Musk Should Tamp Down Expectations
One of the richest people in the world, Elon Musk, and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy are licking their chops, ready to take an ax to the federal budget, now that they’ve been appointed to head the new cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency.
Americans Increasingly Dependent on Gov’t – That’s Not Good
There are a lot of stats that can give you a flavor of the direction America is heading, but these damning numbers regarding government dependency should be a wake-up call for us all.
There’s a better way than pushing congestion pricing: Make the MTA declare insolvency
Newsday’s September 15th editorial expressed concern about insufficient revenues to support the Metropolitan Transit Authority, but the MTA doesn’t have a revenue problem. It has a SPENDING problem.
Long Island’s transportation needs are underfunded
The well-known disparity in state transit aid for Long Island also exists for our needed roadway expansion. The Center for Cost Effective Government conducted an analysis last year which shows that Long Island is woefully underfunded for its transportation needs.
Stop the nickel increase on bottle deposits
While few people are paying attention, the state legislature is seriously considering imposing an increase on deposits on bottles and plastic containers. If passed, we will have to pay ten cents per bottle from the present five.
Check out this intriguing article from John Stossel, which warns us that there is a push to nationalize the foolish California ban on freelancing.
The Good and Bad of the State Budget
Well, we waited two weeks for the New York State budget agreement. What did we get for it? Let’s see.
The $500k Tax Exemption on Homes is Outdated
It has become clear that our old capital gains exclusion for the sale of people’s primary homes is badly outdated.
The MTA Is at It Again on Overtime Abuses
The MTA once again broke the record for outrageous amounts of overtime being issued out to their employees.
Nassau IDA Should Reject This Tax Abatement
The Nassau IDA is being asked by a commercial building owner to provide it with millions of dollars of tax breaks after its existing tax abatement project expires in 2029.
State legislators about to reverse important fiscal reforms
Check out this very important article from the New York Post which warns taxpayers that New York’s liberal state legislature is at it again in pandering to municipal unions.
Why Spend on Early Voting When We Have Mail-in Voting
With mail-in voting now being a valid method to cast a ballot in New York, why does Long Island continue to expend over $400,000 on multiple in person voting days.
Crackdown begins on stores imposing credit card surcharge
We at the Center for Cost Effective Government were one of the first entities to alert consumers to the fact that many businesses were illegally sticking consumers with surcharges for the use of their credit cards on a purchase.
Why Do We Allow Squatters to Take Over Buildings?
Two articles about the rental squatters bring home how rapidly our society and culture are evolving into chaos.
How Can Schools Justify a 10% Tax Increase
School districts throughout New York State, including those on Long Island, received massive infusions of state and federal aid over the last four years.
School Districts Cry Poverty When Sitting On Record Reserves
Why are our school districts crying poverty when they have been inundated with records amounts of cash from the state and federal government over the last several years?
We Need A Lawsuit To Give Kids School Choice
Do poor children have a constitutional right to have the freedom to choose a school that will maximize their ability to learn and escape poverty?
NYS to Crackdown on Illegal Credit Card Surcharges
Well, we did it! New York State announced this week that they will begin cracking down on businesses that are illegally adding surcharges on consumers’ bills if they use a credit card.
We told you so on Covid shutdowns
A scathing article in the National Review by Joel Zinberg underscores how our government health officials misled us on Covid and inflicted tremendous damage on our economy and our future generation.
Huge public pensions again in the limelight
Newsday ran a story on the high pensions that many personnel through the Nassau University Medical Center are collecting. There were ten retired doctors earning annual pensions of over $200,000.
Proof that electronic machines can be hacked
Our center has for years concentrated deeply on protecting the integrity of the electoral process. We’ve been raising concerns about the use of electronic voting machines.
Opting out of student testing hurts our kids and our nation
Long Island tops the list of regions in New York with parents allowing their children to skip needed performance evaluation exams.
The Good and Bad of Governor Hochul’s State of the State
New York State is in crisis mode. We are losing more residents to other states than any other state in the nation. It’s due to a number of factors, but mostly the high cost of living, the high taxes and the high crime rate.
Minimum Wage, IDA Awards, and Environmental Lawsuits
1,000 Drivers Fired After Minimum Wage Hike
Do-gooders in California thought they were helping struggling fast food workers by raising their minimum wage to $20 per hour.
What’s on Albany’s 2024 Agenda
State legislators and Governor Kathy Hochul will begin a new legislative session in the new year.
Ending Unscrupulous Subscription Plans, and Other Tidbits
NYS AG goes after unscrupulous subscription plans.
We don’t always agree with New York Attorney General on political matters, but in this case, we must acknowledge Attorney General Tish James for going after companies that solicit subscriptions and thereafter make it exceedingly difficult to cancel them.
Restaurants can’t charge you with a credit card surcharge
How many times have you had dinner for two at a local restaurant and found out that the overall bill had an extra four percent tacked on for credit card surcharge?
Should Governor Hochul sign these bills?
The state legislature passed a flurry of bills at the end of its session this past June.
Use County Surpluses to Cut Taxes
Check out these two articles recently published in Long Island Life and Politics https://lilifepolitics.com/.
The articles underscore that Nassau and Suffolk County are sitting on hundreds of millions of dollars in surplus money due to massive federal grants during covid.
No surprise here: Wind projects seek massive additional ratepayer subsidies.
We read with great interest a Newsday article editorial entitled, “Press pause on offshore wind.”
Expediting permits better than tax abatements to promote housing
A recent Newsday article notes that Suffolk County Industrial Development Agency is seeking even further tax breaks with developers to build affordable housing.
With the EPCAL project denied, is LI a place where jobs go to die?
The Riverhead town board just voted down the latest proposal to create jobs and have some type of development at the Calverton airport. We are now some 20 years into the debate about this facility that for all intents and purposes was abandoned by the feds decades ago.
Are municipal union conflicts unconstitutional?
Earlier this year, our center met with author and constitutional attorney Philip Howard to discuss his theory that the incredible power of municipal unions has so distorted the democratic process that it violates the Guarantee Clause of the United States Constitution.
Student test scores hit 30 year low, and why we should care.
A recent report indicates that ACT test scores in the United States dropped to a 30 year low this past year. This is a dangerous trend. We are in a very competitive world with our adversaries who are turning out engineers in math majors at unprecedented rates.
Lawsuit against county sewer fund raid can proceed
A New York State Supreme Court judge issued a major ruling last week moving forward a lawsuit that seeks to invalidate decisions made by Suffolk County that reneged on its promise to repay the Sewer Stabilization Reserve Fund after the funds were raided for general fund purposes.
There’s a better way to deal with the debt ceiling: pass a balanced budget amendment
Washington seems to be addicted to the drama of debt ceiling negotiations . Every few years, both parties use the prospect of a doomsday scenario as leverage to obtain approval of their legislative priorities.
Why Does a Casino Need a Tax Break?
Last week we sent out an email critical of the Suffolk Development Agency (IDA) for granting unnecessary tax breaks to an age 55 and over luxury condo complex.
Levy: If this school can cut taxes by $1,000, can’t others?
Schools and local governments are awash with more money at this present time than they have ever been, and that’s primarily because of the huge amounts of cash that were given to them by the federal government as a result of the pandemic relief programs.
Was this IDA tax break worth it?
Tax breaks granted by Industrial Development Agencies (IDAs) can often reap big rewards for a locality. Two examples are the luring in of Computer Associates in the1980’s that brought with it 2000-3000 jobs, and attracting Canon in 2007 which brought in thousands of jobs as well.
Yes to sewers; No to increasing Suffolk’s sales tax
While there is a consensus that expanding sewers in Suffolk County could help improve the environment and allow for needed targeted economic expansion, we vehemently oppose unnecessarily raising the county sales tax once again to accomplish this noble goal.
Once again, the MTA is looking for taxpayers and bus and subway riders to bail out their massive mismanagement and inefficiencies.
NY Regents lower academic standards once again
Our ruling politicians succumbed to the pressure of the teachers unions to keep our schools closed for extended periods due to the pandemic. While the early shutdowns were understandable, our healthcare and elected leaders failed to adapt to the additional information coming forward.
Biden wants to tax you on stock gains of unsold stock.
There are a large number of truly horrible things lumped into President Biden‘s 2023-24 budget, including at least eight tax increases.
Upcoming school budgets: There’s good news and bad news.
The good news is that up to 16 districts on Long Island are providing either property tax freezes or reductions. LI SCHOOL TAXES TO RISE AN AVERAGE OF 2.2%
The Post Covid $227 billion New York State budget. The new normal.
We warned in previous columns that there was a downside to the massive infusion of federal funding to state governments during the pandemic.
Levy: The $1.7 trillion federal omnibus disaster
You would think that with inflation reaching a 40 year high that our leaders in Washington would get the hint to stop spending like drunken sailors. But alas, that would be asking them to do something contrary to their DNA.
Why is Long Island so unaffordable?
- PUBLIC SECTOR SALARIES AND BENEFITS
- Extraordinarily strong municipal unions
- i) There is a correlation between states with the strongest municipal unions and highest taxed states. The lists accumulated by Money Matters overlap.
- Extraordinarily strong municipal unions
TOP TEN EXAMPLES OF GOVERNMENT WASTE
1…Eastside access scheduled to open 2009 at $4 billion Open the 2023 at $11 billion
39% of New Yorkers plan to move out of state.
Something is seriously wrong with the governing in New York State when almost four of ten New Yorkers claimed that they were planning an exodus from the Empire State.
To Avoid Fiscal Collapse, Avoid Gimmicks and Stick to the Basics.
When it comes to maintaining a stable and growing economy it is essential to stick to the basics and the fundamentals of economics, while avoiding glitzy fads and trends. That lesson was learned by a civic association, which tried to convince me that deficits didn’t matter and that our government should be investing in cryptocurrency.
End the Political Games on Gerrymandering.
Our center has long criticized both major parties for the political games they play in practicing gerrymandering, the politically motivated redrawing of legislative district lines.
NYS Legislature must keep its reserves
We warned that this is a one-shot revenue. In later years that money will dry up, while the spending – once embedded in the budget – will be recurring every year thereafter.
We noted it is essential that the legislature reserve as much of this money as possible to smooth out the turbulence that will otherwise result in future years.
Big Spenders Seek to Reverse Tier 6 Pension Reforms
Taxpayers beware. A major reform that was won for taxpayers several years ago on the pension system is at risk of being unraveled by the power of the state municipal unions
In 2012 the state enacted a reform to the state pension system that lessened pension perks for employees entering the state pension system after April of that year. This was only a half measure, since it did not apply to the hundreds of thousands of employees hired prior to that date.
Being number one is usually something we all strive for. But not in this case. WalletHub did an analysis of overall taxation in the 50 states and found New York to be the most overtaxed state in the nation.
Don’t Begrudge Big Wall Street Bonuses
A recent headline screamed: “Wall Street bonuses climb to record $257,500 per worker last year.” Many populists decry these bonuses as extravagant excesses gobbled up by the exploitive investor class at the expense of the average worker. But the average New York taxpayer should be gladdened by these bonuses…
Requiring electric-only building heat will slam New Yorkers
The Legislature is about to require that, no later than 2027, all newly constructed residential and business buildings under seven stories in New York State be heated through massively expensive electric heating systems.
EPA Regs would hike car purchases by $3,800
The case deals specifically with the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from electric utilities. The question is not whether the regulations are warranted, but rather whether those impactful decisions must be made by our elected officials in Congress rather than be ceded to bureaucrats in Washington.
Income tax shouldn’t fund schools unless we wipe out property taxes.
Our Center believes that were we starting from scratch, the idea of basing school funding on a more progressive income tax, as opposed to the regressive property tax, would be a good idea. Unfortunately, we’re not starting from point zero. We already have an elaborate property tax system where people purchased their homes based on a predictable assessment.
25% Hike in Electric Bills Due to Government Policies
Con Ed is raising bills by an astonishing 25% to some customers, in large part to help meet the unrealistic goals set by New York leaders who called for a 100% reduction in carbon emissions by 2040. We applauded setting out a plan for a transition, but not an unrealistic one that may cause enormous financial dislocation.
New York Needs a Spending Cap, Badly
Spending caps work. That is the conclusion reached by the Center for Cost Effective Governance after reviewing spending and/or tax caps that have been implemented in approximately 30 states.
Why a Spending Cap is Needed in New York State
Our Center’s oped calling for the New York State Legislature to follow the lead of 30 other states in the union in implementing a cap on expenditures.
Voters Reject So-Called “Voting Reform” That Would Have Weakened Voting Integrity
This past Election Day, voters in New York rejected three so-called “government reform proposals” that were on the ballot.
Pension Contributions Drop, But Figure Still Too High
An analysis of the per-employee contribution illustrates just how expensive public pensions have become for taxpayers to sustain.
An Unjustified Tax Break From Suffolk’s IDA
A few weeks ago, our Center supported an Industrial Development Agency tax break given in Nassau County to incentivize companies to come to Long Island to create new, sustainable jobs.
We Can’t Afford Trillions More In Spending
As this memo is being written, Congress is contemplating passing the largest spending bills in history, that some estimate will exceed $6 trillion.
Spending Issue Left Off New Governor’s List
The State must be forced to control its insatiable appetite to spend. The implementation of a spending cap would force the state to prioritize.
Shouldn’t schools use their reserves instead of tax hikes?
Shouldn’t schools use their reserves instead of tax hikes?
The state received record amounts of aid from the feds this year- over $12 billion, which will more than cover their immediate deficit. Yet, the legislature and governor increased taxes anyway.
THE HIDDEN COSTS OF OFFSHORE WINDMILLS – THE NEED FOR INFRASTRUCTURE ENHANCEMENTS
Many politicians and editorialist praise the construction of off shore windmills without looking at their cost.
Covid shutdowns were counter productive
Severe economic lockdowns cause more harm than good
20% hike in school aid may cause tax increases in future years
Once this aid becomes incorporated into a district’s budget, it becomes the new baseline
The Good and Bad of the Covid Relief Bill
Most of the $1.9 trillion Covid Relief Bill is no longer needed with the economy rebounding.
Stop giving IDA tax breaks without job guarantees
Our center has long believed that it is ill advised for the Suffolk County Industrial Development Agency to provide tax breaks for big corporations without there being a guarantee for the creation of new jobs.
The latest Covid relief bill is a fiscal disaster
The latest Covid stimulus bill is loaded with pork, it should be modified.
Covid School Bill Should Be Rejected
As the unions continue to push for a $130 billion relief package to be directed to the schools, many remain unaware that there was already $64 billion sent to school districts.
State Comptroller’s report on pension fund shows why our taxes are so high.
The state pension fund is higher, but local governments are still having to pay more into the pension system.
Levy: Recall elections are a terrible idea
Recall elections are popular with the electorate, but are bad policy.
Here is why over taxing people leads to LESS revenue for government.
Last year, there was a net loss of 70,000 people from the metropolitan region. It is expected that the loss of these high income earners will cost the state $34 billion in lost taxes.
Condescending Elites at WHO Finally Concede on Lockdowns
The WHO finally admits that economic shut downs are bad ideas that will dramatically increase poverty around the world.
The record $3.1 trillion deficit more than doubles the previous record deficit of $1.4 trillion during the Great Recession.
Governor has too much budgetary power
…we do believe that there is a need to change the state constitution – which provides more powers to the governor than any other state in the nation.
A fiscal control board can help Suffolk survive the pandemic crisis.
If Suffolk’s elected officials are wise, they will embrace the concept of having a state sponsored fiscal control board oversee their navigating of the county’s budget crisis, which is being exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic.
We must control virus without creating depression
In the wake of the coronavirus, how do we balance the goal of saving every life possible without sending us into a deep economic depression?
The Iowa Voting App? Newer Not Always Improved
Serves them right! The high-tech wizards who are possessed by an uncontrollable urge to electronically mechanize our voting systems, have once again proven the adage: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
How Creeping Taxes Are Destroying Long Island
If you want to know why taxes on Long Island are so high, pay attention to tax creep. It’s the $20 here and $30 there that add up to almost $1,000 in higher taxes annually. How many times have we heard that there’s no reason to fret; the proposed increase on that new bond is only $20 per month?
Unless the state Legislature changes the law allowing overtime to be factored into pensions, New York taxpayers will be on the hook for over $50 billion over the next 20 years, just to pay for the parts of these pensions that are enhanced by the overtime inclusion. That figure leaps to an astounding $84 billion when adjusted for inflation.
Press release on the impact of overtime on the pension time bomb
The White Paper released this week by the Center for Cost Effective Governance indicates that taxpayers will be on the hook for an astounding $30-$54 billion over the next twenty years, and up to $84 billion after adjusting to inflation, due to public employees being able to bloat their pensions by having huge amounts of overtime factored into the formula that determines how much they will be compensated annually upon retirement.
NY pols keep digging the state’s pension hole deeper
New York Post Editorial cites our Center’s study on overtime.
Long Island public school spending defies the cap
Now that the school budget votes are behind us, it’s time to reflect upon the Newsday editorial from earlier this week that questioned why spending and taxes continue to rise beyond the rate of inflation, despite the imposition of a tax cap.
Place MTA into Receivership and Start from Scratch
This is our chance to declare the MTA insolvent and start from scratch under a receivership that can legally revamp the archaic rules, regulations and contract provisions that have resulted in employees collecting unfathomable overtime resulting in six figure pensions taxpayers foot over the life of the retirees.
Levy: Early voting — where good intentions meet wasteful spending
We can all agree that removing barriers to voting is a good thing. But leave it to New York State to take this noble concept and parlay it into a colossal waste of money.
Steve Levy: We can easily prevent election hacking by Russia or anyone else – Here’s how
Isn’t it ironic that the hysteria related to Russia potentially hacking our election system has been totally created by American politicians?
It’s not the illegal MTA acts crushing taxpayer; it’s the legal abuses
When it comes to extravagant spending at the MTA, don’t be distracted by politicians who deflect your attention by focusing solely on appointing prosecutors to weed out illegal spending practices.
Create a panel to implement fiscal reforms, too
In an ingenious way of getting a pay raise without having to vote for it, New York state legislators created a non-elected, appointed commission to set their salary level, with the commission’s decision to be implemented forthwith, unless the Legislature took an affirmative vote to reverse it.
Fix New York state’s overtime and pension abuses
Outrageous pensions padded with overtime, but there is a solution
The War on Natural Gas Stunts Our Economy, Crushes the Working Class
The fools who preach for the immediate elimination of natural gas will shepherd us back to the bad old days of energy poverty, dependence on hostile foreign powers, and, ultimately, a dirtier planet.
$200K Salaries Common in Suffolk Govt
Mandates: Why Some Public Sector Salaries Are So High
An Alternative to Congestive Pricing: Let The MTA Go Bankrupt
The MTA does not have a revenue problem, it has a spending problem. Its structural deficit can only be cured by forcing it into bankruptcy and starting from scratch.
Levy: Councilmanic Districts Bring Government Closer to the People
All Long Island towns should be electing their representatives through distinctly drawn districts that represent select designated hamlets so that each of these communities is assured the attention they deserve.
Budget vote should be before, not after Election Day
Center for Cost Effective Government and Reclaim New York call for legislators to cast budget votes before Election Day.
Beware! Upcoming electric bill shocks
Politicians are spouting the nonsense that we can mandate having renewables meet 50% of our energy needs in the next decade, without causing extensive economic hardship. They have an obligation to warn ratepayers that their electric bills are going to skyrocket…
Letter: Don’t overlook benefits of federal tax cut
Your Aug. 10 editorial “100B tax cut for top 1 percent?” is misleading in suggesting that the 2017 tax cuts led to lower revenues and a higher deficit.
Schools Must Give Back Surplus Money
Center is calling upon the state legislature to pass legislation requiring the return to taxpayers of any funds held in escrow accounts that exceed the legal limit of 4%.
Should Employees get 3 months of paid leave to grieve for loss of grandparent?
Are you aware that a bill, presently awaiting signature from Governor Cuomo, would force businesses in New York State to grant up to 2 months—which will eventually graduate to 3 months—of paid leave for any employee who suffers a death in the family, including that of a grandparent?
Stop Pretending Spending More on Schools Improves Performance
Rather than pretending that low performance (in our schools) is the result of a lack of funding, perhaps we’d be better off looking at root problems of underperformance, including the breakdown of the nuclear family.
Election Reform Should Expand Access but Retain Integrity
With the conclusion of its budget season, New York’s state legislature has lost another opportunity to enact reforms that could make the Empire State more affordable…
State Pensions are becoming too Costly for Taxpayers
A police official from a sleepy village in Nassau County was able to retire with a $1 million severance package.
With the conclusion of its budget season, New York’s state legislature has lost another opportunity to enact reforms that could make the Empire State more affordable…
Hopes for a Taxpayer Friendly 2018
From all of us at the Center for Cost Effective Governance, here are our wishes for the upcoming year.
Con Con is Dead, But We Still Need These New York State Reforms
Here are some of the most needed reforms to the legislative process that can help New York have a less dysfunctional state government.
When A Tax Cap Is Not Really A Tax Cap
When is a tax cap not a tax cap. The answer is when, as with our New York State cap, bonded interest is exempt from the parameters of the cap.
If You Want to End Gerrymandering, Look to the Supreme Court and the Judiciary
The partisan drawing of legislative districts, otherwise known as “gerrymandering,” must be stopped if we ever wish to reverse the awful political gridlock that has engulfed our nation. A recent court decision may help put us on that path.
It’s Time to End Step Increases for Long Island Political Appointees
Steps are additional salary increases that public employees receive every year in addition to their negotiated salaries. Union employees have had these steps built into their negotiated contracts. Traditionally, non-union political appointees never received these double raises. That changed a few years ago…
Tax creep – the little here, little there tax increases that cumulatively can put homeowners over the edge. It’s how we’ve reached the point of near no return in New York when it comes to our confiscatory property taxes.
Rising Utility Rates Show System Rigged Against Ratepayers
Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders coasted upon a big wave based on the theory that many of our institutions are rigged. But what could be more rigged than the rate-setting schemes for our utilities?
Why Do Taxpayers Subsidize Unions to Lobby Against Taxpayers?
We as a nation are in so many ways better off for having unions to advocate on behalf of workers’ rights. But do taxpayers have an obligation to pay union leaders so they can be freed up from their regular jobs in order to lobby on behalf of the union?
To Avoid Voter Hacking, Bring Back the Levers
[W]e warned that going electric would place our entire sacred democratic process in the vulnerable position of possibly being hacked by operatives with nefarious intent. We in Suffolk even brought legal action to stop this insanity. We lost.
Let Suffolk Deputies Do Police Work
Getting efficiencies out of the department is very difficult. Nevertheless, my administration was able to make substantial progress — though much of it has been reversed — by having civilians fill positions when possible, by scheduling more efficiently and by placing less expensive sheriff’s deputies on the highways.
Underfunded Pension Systems Are Starting to Collapse
It is the ultimate wake-up call for present and future pensioners in America: Three New York-based private sector defined-benefit pension programs cut payments to their retirees because they are running out of money.
Especially galling to Long Islanders is that while they will pay significantly to subsidize the upstate plants, they were required to fully bailout their own Shoreham plant with no assistance from any other taxpayer or ratepayer in other parts of the state.
New York’s Ten Worst Laws for Taxpayers
Part of the reason New York has become one of the most unaffordable states in which to live or do business is a series of laws that have been enacted in decades past that are unique to the Empire State.
Stingy PBA Arbitrators Give Store Away Elsewhere
Give underpaid New York City cops a decent bump, while holding the line on the Long Island salaries that are already in the stratosphere. Remove the Long Island provision that allows officers to cash out unused sick days and adopt the New York City rule that gives unlimited sick, where justified, without any cash outs.
Phony Answers on Property Taxes
While New York has made window-dressing attempts at pension reform, such as the new Tier 6 (which simply pushes out a retirement date from 62 to 63 years of age for new employees), state leaders made no effort to, for example, stop allowing overtime for current employees to be incorporated into a final pension benchmark.
The Public Sector: Where Management Negotiates Against Itself
Elected officials – who were supposed to be managers for the taxpayers’ money – are actually sitting at the negotiation table acting as advocates for the unions – who are supposed to be their adversaries.
Albany Must Eliminate Overtime From Pensions
Most folks I know were outraged to hear last month that a police official from a sleepy village in Nassau County was able to retire with a $1 million severance package. Unfortunately, few in Albany seem to care.
Is America Heading Toward Path of Greece?
The America that was once the most productive, innovative, and upwardly mobile nation on earth is morphing into a dependency state just like Greece.
Center for Cost Effective Government Urges Extending Property Tax Cap Permanently
The Center for Cost Effective Government today urged New York State lawmakers to make the 2% property tax cap permanent.
Taxpayer Advocates Promote Two School reforms
Leaders from the Center for Cost Effective Government (Center), Long Islanders for Education Reform, and Suffolk Tax Pac have been promoting reforms to the BOCES purchasing process, as well as the manner in which the public votes are cast on school bonds.
Bill Would Eliminate Overtime in Pension Calculations
The bill, which was drafted at the request of the Center for Cost Effective Government, seeks to amend the state Constitution to shield taxpayers from having to pay for public sector pensions inflated by overtime and severance pay, and limit the pension to be calculated on the employee’s base pay.
Levy: Tax rebates hinge on consolidation
Taxing entities wishing to effectuate economies of scale can join together in a joint purchasing program. Instead of a village going out to bid for 50 desks unilaterally, it can bid with 10 other jurisdictions where 500 desks will be purchased.
Victories a Warning to Weak Leaders
The victories of tough leaders like Scott Walker and Michael Fitzpatrick show that voters reward people who fight hard for them and make touch choices.
Kremer Cited LI’s Transportation Problem; Here is the Solution
We need our state and federal legislative delegations to actively fight for Long Island to get its fair share of transportation aid. We have not been able to do so being in the shadows of New York City. The best bet for us to get this essential funding is to have our own Metropolitan Planning Organization.
Taxpayer dollars are being wasted through an archaic state reimbursement system utilized for school district purchases through the BOCES purchasing consortium. We at the Center for Cost Effective Government, with the help of State Senator Phil Boyle, are aiming to do better.
The Lesson From Patchogue: Just Say “Yes”
Patchogue’s downtown was emblematic of the blight that was evident in so many of our
Long Island communities. But the town is now the quintessential example of what can happen when a community simply says yes to the right redevelopment.
Both Nassau and Suffolk have elaborate bus and sewer systems. Nassau stands to tap millions in state aid for improvements to their systems, while Suffolk likely will not.
Is Pre-K worth the investment?
The President, Governor and Mayor have been tripping over themselves to prove they are more pro-child than the other by pushing for universal Pre-K. But did anyone examine if Pre-K even works? The evidence is inconclusive.
Now is the Time to Get LIRR Concessions
Everyone wants to avoid a strike at the Long Island Rail Road.
If not the $200k cop, what will spur change?
What will it take for officials to finally do something to curb law enforcement salaries on Long Island, now hovering around $200,000?
LIBN Editorial: Long Island Business Leaders Must Come Together
The verbal spit-balling between former Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy and the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council draws attention to how Long Island’s ongoing inability to flex its collective muscle once again results in insufficient funding.
Pension Debate on WLIW 10/30/13
Center Director Steve Levy in a debate about the need for pension reform.
Center’s Testimony Before Senate Local Government Committee
Will other Governments go the way of Detroit? Steve Levy explains how Detroit’s collapse can be avoided elsewhere.
The Center For Cost Effective Government Hosts A Conference
Video: Former Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy fights for the taxpayers at The Center for Cost Effective Government.
Mandatory Arbitration (UPDATE)
Sometimes, something is worse than nothing. Such is the case with the remarkably tepid changes that have been made by the State to the woefully expensive mandatory arbitration process. Published in the Albany Times Union
Governor Cuomo says he will use his leverage to hold up this usually pro-forma extension unless the arbitration process is reformed. Kudos to the governor for at least addressing the problem. The question is whether he will take it to the mat and deliver real reform or just create a window dressing press release.
Center to welcome E.J. McMann on 2/27
The Center For Cost Effective Government is pleased to announce that E.J. McMahon, Newsday contributor and Manhattan Institute scholar, has accepted an invitation to be the Center’s great speaker at its February 27th meeting.
Response to Newsday’s pension editorial, February 25 2013
The Center for Cost Effective Government believes the State Legislature must do more to control crippling mandates.
Mixed Bag for Mandate Relief, Long Island Business News
Progress has been made on mandate reform, but more still needs to be done.
Let’s Get a Real New York State Oversight Panel
If we want to help financially stressed localities and their taxpayers survive, let’s create the control boards that we need and give local administrators the tools they need to straighten out the mess that resulted from the nationwide recession.