Nicole and I both have op-eds in the Post today.  Hers dissects the MTA’s latest desperation move — an unprecedented 18-month budget.  Mine focuses on the projected expansion of New York State’s Medicaid caseload, which by 2013 may include one out of every four state residents.

Union leaders, contractors and real estate developers are trying to reach a new “project labor agreement” (PLA) to cut costs on private construction projects in New York City.   But while Mayor Blomberg is reportedly anxious to participate in a news conference announcing the tentative deal, the city itself isn’t even trying to share in the savings on public construction projects. (more…)

Nearly a full month after the Legislature’s adoption of the 2009-10 state budget, Governor David Paterson’s Division of the Budget (DOB) today issued its first official financial plan update since January.  The bottom line: New York State’s long-term financial outlook has significantly deteriorated since Paterson unveiled his Executive Budget a little over four months ago.  Due to a combination of falling revenues and added spending approved as part of the 2009-10 budget deal, the state’s out-year budget gaps are more than twice as large as those the governor originally projected in his Executive Budget proposal.

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A couple of weeks ago, the Citizens Budget Commission released a tabulation of the average annual benefits accruing to recent retirees from the New York City government, from firefighters to teachers to administrative assistants. How much would it cost you — if you’re a private-sector worker — to amass the same level of benefits? (more…)

New York City and state continue to lose Wall Street jobs in disproportionate numbers compared to the rest of the country. (more…)

Peterson Foundation president David Walker made a salient point today at the Regional Plan Association’s annual regional assembly: we don’t spend enough on infrastructure, but we probably spend too much on other stuff. (more…)

In yesterday’s column, Daily News journalist Errol Louis quotes Lillian Roberts, the head of the city’s civilian DC-37 union, saying that “When our people retire, the average one will receive something like $20,000 a year.” (more…)

New York State and City continue to put faux pressure on municipal unions to win cost-savings concessions on pensions and healthcare costs for state and city taxpayers. Coincidentally, bond-raters at Moody’s have just come out with a report that says that flexibility in municipalities’ fixed costs, including these labor costs, is “more important than ever.” (more…)

Small towns are losing millions of dollars on derivatives bets just when they can least afford to lose money. Why are we surprised? (more…)

With enactment of the 2009-10 New York State budget, “New York will leapfrog New Jersey to claim the mantle of America’s worst tax code for business.”  So says Josh Barro on the Tax Foundation’s always informative Tax Policy Blog.

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