According to a new Siena College Poll released this morning - ” New York State consumer confidence decreased 0.5 points in August, while the nation’s confidence increased 1.1 points, according to the latest poll by the Siena (College) Research Institute (SRI). At 62.5, New York’s overall consumer confidence is 6.4 points below the nation’s* 68.9 confidence level.
In August, buying plans were up for: major home improvements, 0.1 points to 13.8%. Buying plans were down for: cars/trucks, 2.6 points to 7.0%; computers, 1.8 points to 11.0%; and furniture, 2.1 points to 15.3%. Buying plans remained unchanged for homes, at 2.0%.

“It’s hard to put a positive spin on these numbers,” according to Dr. Doug Lonnstrom, professor of statistics and finance at Siena College and SRI Founding Director. “Statewide our numbers are weak and depict worried consumers very reluctant to spend. Under the hood, we see Democrats saying the economic glass is nearly half full, but Republicans, 25 future index points lower, are now more pessimistic about their own prospects as well as the five-year state outlook than they have been since we began measuring consumer confidence in 1999. Over six of every ten Republicans expect poor business conditions in New York this year and widespread unemployment through 2015. Democrats forecast a somewhat rosier picture for the state and are much more likely than Republicans to insist that somehow, someway, they personally will be better off in a year.”

Each month since January 1999, the SRI survey establishes a Consumer Confidence index number for New York State consumers. This index number allows a direct comparison of New Yorkers to all Americans (“the nation”) as surveyed by the University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment index. The SRI survey measures current and future consumer confidence, which combined provides the overall consumer confidence. SRI further looks at confidence in New York State by region (metro New York City and Upstate), age, income, gender and party.”

To read more click here.

Daina Costello writes on LoHud.com - “…it’s not the wind, rain or heat that farmer Bob Stuart says could compromise the legacy of his farm. No, instead it’s the politicians looking to impose regulations on an industry they don’t understand, he says.

“They sit in their air-conditioned offices and they make laws. They have no idea what it’s like to pick tomatoes in 90-degree heat, and they have no idea what it’s like to prune in 15 degrees,” said Stuart, clothes chalky with dried dirt from the fields. “You can live without politicians, but you can’t live without food.”

Heeding similar outrage from farmers throughout New York, the state Senate this month narrowly defeated a labor bill that farmers said would put have them out of business and driven up food costs.

The legislaton, known as the Omnibus Farmworker Labor Bill, sought to secure greater protections for agricultural workers, many of whom are migrants.

The bill sought to guarantee workers 24 consecutive hours of rest every seven days, time-and-a-half overtime pay and the right to collective bargaining on farms that make more than $650,000 in gross income over the year.

The 31-28 vote was the bill’s second Senate defeat, yet advocates say the fight is not over yet.”

To read more click here.

Unshackle Upstate, a coalition representing more than 70,000 employers with 1.5 million workers, released today its rankings of all 212 state legislators.

They have two goals for these legislative scorecards. Primarily, Unshackle Upstate wants to provide all New Yorkers with a thorough informational tool that clearly demonstrates which elected officials have acted in the best interest of the taxpayers of this state and which ones have not. Secondly, we want to encourage all elected officials to embrace our agenda of reducing taxes, fees and assessments; cutting state and local spending; reducing state borrowing and curtailing mandates.

To see your local legislator’s score click here.

The November elections will be critical to shaping the future of our state. We hope that you find the information on your Senators and Assembly Members valuable when you’re considering who to support on Election Day.

The Business Council joins Unshackle Upstate in the belief that for those elected officials that scored well, you should consider keeping them in office. For those that did not, ask them why they did not support the taxpayers of the state of New York and then ask yourself if you should support them. We encourages you to challenge our elected officials to defend the interest of taxpayers…or get a new job!

Chris Churchill of the Times Union writes - “New York’s metropolitan areas aren’t growing as much as they’re spreading.

They’re consuming more and more open land, even without significant population growth. And while there’s new construction at the fringes, many of New York’s central cities are decaying.

New state legislation aims to curb the trend.

The bill, which sailed through the Legislature with little opposition and now awaits Gov. David Paterson’s signature, instructs state agencies to direct spending only to infrastructure projects that are consistent with the principles of so-called smart growth.

The bill also requires agencies to evaluate projects using anti-sprawl criteria — including whether it’s within a municipal center, benefits public transportation networks, and uses existing roads and sewers.”

To read more click here.

Blake Fleetwood the former reporter for the New York Times and Daily News writes in the Huffington Post about Ed Koch’s effort to name the bums and get them out of office. All to build a better New York.

“I have always admired the blunt wisdoms of the very old (and sometimes the very rich or the insane). Like the court jesters in Shakespeare’s plays, they have nothing to lose and often speak truths that no one else dare utter.

Which is why I am intrigued by former Mayor Ed Koch’s Don Quixote campaign to rid the New York State’s dysfunctional legislature of all the crooks and bums. Koch, at age 85, is like the child who cried out “The emperor has no clothes,” a truth that everyone knew, yet none dared voice. Koch calls his quest, New York Uprising, and it deserves the support of us all.”

To read more click here.

TimeWarner Cable YNN reporter Steve Ference looks at the cost of hiring employees in New York and the attitudes found in The Business Council of New York State’s member survey on the business climate.

To watch his report click here.

According to a Siena Poll released today, “New York State consumer confidence decreased 0.4 points in July, while the nation’s confidence decreased 8.2 points, according to the latest poll by the Siena (College) Research Institute (SRI). At 63.0, New York’s overall consumer confidence is 4.8 points below the nation’s* 67.8 confidence level.

“Nationally this month Consumer Confidence fell like a rock, down by eight points,” according to Dr. Doug Lonnstrom, professor of statistics and finance at Siena College and SRI Founding Director. “In New York, the ‘willingness to spend’ held nearly constant, but at a level well below the national number. Most concerning is the low level of future confidence here in the Empire State. A majority of residents expect continuing periods of economic difficulties over the next five years and an even greater majority think business conditions will worsen over the next year. Only one in four expect to better their own financial situation over the next twelve months.”

Each month since January 1999, the SRI survey establishes a Consumer Confidence index number for New York State consumers. This index number allows a direct comparison of New Yorkers to all Americans (“the nation”) as surveyed by the University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment index. The SRI survey measures current and future consumer confidence, which combined provides the overall consumer confidence. SRI further looks at confidence in New York State by region (metro New York City and Upstate), age, income, gender and party.”

To read more click here.

The Associated Press reports on Syracuse.com - ” An ultra-strong glass that has been looking for a purpose since its invention in 1962 is poised to become a multibillion-dollar bonanza for Corning Inc.
The 159-year-old glass pioneer is ramping up production of what it calls Gorilla glass, expecting it to be the hot new face of touch-screen tablets and high-end TVs.

Gorilla showed early promise in the ’60s, but failed to find a commercial use, so it’s been biding its time in a hilltop research lab for almost a half-century. It picked up its first customer in 2008 and has quickly become a $170 million a year business as a protective layer over the screens of 40 million-plus cell phones and other mobile devices.”

To read more click here.

In an op-ed in today’s Times Union, Kenneth Adams, president and CEO of The Business Council, expresses his concern that state government is creating a climate of uncertainty in New York, rather than fostering an environment that encourages private sector investment and job creation.

“The nation may be creeping out of the recession. Second quarter corporate earnings reports are encouraging. Manufacturing is doing well. The banking sector is on solid ground again. Exports are up.

Still, employment numbers remain grim, and if there is one state likely to suffer a “jobless recovery,” it’s New York.

Just when the rest of the state recognizes that the only thing that matters is private sector job growth, Albany has come up with a new strategy to deter investment and discourage companies from hiring: uncertainty.

New York business owners have had to cope with high taxes and burdensome regulations for decades. Now there’s more. It has become increasingly hard to predict what’s next in the state’s business environment. The uncertainty created by state government is stripping away something business owners depend on in tough economic times: predictability.

It’s not just that politicians have spent seven months unable to agree on a state budget. The sense of uncertainty is exacerbated when policy makers can’t make up their minds or break promises previously made to the business community.

Beyond several anti-business measures built into the 2011 budget, the two worst decisions for the long-term economic health of New York involve the state violating commitments it made to firms that have been playing by the rules and investing here.

First, a three-year deferral of already earned tax credits. Many companies have made significant investments to create and retain jobs in New York, clean up brownfields or make their facilities cleaner and more efficient. Part of their calculation in making those investments included tax credits to offset the high cost of doing business here. Now the state says, “Hold on, you can’t get your credits until 2013.”

To read ore click here.

A bi-partisan coalition of lawmakers today introduced new legislation the U.S. House of Representatives that would provide an investment tax credit for new innovative technology that produces clean, zero-emission electricity from waste heat generated by industrial processes. The Heat is Power Act, sponsored by Representatives Paul Tonko (NY-21), Jay Inslee (WA-01), Shelly Berkley (D-NV-01) and Ron Paul (TX-14), would help stimulate growth in the waste heat to electricity market and create new jobs.

“This tax credit creates an incentive for a renewable technology with the potential to create jobs and allow American companies to export to other countries,” said Congressman Paul Tonko (NY-21). “It’s critical that we embrace these new innovations in clean energy that will help lessen our dependence on fossil fuels and reduce energy costs.”

“We shouldn’t allow clean energy produced by waste to go wasted,” said Rep. Jay Inslee (WA-01). “By implementing this policy, we will be able to incentivize the deployment of technologies that can capture thermal energy from waste and convert it to electricity.”

The Heat is Power Act would modify sections 45 and 48 of the U.S. tax code to include waste to heat and provide a 30% investment tax credit for the installation of the technology in industrial settings. American companies have created technology that can harness heat waste from smokestacks and other industrial processes such as oil and gas production and turn that energy into zero-emissions electricity. The tax credit will put this technology on the same footing as other renewables such as wind and solar power, and help develop a new, American clean energy industry that will lead to job growth.

The development of a domestic waste heat market will also position the U.S. to capture the global market in clean energy exports and create manufacturing jobs here in America for decades to come.