ALBANY"Living
wage" laws that raise the minimum wage employers must pay, in an attempt to
help the working poor, can actually harm low-income workers by reducing the
number of available jobs at the same time they drive up costs for taxpayers,
a new study by The Public Policy Institute finds
A
well-publicized protest against big business attracted 19
demonstrators to the Albany headquarters of The Business Council
at noon Friday, April 5. The
event was part of national "Big Business Day" sponsored
by Ralph Nader and his new group, Citizen Works
Businesses
in New York State concerned about how actions in Albany drive
up New York's health-care costs can focus on some local tactics
to contain health costs, according to The Business Council's
health-care advocate.
"Rather
than throw up our hands over state policies that can inflate
costs, businesses can roll up their sleeves and pursue local
strategies for shaping their own destinies," Elliott
Shaw, director of government affairs for The Business Council
and its health-policy specialist, told the Manufacturers'
Association of Central New York (MACNY) March 27
Bills
containing The Business Council's top tax-reform priorities
have been introduced in both the Assembly and the Senate.
Legislation
proposed by Sen. James Alesi (R-Rochester) and Assemblyman
Robin Schimminger (D-Erie County) includes a series of proposals
linked by the common purpose of encouraging and rewarding
business investments in New York State
Reaffirming
its conclusion in a similar report a year ago, New York's
Independent System Operator (ISO) today said New York must
immediately increase its electricity generating capacity to
avoid serious shortages, improve air quality, facilitate growth,
and avoid cost increases
New
York's latest school report cards show overall improvement,
including major gains by some schools that serve mainly impoverished
and minority students.
The
report cards also show that gaps in achievement between poor
and minority students and others remain high, the state Education
Department (SED) said in a release
Reaffirming
its conclusion in a similar report a year ago, New York's Independent
System Operator (ISO) today said New York must immediately increase its
electricity generating capacity to avoid serious shortages, improve air
quality, facilitate growth, and avoid cost increases
New
York's proposed acid deposition initiative (ADI) would drive
the state's above-average energy costs higher without forecasting
any significant improvement in the acidification of Adirondack
lakes, said Ken Pokalsky, director of environmental and regulatory
affairs
A
Senate bill that would fundamentally change the nature of
loans and lending would unreasonably burden lenders and encourage
lawsuits by individuals seeking to avoid repaying loans, The
Business Council said in a legislative memo opposing the proposal
(S
ALBANY
Governor George Pataki is scheduled to deliver the keynote address during
the luncheon at the annual Small Business Day Tuesday, March 26 at
the Empire State Plaza in Albany.
The luncheon
is scheduled to begin at 1:15 p.m. in the Empire State Plaza Convention
Center