Opinion

New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli recently announced that the state’s Common Retirement Fund enjoyed more than a 13 percent rate of return in the year ending March 31. The $176.2 billion fund exists to provide benefits to 1 million state and local-government employees, retirees, and beneficiaries. In his May 12 statement, the comptroller called

I receive a lot of questions about how schools are funded and how that money is spent. There is good reason for these questions because a lot of money is involved. State aid to schools comprises $21.8 billion — roughly 24 percent — of our $92.3 billion state operating budget. In addition, it is estimated

Our governor has got some folks scratchin’ their heads. Is he a political dummy? Or maybe super-smart? Andrew Cuomo grew up within the state’s Democrat machine. Literally and figuratively. He marches in that machine’s parade. But lately he has fallen out of step. He has wandered off the parade route. One political columnist listed the

New York is home to more than 900,000 veterans, and some estimates indicate that as many as 72 percent have seen combat. Additionally, New York is home to about 30,000 active-duty military personnel, as well as 30,000 National Guard and Reservists. Many returning vets choose to start up their own small businesses upon return. In

We fought the war on poverty, and poverty won  — Peter Ferrara It’s now 50 years since President Lyndon Johnson proposed his war on poverty. To date, the nation has spent $20 trillion to solve the problem, twice the amount spent on all military conflicts since the American Revolution. During this past half century, federal

New York state (NYS) has the unfortunate distinction of being a high cost-of-living state, and when it comes to auto insurance, New York lives up to its reputation. Our auto-insurance rates are among the highest in the nation. Although there are several reasons for our high rates, fraud plays a large part. Indeed, according to

Where the hell is our recovery?  How come so few new jobs? Why is our middle class shrinking? Complex questions I know. Many economists and political guys thrash about for answers. They rummage through data. The answer to all these is as fat as a pizza. Yet these guys don’t see it. Because they look

Recently, the Tax Foundation released its state-by-state rankings of business tax climates, and New York’s placement improved by two slots to 48th place. This improvement is good news, but it highlights that there is still much work to be done. New York is not quite ready for a victory lap. Let’s not kid ourselves. Our

“Ethics reform” has been a buzz phrase heard in Albany and around the state a lot over the last few years and for good reason. Lately, there have been several high-profile cases of wrongdoing by state officials. However, as is often the case in state politics, what is meant by “ethics reform” depends on who