Poverty in Upstate Metropolitan Areas: Myths and Realities

We live in an era in which long-held attitudes about race have been heightened by political campaigns that attempt to mobilize fears among white voters about minority group members and immigrants.  These appeals have ranged from claims that President Obama is a Muslim who was born in Kenya and claims that criminal undocumented immigrants endanger […]

New York’s Explosion of COVID Cases and a Flawed Vaccine Roll-Out

When Covid-19 first appeared in New York in March of this year, the state, like other locations, faced a novel disease against which there were few defenses. New York faced a dire situation in March – hospitals in the New York Metropolitan area were overwhelmed.  With cases and hospitalizations skyrocketing, the State imposed a lockdown, […]

COVID-19: The Harsh Tradeoffs

COVID-19 created a series of dilemmas for policymakers at the state and federal levels.  Actions that would reduce the frequency of infection involved measures that would limit personal interactions, causing the loss of jobs, while reopening the economy proved to result in higher levels of infection, hospitalizations and deaths. But, the difficult policy choices were […]

Persistent Errors by Pollsters Favored Democrats in the 2020 Election

Pollsters consistently overestimated the share of votes for President-Elect Joe Biden and Democratic Senatorial candidates in the 2020 election.  While polls correctly predicted Biden’s victory, polling averages overestimated his margins in states he won and underestimated Donald Trump’s margins in states that Trump won. The errors were not the result of random variations in sampling.  […]

Positive COVID Tests and Hospitalizations More than Doubled In New York After September 1st

The number of COVID-19 positive tests and hospitalizations in New York State has sharply increased since September 1st.  The number of daily positive tests identified on October 28th was 1,739, compared with 677 on September 1st – an increase of 157%.  Current hospitalizations increased from 457 to 1,042 during the same period – an increase […]

New York State Gave $2.6 Million to Build a Food Greenhouse that Pays One Dollar Above the Minimum Wage

In April of this year, Green Empire Farms in the central New York city of Oneida became notorious as the location of more than 170 Covid-19 cases.  The facility is a massive 2.8 million square foot greenhouse where vegetables and fruit, including strawberries and cucumbers, are produced.  County health officials believe that the outbreak occurred […]

Covid-19 Cases Increase Unevenly in New York

Through this Summer, Covid-19 case numbers remained low in New York State.  Though the numbers remain far below the levels of March and April, the rate of infection statewide is increasing.  In July and August, the state averaged between three and four cases per 100,000 residents per day.  By October the number had increased to […]

President Trump’s Economic Renaissance – Fact or Fiction?

During the 2016 campaign, Donald Trump claimed that his policies would “Make America Great Again,” creating jobs by redressing trade imbalances.  He argued that “We will make America the best place in the world to start a business, hire workers, and open a factory,”   Trump claimed that he would change policies that  “allowed foreign countries […]