• Weak Business Climate (1,2,3 below)*
• High Utility/Energy Costs (4)
• High Poverty and Uninsured (5,6) due to weak business climate
• Population Loss (7,8)
• Slow Job Growth or Loss (9)
• Weak Wage Growth (10,11)
• Lower Average Wages/Personal Income (12,13)
• Poor Educational Performance –Nationally and Internationally (14,15)
• High Cost of Government and Education (16-27)
• Lobbyist Leader (28)

1. Business Economy – in 50 years New York went from the #1 economy in the world to the 44th among the 50 states. NY lost 37% of its share of U. S. income from 1950 to 2003.
2. Business Climate/Performance - We are near the bottom of the 50 states in favorable business climate. One survey ranked us 49th. Milken Institute ranked the 200 largest metropolitan areas in economic yardsticks from job and income growth to high tech job concentration - the Buffalo area was 173rd.
3. Builder’s General Liability Insurance - The cost increase from 1999 to 2004 went from $2.76/$1,000 to $14.45 - this adds an estimated $10,000 to the cost of each new house.
4. Utility/Energy Costs - Electricity – Commercial rate is the 3rd highest in the nation and residential is the 11th highest. The combined average is 57% above the national average. Gas costs are 37% above the national average.
5. Poverty - 26% of City of Buffalo residents live below the poverty level.
6. Uninsured -16% of the NYS population
7. Upstate Population growth - 1.1% from 1990 to early 2000’s — only West Virginia and N. Dakota had less population growth (30% of Upstate growth was prisoners) – In Buffalo, the metropolitan area has declined. Urbanized WNY is unique as one of only two urbanized metropolitan areas in the U. S. to lose population before Katrina.
8. Youth Loss for 20-34 year olds – All areas north of Rockland County lost 25% of their 20 to 34 year olds from 1990 to 2004 and over 30% left Buffalo. The median age in Buffalo and the Southern Tier increased from 33.3 to 38.2 years.
9. Job Creation –From 1990 to 2004 national jobs grew 21% versus Upstate metropolitan areas by 2.3%. The Buffalo/Niagara area ranked 97th of 100 largest metropolitan areas over past decade in job creation. The Buffalo area jobs actually declined with 500 fewer jobs in 2004 than 1900. According to the Public Policy Institute, it appears most new Upstate jobs were government financed (either directly created public jobs—schools in particular—or health care financed). This is in spite of a relatively high number of college graduates. We are losing good paying jobs in manufacturing and they are being replaced with lower paying jobs.
10. Region’s average wage per worker growth in 2005 was 1.1%, which was 1/3 of the national growth of 3.4%.
11. Relative local wages Our workers on average earn 4% less than the national average. Professional employees’ incomes are considerably less while government and employed construction workers’ incomes are considerably more.
12. Income growth - We were 190th in income growth prior to 2005, 12% behind the national average.
13. Personal income study - Brookings Institute 9/04 - Upstate grew at 1/2 the national rate in 1990’s and by 2000 trailed the country by 11%. In the Buffalo area more than one-half of income growth was SS, Medicare/Medicaid and Earned Income Tax Credits. Personal income, all wages, dividends and other sources including SS, etc. grew by 2.7% in 2005 versus 5.0% nationally. 2005 per capita incomes adjusted for inflation fell 0.1% in Buffalo area.
14. United States Education performance NYS is 44th in percent graduating and 43d in SAT scores
15. International education performance – In comprehensive and non-selective testing of students from 4th through 12 grades in the leading 20 to 40 industrialized countries the United States students consistently scores in the lowest quartile, while being in the highest spending 2 or 3 countries per student
16. NY State Government Spending – 2004 - $4895/capita, California $3038/capita. Only Alaska spends more per capita than NY. Spending from 1992-2002, while inflation increased 28%, NYS spending increased by 55%, NYS debt increased 49%, local government spending increased 49%, and public education increased 32%. Overall these areas of government spending grew 75 to 100% faster than inflation.
17. NY State Projected Budget Gap – 2008 -$4.3B, 2009 -$6.2B, 2010 - $7.9B
18. NY State Budget Increase - 2006 spending – Budget up four times the rate of inflation, 2007 increased at three times the rate of inflation to $120 B and proposed 2008 spending increase is 5.1%.
19. State Debt Growth - 1994 – 2003 – grew over 2 times the rate on inflation
20. State Debt Unconstitutionally Not Approved by Voters – Total State debt now 2.5 times the debt approved by voters as required by the NY Constitution
21. Recent NY Debt Increases - Second highest state per capita after Massachusetts. 3.5 times national average for per capita debt. NY Assemblyman Bill Parment – “We are approaching a level of debt that exceeds the affordability of state taxpayers. It’s ruinous for the state’s fiscal picture.” $11.2 billion of debt is for OPERATING costs. In 2006-07 additional debt incurred of about $16.5 B. $2.6 B was backdoor borrowing for schools –State bond was rejected by voters but then back door financed through Dormitory Authority. Proposed 2008 debt will increase total to $53.3 billion (interest will be $5 B).
22. Government salaries - In WNY public salaries are 21% above private sector, not including benefits (Palumbo – Canisius).
23. Number and Salary of government employees - The number of local government employees is 11% above national average upstate and 25% above the national average for all NYS. NY overall pays 25% above average national government employee compensation. 2006 Statewide state/local government employees received $45,956 versus private employees who received about $7,000 less. The private sector number would be lower if not for Wall Street salaries. Even though the state population has barely changed since the 1960’s, we have 90,000 more state employees now than we did in 1960. Since 2000 the total number of state and local employees increased from 30,700 to 1.33 million (almost entirely due to local government and school hiring) while private employees decreased from 40,300 to 7.15 million. School districts account for about half of the increase. This is worse if a portion of the hospital employment is considered public based on the percent of public funding.
24. Medicaid Cost - In 2006 New York’s $42 billion was greater than California ($25B) and Texas ($15B) combined – Medicaid in NY costs more per capita than in any other state. Part of the problem is more optional services and populations.
25. Combined Taxes – second highest combined state and local property taxes. State and local taxes in 2005 were 26% above the national average
26. School Taxes - 37% above national average
27. Education spending per student – second highest in the nation.
28. Lobbyist Leader - NYS has over 3,800 lobbyists – 18 for every legislator, distant second is Florida with 13 per legislator. NY lobbyists spent $144 million to buy political favors in 2005. Lobbying expenditures increased 3.5 times in the last 10 years and this does not include former state employees hired directly by private firms solely for “lobbying” and sales.

* This information comes from numerous sources over recent years. These include many newspaper articles form Buffalo to Canandaigua, Mark W. Beitz’s pamphlet, Creating A Prosperous New York State, the Brennan Report, the Citizen’s Budget Commission’s The Palisades Principles, The Institute for Competitive State Government’s report Capital Pork, former State Comptroller, Alan Hevesi’s, The Agenda for Reform, the Buffalo metropolitan area labor and business leader’s open letter of June 19, 2005 to the Western New York community—Principles for Progress, and Former Democratic State Senator Seymour Lachman’s book—Three Men in A Room.