Tax. Exempt. Repeat.
At first glance, the state Department of Taxation and Finance’s list of taxable and tax-exempt food looks like an exercise in classic bureaucratic inscrutability. The TU’s Jimmy Vielkind captured the...
View ArticleIt’s New York, NYRA
Our opinion: The New York Racing Association shouldn’t be sending business out of state when it could be creating jobs right here. Even the New York Racing Association has to see the irony of...
View ArticleNo more stalling on ethics reform
Our opinion: Taxpayers need strong ethics rules and a real watchdog over the people who spend their money. With thousands of bills on the table, New Yorkers will certainly understand if the state...
View ArticlePsst, buddy, got a light?
There was a time when it seemed you could smoke just about anywhere (and flick your ashes and crush your cigarette out on the floor). That’s pretty much all in the past indoors, and now, New York City...
View ArticleA new ethics bill: better, but flawed
Our opinion: A major ethics reform proposal by state leaders has many good provisions, and one really disturbing one. On it rests the question of whether there will be real enforcement, or partisan...
View ArticleDon’t blow off this deadline
Our opinion: The state needs, for a change, not to scramble at the last minute on health care reform. There’s work to do, right now, for the Legislature before it leaves town. New York and other states...
View ArticleReform leaves an ethics vacuum
Our opinion: An ethics reform bill would leave investigations and enforcement of lobbying and ethics rules in limbo, possibly for months. Ethics can’t just go on summer vacation. Imagine if every time...
View ArticleThink again, GlobalFoundries
Our opinion: There’s a line between economic development and corporate welfare. After one big public subsidy to get it started here, GlobalFoundries shouldn’t expect more. On its own, New York’s $1.4...
View ArticleWhat price is your politician?
Our opinion: Want to take back your government? The latest sky-high limits on campaign contributions are a reminder of where we need to start. We all know that if someone sends a $40,000 check to a...
View ArticleNew York’s dicey bet
Our opinion: The state should settle its disputes over gambling with Native American tribes. The fight isn’t worth it morally or financially. Perhaps at one time New York state’s strategy of sitting...
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