Fiscal Policy Institute Update – February 2010

NEW YORK STATE BUDGET

In early February, in both Albany and New York City, the Fiscal Policy Institute (FPI) presented a detailed briefing on New York State’s Economic and Fiscal Outlook for 2010-11.

In cooperation with New Yorkers for Fiscal Fairness, FPI will be presenting budget briefings in Rochester on March 1, Elmira on March 2, and Poughkeepsie on March 3. For details on these and other upcoming presentations, check the FPI events page.

FPI also worked with New Yorkers for Fiscal Fairness and the other members of the Better Choice Budget Campaign to develop a menu of revenue-raising and cost-cutting options for the Governor and the Legislature to consider as they work to adopt a balanced budget for 2010-2011.

The Fiscal Policy Institute’s Deputy Director and Chief Economist James Parrott and FPI Senior Fiscal Policy Analyst Carolyn Boldiston both testified at the joint legislative hearings on the Governor’s 2010-2011 Executive Budget proposal. James testified at the Economic Development budget hearing and Carolyn presented testimony at the Human Services budget hearing.

NEW YORK CITY BUDGET

With support from New York Community Trust, FPI is now monitoring and analyzing the New York City budget. On February 9, as part of this effort, FPI presented a briefing on the mayor’s preliminary budget for FY 2011. The briefing examined the Mayor’s proposed budget cuts for this year and next year, his contingency cuts related to reductions in the Governor’s proposed state budget, and options for a more balanced approach to dealing with City budget pressures.

THE GREAT RECESSION IN NEW YORK

In November, FPI released A Tale of Two Recessions: While Wall Street recovers, New York City’s Main Street economy remains mired in the Great Recession and followed up in December with a report that analyzed unemployment by neighborhood, race, and ethnicity in New York City. That report’s estimates were used by both the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times as the basis for interactive maps that are posted on their websites.

FPI Research Associate Michele Mattingly will discuss the urgent need for job creation at two town hall meetings convened by Representative Carolyn Maloney in New York City on March 6 and 7. For details, check the FPI events page.

IMMIGRATION AND THE ECONOMY

FPI analyzed the contribution of immigrants to the economies of the nation’s 25 largest metropolitan areas in Immigrants and the Economy, released this past November. This was the second major report by FPI’s Immigration Research Initiative, directed by senior fellow David Dyssegaard Kallick. Funding was provided by the Carnegie Corporation of New York and 32BJ SEIU. The report was prominently cited in a New York Daily News editorial, The Boon of Immigration, and garnered attention in news outlets across the country. News coverage can be found on FPI’s immigration web page.

STIMULUS FUNDS: GOOD FOR STATES, LOCAL GOVERNMENTS AND FAMILIES

Several components of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) have been critical in addressing state budget gaps and in providing assistance to the unemployed and other vulnerable populations. FPI has sought to quantify ARRA benefits for New York State and New York City and for individual New Yorkers in its State of Working New York 2009 report, in a column in the Gotham Gazette, and its recent state and city budget briefing books. Together with the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, FPI released data in December showing that the ARRA helped keep more than 400,000 New Yorkers out of poverty in 2009.

HUMAN SERVICES

In testimony presented to the joint legislative hearing on the Human Services proposals in the Governor’s 2010-2011 Executive Budget proposal, FPI senior fiscal policy analyst Carolyn Boldiston examined Temporary Assistance to Needed Families (TANF) funding and spending in New York as well as issues relating to child care subsidies. Last summer, Carolyn was the lead author on a series of briefs that looked into the rules governing the new TANF Emergency Contingency Fund (ECF) that was created by the ARRA, reviewed New York’s experience with the pre-ARRA TANF Contingency Fund, and explored the situations under which New York may qualify for ECF funds.

LABOR PRACTICES

Building on FPI’s earlier research regarding the increasing tendency for unscrupulous employers to employ workers off the books or as so-called independent contractors, James Parrott testified before the labor committees of both the Assembly and Senate in January on the fiscal costs to the state of unlawful labor practices.

The Fiscal Policy Institute is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit research and education organization committed to improving public policies and private practices to better the economic and social conditions of all New Yorkers. Founded in 1991, FPI works to create a strong economy in which prosperity is broadly shared.