2016-2017

A SHARED OPPORTUNITY AGENDA
portion of a salary for low-wage workers to live on. Benefits under New York's TDI system
are paltry and need to be adjusted.
• Reform Unemployment Insurance
Correct shortcomings in how the state structures partial benefits, accelerate the phase-in for
the maximum weekly benefit to equal 50 percent of the average weekly wage by 2020, and
accelerate an increase in the taxable wage base to $15,000 by 2020.
• Increase Funding for the Empire State Poverty Initiative
The governor’s budget includes a $25 million Empire State Poverty Initiative modeled after
the Rochester Anti-Poverty taskforce. The program would initially provide $500,000
planning and implementation grants to ten cities with high poverty rates. The cities would
also be eligible for state funding from a $20 million grant pool to be used with matching
private funding for anti-poverty programs. While well intentioned, this initiative should be
funded on a level more commensurate with the magnitude of the challenge of extraordinarily
high child poverty and concentrated overall poverty.
• Expand Investments in Early Childhood Development
Child development advocates state that at least $190 million is needed in the 2017 budget
($90 million for required provider inspections and $100 million to add subsidized child care
slots), but the state can reasonably sustain at least $300 million more annually to begin
making up for years of under-investment in child development. Also, subsidy levels and child
care contract funding should be increased to ensure that all pre-school and child care teachers
and support staff are adequately compensated, particularly if there is an increase in the
statewide minimum wage. The state’s refundable Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit
should be modified to increase benefits for households with incomes up to $80,000, in part to
help families adjust to higher child care costs that may be associated with increasing the wage
of child-care workers to $15/hour.
• Increase Funding for Universal Pre-Kindergarten
A $125 million investment in pre-Kindergarten would support access to approximately
12,500 more children and move the state forward on the goal of providing universal pre-K to
all three- and four-year-olds. Early learning programs are a proven way to boost children’s
learning skills and improve their future prospects. The Universal Pre-Kindergarten program
for four- year-olds enacted last year continues in FY 2017, but with no increase in the state
funding level of $340 million.
52 | Fiscal Policy Institute