Group Proposes Economic Agenda for
One New York
Calls for Policies to
Promote Shared Prosperity
November 20, 2006—The
Fiscal Policy Institute (FPI) today released
One New York: An Agenda for
Shared Prosperity, a package of economic and fiscal policy
recommendations for strengthening the economy in each region of the state
and strengthening the middle class.
“One
New York is the Fiscal Policy Institute’s contribution to what we see as
a much needed reevaluation of New York State’s economic policies,” said
FPI’s executive director, Frank Mauro, describing the package as a
comprehensive economic policy agenda for the state. “One New York
discusses the challenges facing New York State, but really focuses on the
state’s opportunities.” FPI is a nonpartisan research and education
organization that studies tax, budget, economic and public policy issues
that affect New York State residents.
According
to James Parrott, FPI’s deputy director and chief economist, the relative
stagnation of most of the upstate economy is one of the most serious
challenges facing the state. “The principle behind the cure for upstate’s
ailments is simple—take a comprehensive view and look at how all the pieces
work together,” he said, referring to workforce development, economic
development and business costs. “These all get better together,” said
Parrott. “Businesses can thrive in an environment where government is
accountable, the economic rules are clear and the skills of the entire
workforce are unsurpassed.” Parrott urged state leaders to “re-think all
existing economic programs, get rid of the favoritism and abuses, and put
those resources to work to advance what should be an over-arching goal:
good-paying jobs for highly productive workers.”
David Dyssegaard Kallick, a senior fellow at FPI, also stressed that
carefully chosen solutions can address several problems at once. He said,
“Our upstate cities can be vibrant again at the same time we preserve
suburban quality of life and maintain New York’s farms and open space. Here,
the key is changing state policies that have fostered sprawl and that put
undue fiscal pressure on the central cities.”
Mauro said
that New York State relies far too heavily on local property taxes, which
are not consistently related to the ability to pay. “The governor and
legislature should shift the balance, so we rely more on the fairest of
taxes, the state income tax, and less on local taxes,” he said.
One New York lays out a multi-pronged approach
to reducing pressure on property taxes: adopt a statewide solution to the
Campaign for Fiscal Equity lawsuit, restore the state’s commitment to revenue
sharing, base each county’s share of Medicaid costs on its ability to pay and
reform the STAR program.
FPI senior economist Trudi Renwick pointed out that
the economy is increasingly polarized between rich and poor, with a shrinking
middle class. She said, “For decades we’ve thought of ourselves as a
middle-class economy, but that’s less and less true, particularly in New York
State.” The One New York agenda suggests policies to narrow the widening
income gap and relieve the pressures on the middle class that have been
created as the cost of living outpaces wage increases. “Quality education for
all New Yorkers is the single most important tonic for a stronger middle class
and broadly shared prosperity,” Renwick said, emphasizing not only a sound
basic education for all the state’s schoolchildren but also higher education
and lifelong learning opportunities.
Parrott concluded, “We’re calling this agenda One New York because our
state can achieve so much more if upstate and downstate work together toward a
common vision. It won’t be completed in 100 days or even 1,000 days, but the
possibilities resonate with people from Buffalo to Bushwick who want to see
what one New York together can do.”
The
Fiscal Policy Institute (FPI) is a nonpartisan research and education
organization that focuses on tax, budget, and economic issues that affect the
quality of life and the economic well being of New York State residents. The
FPI publishes
The State of Working New York, an annual compendium of analysis of the city
and state economies, available on the Internet at
www.fiscalpolicy.org.
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