Opinion

Our property taxes are among the highest in the nation. New York state government needs to make structural changes if there is any hope for reducing tax bills for property owners. Legislation has been introduced that would help alleviate some of this burden for upstate New York residents and stimulate economic growth. For starters, the […]

Imagine a college-basketball team, named the Eagles. It has lost to the Vultures 80 times over the last 40 years. Can you imagine? The teams meet twice a year, and every year and every game, the Eagles lost. For four decades. The Eagles changed coaches several times. They changed the roster of assistant coaches multiple

We’re at a watershed moment in American political history. Our Congress — I’m talking about the people’s body, the institution created by our founders, and not just the men and women who currently inhabit it — is in deep trouble. And no one seems to be offering hope. Its public standing is abysmal, occasionally dropping

Improving and maintaining local roads and bridges is one investment the State can make that positively affects our Upstate communities, economies, and motorists. Yet during budget season it’s always a challenge to ensure enough state dollars are invested in this type of infrastructure for Upstate.  There are a few key programs in the budget which provide

Federal regulation and federal agency enforcement actions impact small businesses around the country. To help bridge the gap between federal regulators and the full spectrum of the small-business community, Congress created the Office of the National Ombudsman, by passing the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement and Fairness Act in 1996 (also known as the SBREFA Act).

The United States is poking a thumb in OPEC’s eye. It feels good. The oil producing countries of OPEC humiliated this country in 1973-74. They stopped selling oil to us. They did so because we sold weapons to Israel — for its war against Syria and Egypt. Led by the Saudis, the cartel quadrupled the

You could choose any number of marquee dilemmas to illustrate how broken Congressional politics has become. Guns, Russian interference, climate change — Americans want progress on all of them and get little from Capitol Hill. But to my mind, nothing illustrates the dire state of our politics better than how we act on the federal

Suppose your extended family hires somebody to manage its retirement money. They tell the manager his only job is to manage the investments wisely. “This is our retirement money. Be careful with it. Try to make it grow as much as possible. Without taking stupid risks.” He invests your money in many stocks and bonds.

An alarming snapshot of Albany’s corruption issue was on full display in February, in a manner that almost defied belief. At the end of a day’s proceedings in his corruption trial, one of Gov. Cuomo’s top aides, Joe Percoco, left the Manhattan courtroom just as former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver walked into the same venue

I’m convinced that New York has some of the best and brightest students in the nation. However, New York State is constantly making a challenge out of their education. Reviewing the governor’s budget proposal, I am pleased to see a school-aid increase of $651.4 million. Yet, I see several areas where there is room for