Opinion

When CenterState CEO and its partners launched the CenterState Metropolitan Export Initiative, regional exports were a little more than $6 billion; today they have grown to almost $7 billion. While this growth is encouraging evidence of progress, we continue to find new ways to realize our region’s true export potential. This is why I am excited […]

While more than 19 million Americans call New York state home, countless other non-residents own second homes in the state. Similarly, over 19 million Americans call Florida home but many non-resident retirees and snowbirds own vacation homes in the Sunshine State to enjoy the warmer climate in the winter months.   The problem Whether you

Suppose you leave your garbage can open starting tonight? Do you think maybe a few critters will dive in?   Your government does the equivalent. Only it’s a bin of money. Yours, if you pay taxes. And the word has spread that the lid’s off the bin.   So say the government’s auditors. They looked

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is preparing to take unilateral action to further artificially adjust labor rates. He has instructed Acting State Labor Commissioner Mario J. Musolino to create a wage board to examine the minimum wage in the fast-food industry.   The rhetoric coming from the governor’s office is troubling, but unfortunately familiar. He

Isn’t it sweet to be surrounded by so much make-believe? So much pretending.   Various characters pretend our economy is just peachy. Pretend that any day now it will kick into higher gear.    I hate to be the guy who tugs back the curtain to reveal the Wizard of Oz. But, things ain’t peachy.

Last year, taxpayers spent more than 530,000 to fund the pensions of 14 public officials convicted of felonies. Despite failing to uphold their duties to constituents, these individuals are still able to cash retirement checks funded by taxpayers.   It is mind boggling that this is still the case in 2015. It is even more bewildering

Recently, New York State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli released a stunning audit of the state Medicaid program that showed that over the last four years more than $800 million was wasted on “improper” payments and other “questionable” transactions. This is startling news.   New York’s Medicaid program is among the most expensive in the nation, costing

This year’s News York State budget did not contain nearly enough tax relief for families and small-business owners in our state. However, the one area where New York got it 100 percent right was its investment in our crucial agriculture and markets programs.   As the representative of an agricultural district, I work especially hard

Years ago, retailers discretely called them “foundation garments.” Bras, girdles, and corsets. You knew they hid lots of things. They re-configured some and padded others. And, camouflaged them all. (No way those body parts could be that rounded, slim, or pointed.) What they displayed was different from what was really there. It was a bait

There are a lot of things to be positive about in Central New York. Unfortunately, the economy is not one of them. Over the last decade, job growth in the Syracuse area has been anemic. The lack of jobs, among other things, has caused an outward migration of population, which places additional stress on our