Crains New York - September 24, 2012 - (Page 11)

M The candidates’ 47% solution itt Romney is most likely right: About half of New Yorkers pay no federal income tax. He’s right in another way.This presidential election is in part about the amount the country will tax its wealthiest citizens and what kind of safety net should be in place for everyone else. Here’s how those choices play out in New York. Taxes. About 40% of New York City residents make less than $17,000 and pay no federal income tax. Another quarter make less than $70,000, and some of them also face no federal tax liability. Only 15% of New Yorkers make more than $217,000. These are the people who will be hit with steep tax hikes if President Obama is reelected and has his way. While this is probably the highest figure among any city in the nation, it is still a decided minority. Medicaid. According to the latest figures, 5,089,162 state residents are enrolled in Medicaid.That’s 26% of the population, the highest percentage in the country.The state’s Medicaid budget for this year is $54 billion,about half of which comes from the feds. New York spends more money on Medicaid than any other state—and by a lot. If Mr. Romney wins and has his way, states will get block grants for Medicaid. This will be very bad GREG DAVID NY: TAXES AND BENEFITS 50% City residents who pay no U.S. income tax 15% City residents who face big tax hikes under Obama 26% State residents who are on Medicaid 17% State residents who are on food stamps 49th NYS rank in jobless pay news in New York because the Romney plan is sure to reduce the federal contribution in the future, if not immediately. Obamacare. The president’s health care reforms could provide health coverage to another 1.24 million New Yorkers, at least according to a study by the Community Service Society. Half would wind up on Medicaid as that program is expanded (meaning the total number would approach 6 million), and half would get coverage from the new insurance exchange. Some people think the CSS inflated the numbers. Also, the Supreme Court overturned the Medicaid provisions of the health care law, so New York doesn’t have to expand eligibility if it doesn’t want to. Mr. Romney would work to repeal the health care law, and no one knows what, if anything, he would pass to replace it. Unemployment insurance. About 400,000 people are getting unemployment benefits in New York, which have lasted for as long as 99 weeks during the Great Recession. However, New York is the most parsimonious Northeast state when it comes to this benefit, with a weekly maximum of about $400. A year ago, a study called New York’s jobless benefits the second-worst in the country. Food stamps. About 17% of residents get food assistance, ranking the state 19th highest in the country. The bottom line: New York has a good safety net but hardly the best in the nation. Should it be better and, if so, at the expense of higher rates for some? Should it be curtailed? In large part,that’s what you are voting about. faces even larger deficits in the next four years.Indeed,it has had a surplus only once in the past 20 years (in 1996, after a large fare increase). Deficits exceeded $2.5 billion annually from 2008 to 2011, sums that are equal to at least 16% of annual expenses, and they continue to be large despite enactment in 2009 of the now-threatened payroll tax. The MTA needs the revenue from the planned 2013 and 2015 fare hikes; delaying them, as announced, from January to March will worsen the 2013 deficit by $67 million and the 2015 deficit by $69 million, for a combined loss of $136 million.While we all may welcome service restorations, the $29.5 million going for this purpose should be better justified. The 2010 service cuts were selected based on analysis of ridership patterns and services that were little used. Overall bus ridership has not been growing enough to warrant major service restorations; instead, adjustments can be made to deploy buses in accord with shifting usage patterns. It’s only natural to complain about taxes, fare hikes and service cuts, but the alternatives can be far worse.The economically devastating consequences of a deteriorating transit system loom if all New Yorkers do not acknowledge our collective responsibility for the system on which our jobs and family incomes depend. Carol Kellermann is president of the Citizens Budget Commission. CAROL KELLERMANN T MTA finances: a looming train wreck Crain’s Arts & Culture Breakfast: How To Stand Out In A Crowd DATE: Tuesday, October 9, 2012 Join Crain’s New York Business at our Arts & Culture Breakfast as we will explore a critically important issue facing arts groups across the city: How To Stand Out In The Crowd—A candid discussion on how small and mid-size arts institutions can compete for audiences and donors. New York’s major arts institutions typically have vast resources to survive a downturn. The small to mid-sized organizations are hardest hit. Crain’s will bring in the experts on both sides—the fundraisers and the funders—to discuss the challenges institutions face while trying to grab the public’s and donor’s attention and the techniques that have brought them success. PLACE: Con Edison Conference Center, 4 Irving Place at 14th Street he financial condition of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority is again a hot topic.In July,the MTA board announced the restoration of some bus service and postponement of the previously budgeted 7.5% fare increase, thanks to an unexpected cash surplus of $47 million in 2012. In August, a state court judge invalidated the payroll mobility tax and other revenue sources, threatening the MTA with the loss of $1.8 billion annually in revenue if the decision is sustained. Then, this month, MTA Chairman and Chief Executive Joseph Lhota told a Crain’s Breakfast Forum that the postponed fare increases could include elimination of discounts for multiride cards. Although some might get mixed signals from these developments, nobody should doubt that the MTA is in serious financial trouble. Everyone—commuters, MTA employees, city and suburban residents, and elected officials—must face reality and contribute in some way to a longterm solution to the MTA’s fiscal problems. And periodic, predictable fare increases along with continued belt-tightening, including a trimmed service schedule, are unavoidable elements of a sensible solution. The “surplus”announced for 2012 is based on an accounting approach that focuses only on immediate cash needs. By this calculation, the MTA has a surplus this year because its projected cash receipts are modestly ahead of projections made at the start of the year. But current-year obligations to be paid after Dec. 31 and the need to keep up with capital repair and replacement needs, known as depreciation, are left out. Using the more appropriate accounting principles followed in the MTA’s audited financial statements, the agency has an estimated deficit of $2.7 billion in the current year and TIME: Networking Breakfast: 8:30AM - 9:00AM Program*: 9:00AM - 10:30AM *Program extended. Patricia Cruz Tom Finkelpearl Kate D. Levin John Tomlinson Luis A. Ubiñas PANELISTS: Patricia Cruz Executive Director, Harlem Stage / Aaron Davis Hall, Inc. COST TO ATTEND: $80 for individual ticket(s). $800 for table(s) of ten. For more information, call the Events Hotline at 212-210-0739. You must be pre-registered to attend this event. No refunds permitted. Tom Finkelpearl Executive Director, Queens Museum of Art Kate D. Levin Commissioner, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs John Tomlinson Executive Director, Paul Taylor Dance Company Luis A. Ubiñas President, Ford Foundation MODERATOR: Alair Townsend Crain's Columnist and Chair of the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center For sponsorship opportunities, please contact Trish Henry at (212) 210-0711 or thenry@crainsnewyork.com. SPONSORED BY: REGISTER TODAY! crainsnewyork.com/events-fallarts September 24, 2012 | Crain’s New York Business | 11 http://www.crainsnewyork.com/events-healthcaretech http://www.crainsnewyork.com/events-fallarts

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Crains New York - September 24, 2012

In the Boroughs
In the Markets
The Insider
Business People
Corporate Ladder
Small Business
Opinion
Greg David
Report: Accounting
The List
Classifieds
Real Estate Deals
New York, New York
Source Lunch
Out and About
Snaps

Crains New York - September 24, 2012