Commerce

BY ANGELA RACHIDI The disappointing April jobs report raised new questions about how government policies, such as enhanced unemployment insurance, have slowed the economic recovery by discouraging people from returning to work. Some have suggested that closed childcare facilities and schools, not employment disincentives, are

New York’s hospital industry ranks near the bottom of two quality report cards

BY BILL HAMMOND New York’s hospitals remained near the bottom of two quality report cards issued last week. In an update to Hospital Compare, a consumer guide from the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the state’s hospitals received an

For most New York income tax filers, SALT deduction still isn’t missed

BY E.J. McMAHON Today was the (rescheduled) deadline for filing 2020 federal income tax returns, which makes this New York’s third annual SALT-Free Income Tax Day. By midnight tonight, most Empire State residents will have been reminded once again that—despite

New York’s jobs recovery outpaced U.S. in April

BY E.J. McMAHON Private-sector employment in New York increased faster than the nationwide recovery rate in the month of April, according to the state’s latest monthly jobs report. The April count of private-sector employment was estimated at 7.4 million jobs, up

Where were New Yorkers headed in the run-up to the pandemic?

BY E.J. McMAHON Since the late 1960s, New York’s primary export to the rest of the nation has been people, as reflected in federal data tracking population flows within and between states. The Empire State has lost a net 1,585,770 residents to

Fewer, more expensive jobs projected from ‘American Jobs Plan’

BY MATT WEIDINGER Fact-checkers have started to notice the shaky jobs claims made by Biden administration officials in touting their $2.2 trillion American Jobs Plan. That includes this whopper from President Biden last week: “Independent analysis shows that if we pass this plan, the

The zero-sum administration’s corporate tax plan

BY PAUL H. KUPIEC Newly-elected administrations try to lay the groundwork for their legacy in the first 100-days in office. During their “honeymoon” period, they introduce landmark legislation and issue executive orders to address existential economic or national security concerns,

Remote work: Will country roads really take you home?

BY BRENT ORRELL That’s the question raised by a new incentive program designed to draw workers freed from geography by remote-work options to live in the state of West Virginia. Ascend West Virginia is offering $12,000 and other perks as incentives to draw

Does the US need a national paid leave law after the pandemic?

BY ANGELA RACHIDI When the coronavirus pandemic hit American shores in early 2020, questions emerged over how employers and employees would handle the anticipated need for workers to take time away for illness or to care for family members. Without a national paid leave law,

New Senate plan would make pandemic unemployment benefits permanent

BY MATT WEIDINGER The Washington Post reports President Joe Biden’s next trillion-dollar spending plan “is expected to devote hundreds of billions of dollars to new programs,” including “$225 billion for child-care funding; $225 billion for paid family and medical leave; $200 billion

Zombies firms could complicate the strong post-pandemic economy

BY JAMES PETHOKOUKIS What sort of shape is the American economy in after a year of the pandemic? Maybe better than you might guess. Even better than many economists might have guessed. As the econ team at Goldman Sachs notes:

Proposed wealth taxes come with a wealth of worrisome potential trade-offs

BY JAMES PETHOKOUKIS President Biden’s campaign tax plan was full of tax increases, some $3 trillion worth. But a wealth tax wasn’t one of them. And, according to The New York Times, a wealth tax is “not among the top revenue-raisers that Democratic

Postal Service’s performance declined last year

BY KEVIN R. KOSAR Last week, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hauled Postmaster General Louis DeJoy before it and spent the better part of five and a half hours denouncing him. In part, majority Democrats were politicking — they rehashed

FCC’s emergency broadband benefit attracts praise, criticism

BY DANIEL LYONS Last week, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted a report and order establishing the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program (EBB), a $3.2 billion program to help low-income families stay connected to the internet during the COVID-19 pandemic. The

Romney floats ‘child allowance’ in reform of child tax credit