Taxes and Spending
It’s Time to DOGE Local Texas Governments
Recent trends of local government spending in Texas are worrisome for taxpayers. The city of Austin paid the People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond more than $877,000 from 2017-2025 to provide workshops “undoing racism” …
Port Authority Payroll Passes $1.2 bn As 20 Employees Collect $400k+
Twenty Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) employees collected more than $400,000 each in total pay last year, while average pay agencywide rose three percent, according to 2025 payroll data posted today on…
Fourteen NYC Educators Receive Over Half a Million Dollars in Pensions
Fourteen retired New York City educators received more than $500,000 in pension benefits in 2025, according to data released by SeeThroughNY, the Empire Center’s government transparency website. The data was obtained from the…
34 MTA Workers Made $200K+ In Overtime In 2025
Thirty-four employees of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) received more than $200,000 in overtime payments in 2025, as total annual pay surpassed half a million dollars for some, according to data posted on…
Healthcare Highlights in the New State Budget
Governor Hochul’s focus on affordability seems to have skipped over the healthcare portions of the new state budget. The deal finalized May 27 between Hochul and the Legislature, which was came almost two months into new…
Four Problems with a Statewide Pied-à-Terre Tax
Soon after Governor Hochul floated the idea of a “pied-à-terre” tax in New York City, Albany Sen. Patricia Fahy proposed to expand the concept to the rest of the state. As with Hochul’s still-sketchy proposal, Fahy says her…
Albany Should Listen to Jamie Dimon
In his annual message to shareholders, JP Morgan Chase’s chief executive, Jamie Dimon, offered a timely and pointed warning for New York policymakers. It’s worth quoting in full, with emphasis added for a few key points:…
Empire Center Breaks Down Albany’s Pork Barrel Spending
Albany legislators steered over $83 million in grants to 293 local projects between April and December 2025 , according to data the Empire Center recently received under a Freedom of Information Law request. The governor and…
SeeThroughNY updated with latest union contracts
New York’s most comprehensive online database of state and local government union contracts has been updated with the latest collective bargaining agreements for local teachers, police, firefighters, libraries, and public…
Five Retired New York Educators Collect Over $300k In Pensions
The average state pension benefit for newly retired educators with at least 30 years of service was $78,097 in 2024-25, according to data released recently by SeeThroughNY, the Empire Center’s government transparency website.…
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