2010. New York City: Economic and Budget Challenges. While Wall
Street may have recovered, the average New York worker is still mired in the
Great Recession. New York like most states has severe budget problems and not
enough Federal aid; moreover, state and local government budget cuts will harm
the local economy and slow the national recovery. In this context, the Mayor's
NYC budget proposal punishes workers and the poor but does not ask the
well-off or Wall Street to share the burden. This presentation includes
commentary on the state as well as the city budget budget situations.
May 19, 2010. Extending the TANF Emergency Contingency Fund Would Bring
More Dollars and Jobs to New York. To help needy families during the Great
Recession, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), which was signed
into law by President Obama on February 17, 2009, created a $5 billion Emergency
Contingency Fund (ECF) within the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
federal block grant program. The TANF ECF has brought $935 million in new
federal dollars to New York over the last year. With the nation continuing to
experience high unemployment rates, an extension of the ECF past its current
September 30, 2010, expiration date is essential. Also see FPI's earlier
publications on the TANF ECF.
May 11, 2010.
Prevailing Wage for Building Service Workers in Buildings Owned or Managed by
Persons Receiving City Financial Assistance.
Testimony presented by James Parrott before the New York City Council
Committee on Finance.
May 10, 2010. Is the recession over in New York? Despite the fact that job
numbers are up, unemployment is down, and gross domestic product has increased
for three quarters - by the measures that matter, this recession has been worse
for New York workers. Wages fell more sharply in this recession than in the two
previous. Joblessness has more than doubled. At this point, 400,000 jobs are
needed to return NYC unemployment to pre-recession levels. Also see
Severe
Recession Hangs on in Much of the City in Gotham
Gazette's Economy
section.
May 6, 2010. Potential efficiencies in City operations. A letter sent by
James Parrott to Stephen Goldsmith, the City's new deputy mayor for operations,
outlining some ripe opportunities for savings and efficiencies.
April 27, 2010. Oversight: The feasibility of requiring a unified economic
development budget as a reporting requirement.
Testimony presented by James Parrott before the New York City Council
Committee on Economic Development.
April 19, 2010. New York Has the Ways and Means: How and Why Wall Street
Should Give Back to Main Street. Sensible options for closing the state
budget gap meet three goals: 1. To
support rather than undermine the needs of New York families. 2. To minimize the
negative impact of this year’s budget decisions on the fragile state economy. 3.
To require the New York financial industry - which bears responsibility for much
of the negative impact on the state’s economy and finances since 2007, and which
has now realized enormous profits because of the taxpayer-funded bailout - to
contribute a fair share to Main Street’s recovery.
Read the press release >> Read the full report >>
April 15, 2010. Across the Spectrum: The Wide Range of Jobs
Immigrants Do. Immigrants are by no means all low-wage workers in the 25 largest
metropolitan areas, as this new report shows. In many metro areas, there are
more higher-skilled immigrants than there are lower-skilled. Surprisingly,
these are not the metro areas with the most economic growth; rather, they are
areas with low overall immigration, including Pittsburgh, Detroit, and St.
Louis. More
>>
April 12, 2010.
Look to Wall Street for help. An op ed by Frank Mauro, FPI's executive
director, and Ron Deutsch of New Yorkers for Fiscal Fairness, Albany
Times-Union.
April 7, 2010.
Establishing a Fair, Adequate and Economically
Sensible State-Local Tax System.
This policy brief from FPI reviews specific revenue raising options that would
enable New York to close its budget gap while making the overall tax system
fairer and minimizing damage to the economy.
April 2, 2010. Testimony at
the Joint Legislative Public Hearing on the 2010-2011 Executive Budget Proposal
- Human Services.
Presented by Carolyn Boldiston, FPI's Senior Fiscal Policy Analyst. Includes: a
review of New York’s historical utilization of the federal Temporary Assistance
for Needy Families (TANF) block grant, an analysis of the impact of the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of February 2009 on TANF funding and
spending in New York State, a brief review of child care subsidies in New York
State, and recommendations for the 2010-2011 state fiscal year.
(This is a revised version of testimony originally delivered on February 10,
2010.)
March 29, 2010. The New York State Lottery: A Regressive Tax. By
FPI research associate Brent Kramer, published by Tax Analysts in
State Tax Notes.
Voluntary payments to the government are generally not thought of as taxes. But
states have begun in the last 30 years to obtain significant revenue from
lottery sales. Looking at induced lottery purchases as a tax, with very little
direct or indirect benefit to the vast majority of purchasers, this analysis
confirms conclusions in other studies that it is an extremely regressive tax.
March 11, 2010, New York City.
The
Ravitch Plan. On the Brian Lehrer
Show on WNYC, James Parrott, FPI's Deputy Director and Chief Economist,
discussed
Lieutenant Governor
Richard Ravitch's plan to reform the New York State budget process and to borrow
money to help solve New York State's fiscal problems.
March 10, 2010.
Balancing the
New York State Budget in an Economically Sensible Manner. New York State
should balance its budget during the current economic downturn in ways that will
not make economic conditions worse. The budget balancing strategies of the early
1990s should be avoided, while those of 2003 and 2009 demonstrate the benefits
of more balanced approaches to budget balancing. The wisest policy choices are
those that will take the least amount of demand possible out of the state
economy; this brief contains a number of specific options.
March 10, 2010. New
York's Unemployment Crisis. In January 2010, 852,000 New Yorkers
were unemployed, including 413,000 New York City residents. This fact sheet
includes data on New York unemployment rates and payroll job losses, including
FPI estimates of unemployment by gender, race, and ethnicity, and long-term
unemployment.
March 1, 2010. The
Impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act on New York City.
Testimony presented by James Parrott before the New York City Council General
Welfare Committee.
February 22, 2010.
Revenue-raising and cost-saving options.
The Fiscal Policy Institute worked with the other members of the Better
Choice Budget Campaign to develop a
menu of
revenue-raising and cost-saving options for consideration by the Governor and Legislature
as they work to
adopt a balanced budget for 2010-2011.
February 10, 2010. Testimony at
the Joint Legislative Public Hearing on the 2010-2011 Executive Budget Proposal
- Human Services.
Presented by Carolyn Boldiston, FPI's Senior Fiscal Policy Analyst. (A
revised
version of this testimony was released on April 2, 2010.)
February 9, 2010. Briefing on Mayor Bloomberg's
Preliminary FY 2011 New York City Budget. Despite Wall Street's rebound,
unemployment and hardship are extremely high for most New Yorkers; at best,
recovery will be very gradual. This briefing finds that the Mayor's proposed
budget cuts and the state budget-related contingency cuts will worsen
unemployment and hardship. To mitigate the harmful impact of the budget,
increased federal fiscal aid is the highest priority, followed by progressive
income tax increases - less harmful than budget cuts.
February 3, 2010. New York
State's Economic and Fiscal Outlook for 2010-2011. The Fiscal Policy
Institute's twentieth annual budget briefing, revised.
February 1, 2010.
Testimony at
the Joint Legislative Public Hearing on the 2010-2011 Executive Budget Proposal
- Economic Development.
Presented by James Parrott, FPI's Deputy Director and Chief Economist.
January 2010. Analyzing
the Economy of a Large, Urban County: The Case of Kings County, New York. An
article by James Parrott that shows available data (in this case, for Brooklyn -
Kings County) can be used to estimate the economic impact of the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)
at the county level. Published in The Journal of County Administration,
Parrott's article begins on page 3 of the issue; see also an introduction by the
president of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce (p. 1) and an editorial touting
such research (p. 10).
January 27, 2010.
Testimony on Employee Misclassification in New York's Underground Economy.
Presented by James Parrott, FPI's Deputy Director and Chief Economist, to the
Assembly Labor Committee. Research shows that misclassification of employees as
so-called independent contractors places a significant burden on taxpayers
(including unpaid income taxes as well as avoidance of unemployment benefits and
health insurance premiums) and has the broader effect of weakening job security
and even physical safety. Over decades, government has established employment
standards and social insurance systems to protect workers and responsible
businesses from those who would cut corners. Vigorous enforcement is critically
important.
January 13, 2010.
Testimony on Employee Misclassification in New York's Underground Economy.
Presented by James Parrott, FPI's Deputy Director and Chief Economist, to the
Senate Labor Committee.
December 21, 2009. New York City in the Great
Recession: Divergent Fates by Neighborhood and Race and Ethnicity. Current
unemployment rates at a neighborhood level for New York City, and estimates of
the unemployment rate by race/ethnicity and gender: the numbers show huge
variations from neighborhood to neighborhood and also within neighborhoods. For
example, while the overall unemployment rate in New York City was 10.1 percent
in the third quarter of 2009, unemployment was 5.1 percent on Manhattan's Upper
East and West Sides in the third quarter, compared to 15.7 percent in the South
and Central Bronx and 19.2 percent in Brooklyn's East New York neighborhood.
More, including an interactive map >>
December 21, 2009.
Job
Creation Bills to be on Washington's Agenda in 2010.
By James Parrott, FPI's deputy director and chief economist, who writes regularly for Gotham
Gazette's Economy
section.
December 17, 2009.
Recovery Act
Keeping Roughly 419,000 New Yorkers Out of Poverty. New estimates released
today by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) are based on seven
provisions
of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)
that directly affect individuals: three tax credits for working families, two
unemployment insurance expansions, an increase in food stamps, and a one-time
payment for retirees, veterans, and people with disabilities. Not only is the
Recovery Act is creating jobs, helping close state and local budget gaps, and
boosting the broader economy, it is also softening the recession's impact on
poverty by directly lifting family incomes.
Press release
with link to study >>
December 15, 2009. New regional data
shows robust economic contribution of immigrants on Long Island and in the
Hudson Valley. Immigrants make up 16 percent of the combined population of
Nassau and Suffolk counties, and are responsible for 18 percent of total
economic output; in the 15-county Hudson Valley region, immigrants make up 13
percent of the population, and are responsible for 16 percent of total economic
output. Two regional reports show what jobs immigrants hold in the local
economies as well as the countries they came from.
More about immigration and economic
activity >>
November 30, 2009. New report shows robust
immigrant contribution to GDP in the country's 25 largest metropolitan areas.
In the 25 metro areas combined, immigrants account for 20 percent of economic
output and 20 percent of the population. The same basic relationship holds true,
with slight variation, for each of the 25 areas, from metro Pittsburgh, where
immigrants represent 3 percent of population and 4 percent of GDP, to metro
Miami, where immigrants make up 37 percent of the population and 38 percent of
GDP. Immigrants and the Economy also looks at the
wide range of occupations held by immigrants and other reasons immigrant
economic contribution is so consistently strong, with a special focus on the
five largest metro areas in the East. More >>
November 19, 2009. State of Working New York
City 2009: A Tale of Two Recessions. This report from FPI is an examination
of the impact of the country's "Great Recession" on the New York City economy.
The data show the shallowness of the previous expansion from 2003 to 2007 before
the onset of the Great Recession, and recession-related job losses and rising
economic insecurities. The report also explores in detail the character and
extent of unemployment in New York City - and finds that despite Wall Street's
faster-than-expected recovery, the city's Main Street economy continues to
struggle with high unemployment and widespread economic insecurity.
More >>
November 18, 2009.
Who Pays? A Distributional Analysis of the Tax
Systems in All 50 States. A new study from the
Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), co-released by FPI, shows that
middle-income families in New York pay a higher share of their income in
state and local taxes (12.0 percent) than do the state's richest families (who
pay only 9.4 percent of their income in state and local taxes). More >>
Data for New York.
Full report, 50 states.
November 5, 2009.
A Better Choice for Addressing
New York State's Projected Budget Gaps, by Frank Mauro and Ron Deutsch.
November 5, 2009.
Advocates Decry
Mid-Year Budget Cuts in Governor's Deficit Reduction Plan: Urge Legislature to
Look at "Less Painful" Alternatives. FPI, New Yorkers for Fiscal
Fairness, and a diverse group of statewide organizations joined forces to
publicize the harmful impact of many of the governor's proposed cuts.
Press release >>
October 26, 2009.
Testimony on Governor Paterson's Proposed 2009-2010 Deficit Reduction Plan.
Presented by James Parrott, Deputy Director and Chief Economist of FPI, to the
Senate Finance Committee.
October 26, 2009.
An
Innovator Takes a Fairly Conventional Approach.
By James Parrott, FPI's deputy director and chief economist, who writes regularly for Gotham
Gazette's Economy
section.
October 21, 2009.
Testimony on Governor Paterson's Proposed 2009-2010 Deficit Reduction Plan.
Presented by Frank Mauro, Executive Director of FPI, and Ron Deutsch, Executive
Director of New Yorkers for Fiscal Fairness, to the Assembly Ways and Means
Committee. Mauro and Deutsch discussed why $1.8 billion of the $3 billion in
deficit reduction actions proposed by Governor Paterson for the current state
fiscal year would harm the still-fragile state economy. The Governor's other
$1.2 billion in gap-closing recommendations together with additional actions
that will not hurt the state economy should be used to ensure that the state
ends the current fiscal year in balance. Changes in law that would affect the
state's finances and its economy on an ongoing basis should be reviewed in a
thorough and well-informed manner as part of the Legislature's consideration of
the Governor's 2010-11 Executive Budget - with all options on the table,
including the budget-balancing
alternatives recommended by Mauro and Deutsch in this testimony.
October 15, 2009.
Statement from FPI Executive Director Frank Mauro on Governor Paterson's call
to cut state spending by $1.8 billion.
September 24, 2009.
Brooklyn Labor Market Review.
Commissioned by the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, this review finds that the
devastating blow dealt to New York City by the current recession has been less
painful to Brooklyn. American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) dollars are
having an impact in the borough, and Brooklyn has experienced job growth in some
sectors in spite of losses citywide.
Press release,
full report.
September 22, 2009.
Amid
Talk of Recovery, Jobless Rates Reach Double Digits.
By James Parrott, FPI's deputy director and chief economist, who writes regularly for Gotham
Gazette's Economy
section.
September 16, 2009. State of Working New York
2009: Unemployment and Economic Insecurity in the Great Recession. This
report is the latest of FPI's biennial examinations of
the conditions facing workers and working families in New York State,
released as the country hobbles through the worst economic crisis
-
the steepest economic drop and the longest period of job loss -
since the 1930s. We are living through what's been justly termed
"The Great Recession." The report outlines significant ways in which the federal
and state governments can support recovery. More >>
August
11, 2009. New Federal Dollars
for New York: The TANF Emergency Contingency Fund in the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009. Part III of this ongoing series of briefs from the Fiscal
Policy Institute focuses on how New York could use the TANF Emergency
Contingency Fund (ECF). This paper examines scenarios program by program as well
as for TANF as a whole, and demonstrates that
applying for upfront funding based on anticipated spending (rather than applying
for reimbursement after the fact) could increase federal dollars for New York
five-fold.
The analysis includes a timeline of awards from the ECF as well as the regular
TANF contingency fund.
More >>
July 23, 2009. Federal minimum wage boost
affects 123,000 New Yorkers - but only slightly. On July 24, an estimated
123,000 New York workers will benefit when the minimum wage rises
from the state's minimum of $7.15 an hour
to the new federal minimum of $7.25 an hour. The minimum wage in New York will
still lag that in 13 other states and the District of Columbia. And, a full-time
worker will still not earn enough to keep a family of three out of poverty.
July 2, 2009.
Albany
Inaction Costs Jobless New Yorkers $267
Million. A potent tool for fighting downturn, unemployment benefits deliver
economic stimulus where it's most needed.
But New York's
jobless benefit has been frozen
since 2000, and now lags behind dozens of states. This report from FPI and the
National Employment Law Project shows that upstate counties have been hurt
the most by the legislature's failure to increase unemployment benefits.
More
>>
June 24, 2009. Retail
Wages in New York City: Testimony before the Bronx Community Board 7.
Presented by research associate Michele Mattingly at the board's public hearing
on
the Kingsbridge Armory Project. As New York City leaves behind an economic era
characterized by a financial sector distorted by reckless speculation, it is
imperative that we rebuild the city economy on the basis of good,
family-supporting jobs that create and sustain the middle-class. Related:
Low Wages, No Bargain, FPI's study of the
retail sector in New York, December 2008.
June 11, 2009. New Federal Dollars
for New York: The TANF Emergency Contingency Fund in the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009. This ongoing series of briefs from the Fiscal
Policy Institute looks into the rules governing the new Emergency Contingency
Fund (ECF), reviews New York's experience with the regular Contingency Fund, and
explores the situations under which New York may qualify for ECF funds.
May 21, 2009.
Testimony before the Senate Select Committee on Budget and Tax Reform.
Presented by chief economist James Parrott at the committee's public
hearing on New York State's business tax reform. New York could have a more
rational and fairer business tax system by adopting a rule to fix problems with
the way multi-state corporate income is apportioned, by revamping its overly
generous Investment Tax Credit, and by adjusting its taxation of unincorporated
businesses.
For earlier FPI publications, please see the
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