According to website called 247wallst.com has published a list of “America’s Ten Dead Cities,” and Buffalo ranks first and Albany is seventh. Only New York and Michigan have two cities on the list.

The website states - “Most of America’s Ten Dead Cities were once major manufacturing hubs and others were important ports or financial services centers. The downfall of one city, New Orleans, began in the 1970s, but was accelerated by Hurricane Katrina.

Notably, the rise of inexpensive manufacturing in Japan destroyed the ability of the industrial cities on this list to effectively compete in the global marketplace. Foreign business activity and US government policy were two of the three major blows that caused the downfall of these cities. The third was the labor movement and its demands for higher compensation which ballooned the costs of manufacturing in many of these cities as well.

In 1900, Buffalo was the eighth largest city in America. It was located on one of the busiest sections of the Erie Canal, the terminus of the canal on the Great Lakes. Thanks to its location, Buffalo had huge grain milling operations and one of the largest steel mills in the country. Buffalo prospered during WWII as did many northern industrial cities. After the WWII, the manufacturing plants returned to the production of cars and industrial goods. The population rose to more than 500,000 in the mid-1950s. It is half that today. Buffalo was wounded irreparably by the de-industrialization of America

Albany is still the capital of New York State. It was once one of the largest “inland ports” in the world sitting near the place where the Hudson River meets the Erie Canal. This helped it become a major center for finished lumber and iron works. Perhaps because of the influence of the politicians who worked in the city, several universities and colleges were built there. The city’s manufacturing industry helped the population to rise to 134,000 in 1950. it is now under 95,000. The higher education institutions in the region have begun to help Albany become a regional center for information technology and the biotechnology industries, but these are not large enough to offset declines in the city’s fortunes which began in the 1960s.”

To read more click here.

The Business Council of New York State and New York State SHRM are proud to announce the 4th Annual “Best Companies to Work for in New York” program. Don’t miss out on your chance to be recognized as one of the best places to work in all of New York State. The registration deadline is October 22, 2010.

Go to http://www.nysshrm.org/Best_Companies_1.php to register. Got questions? Contact Jessica Pouchan: (717) 909-1570 / jessicap@bestcompaniesgroup.com

or Lorri Zelman at (212) 403-6170 / lzelman@spges.com.

Did you see the list of winners list from last year? The list as well as the registration form can be found at http://www.nysshrm.org/Best_Companies_1.php.

Sign up today!

New York ranks dead last in the nation when it comes to “business friendly” states and unfortunately, Albany doesn’t seem anxious to climb out of that bottom spot. Assemblyman Dean Murry ,a small business owner, in a recent speech on the floor of the New York State Assembly, tells his colleagues that he like many New Yorkers has had Enough Already with their unending ability to raise taxes and drive jobs and business out of our state.

This is a link to the video of that speech on YouTube.com. :http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rkhetobyhq4

Erin Billups of YNN reports the recently passed State budget contains many new taxes on businesses and individuals across the state. These taxes include a lesser-known tax, the so-called “golden parachute” severance packages for out-of-state residents that has businesses crying foul.

As part of her report, she spoke with Business Council President Kenneth Adams who expressed his concerns about this and other taxes passed as part of the budget.

To see the video of from YNN click here.

Syracuse.com reporter Rick Moriarity reports on the various views on the new Excelsior Jobs program.

He writes: “New York’s new jobs program is most notable for what it doesn’t include.

What the Excelsior program does not include are tax credits for law firms, shopping malls, power plants and other businesses that are unlikely to leave the state. It also will not help companies that fail to create promised jobs.

In other words, it won’t make the same mistakes made by the much-maligned Empire Zone program, the program it is replacing. That’s a promise from the man in charge.

“We’ve got a solid program, a lot different than the one we had before,” said Dennis Mullen, chairman and CEO of Empire State Development Corp., the state’s economic development agency.”

But, Moriarity goes on to note concerns of The Business Council of New York State: “Ken Pokalsky, senior director of government affairs for the state Business Council, said the council agrees with the program’s focus on strategic industries. But he said its limit of $50 million in new tax credits each year is not enough. That’s less than half the new credits issued each year of the Empire Zone program after it was amended to limit abuses, he said.

Pokalsky said the program’s property tax credit, in particular, is too limited. High property taxes are among the most pressing problems for businesses in New York, so greater relief is necessary, he said.

The Business Council also objects to the program’s prohibition against “double dipping.” A company that is receiving Empire Zone benefits will not be allowed into the Excelsior program. Pokalsky said companies should be allowed to collect tax credits under either program for separate facilities. As the law is written, a company that has a facility in an Empire Zone cannot receive benefits for a different facility under the Excelsior program, he said.”

Read the story.

The New York State Senate is expected to consideration to senate bill S.5768. The legislation would authorize private litigation to enforce New York’s securities law, the Martin Act, and would result in dramatic expansion of liability.  ATRA strongly encourages members with a presence in New York to engage their local lobbyist and/or counsel and have them reach out to Senate Majority Conference Leader Sampson to urge opposition to the legislation.  For additional information, please contact Walter Pacholczak of the Business Council of New York State at walter.pacholczak@bcnys.org.

By way of background, under current law, institutional investors have the opportunity to seek redress through litigation under both federal securities law as well as New York common law.  In contrast to the Martin Act, New York common law claims for fraud and negligent misrepresentation must meet substantial burdens of proof.  We believe that the balance struck by the common law with regard to protection of investors on the one hand versus the need to guard against excessive and unnecessary litigation is an appropriate one.  The Martin Act, with its broad definition of fraud and lower burden of proof, is better suited as a basis for regulator enforcement than it is for private litigation.

Litigation Funding: A. 7891

A. 7891 was discharged from the Assembly Codes Committee and referred to the Assembly Rules Committee.  ATRA strongly opposes the legislation as it would legitimize third party financing of litigation, and we encourage members with a presence in New York to engage their local lobbyist and/or counsel to urge Assembly members to oppose this legislation.  Please coordinate with Walter Pacholczak of the Business Council of New York State at walter.pacholczak@bcnys.org.

State Senator James Seward writes in the Daily Mail - “The 2010-2011 state budget, being approved bit by bit through weekly budget extender bills, is continuing to come together. The process is like crumbling up your medicine into tiny pieces and taking a little at a time rather than swallowing the pill whole. Even worse, it is a prescription for failure for New York.

One of the most recent budget bills, which I opposed, will gut the state’s job creation program, force more taxes on businesses, slash economic investment and make New York state less competitive with other states when it comes to attracting new businesses.

Upstate New York has many redeeming qualities — our natural beauty, diverse population, renowned schools and historic landmarks — just to name a few. Unfortunately, a welcoming business climate cannot be added to that list. Each time the state takes a stride forward in improving our economic outlook, it is followed by two giant steps backward.

The most recent hindrance, the elimination of the Empire Zone program, was hidden in one of the governor’s budget bills. Without the program, thousands of businesses will face tax increases and lose a significant job creation and retention tool. Surely now other states will be stepping up their efforts to lure companies that want to escape New York’s high taxes.

The governor’s replacement for the Empire Zone program is something he is calling the Excelsior Jobs program. This is not a thorough substitute for the current program. The misguided scheme focuses on a limited group of industries and calls for the creation of at least fifty new jobs for five years. Many smaller businesses, the backbone of the upstate economy, would fall through the cracks. Certainly I am eager to attract large manufacturers, bio-tech startups and the like, but we also need to be mindful of the small businessman with an idea who needs a helping hand…

The Business Council of New York State called the new Excelsior program “an inadequate replacement” that “will limit New York’s ability to compete in the race to create and retain jobs as the nation moves out of the recession.” The Buffalo News called the Excelsior Program “a much weaker program that will have a negative effect on the upstate economy and jobs.”

To read more click here.

The New York Post reports - “One year in the making, a sweeping overhaul of Wall Street rules forged in the aftermath of a financial crisis cleared congressional negotiations early Friday and headed to the House and Senate for final votes.

Lawmakers hope to have a bill on President Barack Obama’s desk by July 4.

Success came at 5:39 a.m., hours after Obama administration officials helped broker a deal that cracked the last impediment to the bill — a proposal to force banks to spin off their lucrative derivatives trading business.

The legislation, the most ambitious rewrite of financial regulations since the Great Depression, touches on an exhaustive range of financial transactions, from a debit card swipe at a supermarket to the most complex securities deals cut in downtown Manhattan.

To read more click here.

Auto insurance fraud cost drivers in New York State over $229 million in 2009. Fraud and lawsuit abuse by medical providers are the main reasons for the higher costs you pay. It is time for lawmakers in Albany to take action and reform the no-fault system.

• New Yorkers paid $229 million in auto insurance fraud in 2009.
• Premiums for New York City residents cost nearly three times as much as premiums for upstate residents due to the prevalence of fraud.
• Hard-working New Yorkers are being forced to pick up the tab for criminal activity.

To learn how you can keep Albany from increasing the cost of your insurance click here.

Weaker replacement for Empire Zones will hurt Western New York

A Buffalo News Editorial points out how watering down economic development tools like the Empire Zone program and replacing them with a much weaker program will have a negative effect on the Upstate economy and jobs.

One of the many things wrong with our politicians is that they can have a very narrow view of issues; in some cases they are nearly blind. The problem is evident in the state’s decision to drop the Empire Zone economic development program, upon which upstate depends, in favor of one that is even worse, the Excelsior program. Thank you, Albany.

At the same time, it is bolstering another incentive program that mainly benefits New York City. Thank you again.

New York needs an economic development program. The state is losing businesses and jobs to other states because it is so unfriendly to business. That’s borne out in the state’s high taxes and the difficult and costly mandates that businesses don’t face elsewhere. Add to that our high cost of power and difficult labor unions and it’s no surprise that other states are taking our jobs. People are leaving New York, and just one of the costly results is the loss of two congressional districts after the 2000 census. Another may be lost as a result of this year’s census.”

TO read more click here.