Honorable Sheldon E. Silver
Speaker of the Assembly
State Capitol
Albany, New York 12248
Dear Speaker Silver:
Please don’t tell me this is the best Albany can do.
At your insistence, and that of the Democratic majority of the Assembly, the budget the Legislature is preparing to enact will do little, if anything, to create jobs and build prosperity in our state
ALBANY—The budget that the Legislature is preparing to enact does
little, if anything, to create jobs and build prosperity across New York
State, Business Council President and CEO Daniel B. Walsh told Assembly
Speaker Sheldon Silver in a March 29 letter.
“Please don’t tell me this is the best Albany can do,”
Walsh said in his letter, which criticized the state Assembly majority
and its Upstate members for their role in crafting a budget that significantly
increases spending and rejects broad-based business tax-cut proposals
advanced by Governor Pataki and Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno
New York State must contain spending, reduce taxes, and trim other
infamously high business costs in to help the state's small businesses
survive and prosper, two top candidates for the Republican nomination
for governor told small business leaders at The Business Council's
annual Small Business Day Tuesday
Respondents to new Business Council survey also say other high costs,
especially electricity, workers' comp, and health insurance, must be reduced
ALBANY—New York State employers overwhelmingly agree that New York's taxes undermine their ability to compete and prosper here, a new Business Council survey of employers shows
The Business Council of New York State has become a partner
of World Community Grid, which makes spare computer processing
power available for important research projects. Joining the
IBM Corporation and a group of more than 140 companies, associations,
foundations and academic institutions, the Council will encourage
its members and staff to contribute their idle PC time to assist
humanitarian research by joining World Community Grid at www
New York State is a net beneficiary of globalization and free trade,
a new report by the Organization for International Investment (OFII)
shows.
“U.S. subsidiaries in New York have consistently supported
a significant number of jobs in the state,” the OFFI says
on its Web site
New York's annual budget growth would be limited under a constitutional
amendment proposed by state Senator Raymond Meier (R-Oneida County)
and Assemblyman Robin Schimminger (D-Erie County).
"The amendment would encourage fiscal discipline, make New
York more business-friendly, and hold the line on increases in taxes
and fees," a joint press release from the legislators' offices
said
Assembly Republicans announced a variety of proposals, including a celebrity advertising campaign and statewide science fair, to stimulate students' interest in areas that promote innovation.
The New Edison Project builds on existing programs, and proposals included in Governor Pataki's budget, to strengthen New York's position as "the leading engine for innovation in the world," Assembly Republican Leader James Tedisco said
Comptroller Alan Hevesi’s office has released a new set of
guidelines for state agencies regarding vendor selection for government
contracts.
The Comptroller’s office said the reforms will “help
ensure state contracts are awarded only to responsible vendors who
have the integrity and capacity to deliver the goods and services
they promise
ALBANYBusinesses in New York labor under heavier cost burdens than those in most competing states, from business taxes and workers' compensation to wages and energy costs, a new "Just The Facts" compilation by the Public Policy Institute of New York State shows.
The Institute, the research affiliate of The Business Council of New
York State, published the latest on-line installment of Just The
Facts: Key Economic and Social Indicators for New York State, available
at www