Bulletin #12: June 8, 1999
Please, Mr. Rivera, look at the facts about Medicaid
The debate over Medicaid spending is turning into a political campaign. The union representing thousands of hospital workers in New York City has announced a $1 million television and radio buy around the state - and the union says it is prepared to spend further millions - to scare New Yorkers about the Medicaid reforms Governor Pataki has proposed
Bulletin #11: June 7, 1999
Medicaid costs far too much - we can't go backward now
New York's hugely expensive Medicaid program may become even more costly in the next few weeks. Cost-saving measures that Governor Pataki and the Legislature enacted in recent years are scheduled to expire after June 30
In testimony, Reinfurt warns that withheld diplomas may raise a call
to relax standards New York should expect-and strongly resist-pressure
to relax its new, high academic standards if many students fail to meet
those standards and do not earn diplomas on time next year.
"Only in New York is the education reform movement really facing the
bottom line by saying: No, we will not give you a high-school diploma
until we've given you a high-school education," Ed Reinfurt, vice president
of The Business Council, said Wednesday at a legislative hearing on the
new Regents standards for high schools
ALBANY—Eliminating New York's ton mileage tax would help New York
move its recovery into a much faster lane, and New York's business community
is delighted that the state Senate has acted today to do that.
New York is one of only six states that impose the ton mileage tax.
The closest state that imposes such a tax is Georgia
Bulletin #10: June 3, 1999
New York's disproportionate spending on training of MDs
New York spends more on Medicaid than any other state--by far. In fact, our Medicaid spending per capita is $1,177, a staggering 155 percent above the national average and more than Medicaid spending in Texas and California combined
New York State, which is ahead of the curve in the nation's push for education
reform, is going to face a very tough test as a State next year when reality sets
in and we see what an abstract concept like "higher standards" means in
practice. And the rest of the nation is watching what we will do
The state Department of Taxation and Finance Wednesday announced a 30-day
postponement in implementing the state sales tax on energy transmission.
Business Council President Daniel B. Walsh had urged a delay in a May
27 letter to Arthur Roth, acting commissioner of taxation and finance
Bulletin #9: June 1, 1999
We're still paying for big-spending budgets of years ago
New York can't afford another big spending increase. The need to cut our high taxes further and to pay for those tax cuts already enacted is one reason, as previous editions of Spending Watch have pointed out
By John L. Greenthal
Government regulatory agencies usually respond to violations of environmental
requirements through the civil enforcement process.
But those agencies and their prosecutorial partners (including the state
Attorney General and local district attorneys) may also develop cases for
criminal prosecution when the violation is committed intentionally, knowingly,
recklessly, or with criminal negligence
Bulletin #8: May 26, 1999
More state aid won't cut local taxes. Mandate relief will.
New York's biggest single competitive problem is local taxes. All told, the population-adjusted difference between local taxes here, and those in other states, adds up to an extra burden of $25 billion