State
lawmakers confronting a 2003-04 budget gap estimated to be
at least $5 billion should focus on Medicaid, the single largest
factor driving state spending, a new analysis by The Public
Policy Institute of New York State argues
ALBANYThe Public Policy Institute of New York State has launched Budget Watch '03, a new series of reports on the fiscal and public-policy challenges state lawmakers will face in creating a state budget for 2003-2004.
The first report in the series, which documents the roots of New York's looming fiscal challenge in state spending patterns, was released today by The Institute, which is the research affiliate of The Business Council
By Daniel B. Walsh,
The Business Council of New York State, Inc.
(Editor's note: This op-ed piece ran in the New York Post November 6, 2002.)
Now that Election Day is past, we'll see more and more headlines about the tough budgetary decisions facing Gov. Pataki, Mayor Bloomberg and our state and city legislators
Kodak's
public-policy priorities, and how it works with The Business
Council to pursue them, were the focus of a one-day event
the company conducted on Oct. 8 for both company executives
and the region's elected officials in state government
Employers
nationwide face the fourth consecutive year of double-digit
increases in health-care costs in 2003, with the increase
likely to be the highest since the early 1990s, prominent
human-resources consulting firm is projecting
Inpatient
hospital costs outstrip pharmaceutical costs as a primary
driver of health-care costs, new research released Oct. 23
concludes.
"As
widely reported, 79 percent of healthcare costs are driven
by hospital and physician costs," the Blue Cross and Blue
Shield Association (BCBSA) said in a release announcing the
research
Linda
Liszewski, an environmental management specialist with Eastman
Kodak Company, has received The Business Council's "Building
a Better New York" Award in recognition of her contributions
to the work of The Council's Environment Committee
A
new analysis of New York State's recent economic performance
confirms that upstate enjoyed significant job growth in the
10-year period ending in 2001 - especially in the years after
lawmakers began reducing taxes and making other business climate
reforms intended to foster job growth
Maureen
Helmer, chair of the New York State Public Service Commission
(PSC), will speak at the Nov. 19 meeting of The Business Council's
Energy Committee.
The
meeting will run from 1:30-3 p.m. at The Business Council's
headquarters in Albany
By
Daniel Fiorino and Marcia Seidner
Corporations
that demonstrate responsible environmental citizenship tend
to be perceived well in the eyes of local communities, consumers,
suppliers, distributors, and investors - all of which translates
into stronger bottom lines