Matthew Maguire Quotations

People vote with their feet. We think that's telling. All of our economic policy decisions in the foreseeable future should be made with an eye toward improving that figure. We can't sit back while New York morphs from the Empire State into the emptying state.

One thing it highlights, again, is the wrong-headedness of the notion that higher state taxes and increased state spending somehow keep property taxes down.

There is growing concern about the quality of education available in our public schools especially for less fortunate New Yorkers, and there is also greater interest in choice. New York pays top dollar for what tends to be middle-of-the-pack performance ... and they are getting tired of it.

We would be very supportive of employer-driven worker-training initiatives. We must fix the basic economic climate issues that prompt people to leave in the first place.

The bottom line is where we are on energy costs. And we're on the wrong end of the national list.

This is a significant improvement but it's still a drop in the bucket.

This is the first that the governor has mentioned it (workers' comp reform) in connection with the budget. In our view, that makes an agreement a bit likelier this year.

Although the governor has proposed putting a dent in the difference between New York and other states, even if workers comp reform and tax cuts were enacted tomorrow, it's going to take time for the benefits to flow. Unfortunately, a job growth projection behind the nation's rate seems realistic.

There is no way you can argue anything New York has done at any level has held property taxes down.

It is true that people go where the opportunity presents itself. It's also true that high taxes smother opportunities and lower taxes nurture it.

New York state has a lot of charms, but it's naive to think other states don't have their own charms. New York has been making that naive mistake for too long and our population numbers prove it.

The gamble is that employers won't leave or cease operating here. It's pure fantasy to assume that mandating a new cost will do no harm.