Commentary

Gov. Cuomo’s faux victory on behalf of NYC renters
Commentary | By Craig Gurian | Housing, NYC, Politics
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo may describe a tentative deal on extending rent regulation for millions of New York City tenants as one representing “significant progress,” but the reality is that he has left the trigger points at which apartments are deregulated worse for tenants than they were 14 years ago, when then-Governor George Pataki first orchestrated legislative changes designed to destroy rent regulation over time. The fundamental changes that Pataki put in place are untouched by Cuomo’s paltry efforts. More
As AARP embraces social security cuts, its pattern of misleading rhetoric comes into focus
Commentary | By Craig Gurian | Social Security
However much money AARP spends, and however many town hall meetings it holds, its rationalizations for shifting position just won’t stand scrutiny. AARP isn't hopping aboard a ship that was already sailing, but rather choosing to provide critical momentum and cover to resuscitate the benefits-cutting effort. More
Caught in the act
Commentary | By Craig Gurian | Education, Health care, Labor, NYC
Today’s robbing of the NYC employees’ health insurance fund as a “realistic” means to pay to avoid layoffs will become tomorrow’s hysterically anti-union “health benefits costs are out of control” rallying cry. More
Foreclosure relief programs didn't have to be "just voluntary"
Commentary | By Craig Gurian | Banking, Housing, Regulation
Faced with evidence of the ineffectiveness of its foreclosure prevention efforts, the Administration shrugs its shoulders and says it has "limited levers." The limitations are not a necessary fact of life, but a function of the view that forcing financial institutions to modify mortgages would be an affront to the dignity and sovereignty of banks. More
For better public schools, why not tap the disciplines?
Commentary | By Cyrus Veeser, By Lori Bikson | Education
U.S. colleges and universities continue to be world leaders. Annual surveys of higher education consistently rank a disproportionate number of American institutions in the top 100. Yet U.S. primary and secondary schools do poorly compared to top-performing systems worldwide. It is time to reexamine the categorical separation of K-12 and postsecondary education. More
Too many old people
Commentary | By Craig Gurian | Aging, Economy, Population
A shift in demographics to relatively smaller cohorts of young people is almost never viewed as presenting an opportunity, just as the challenge of how to successfully support a greater percentage of older people without lower living standards either for them or their younger compatriots is virtually never viewed as one worth facing and winning. More
We need our own pollster
Commentary | By Craig Gurian | Government services, Media, Politics
The way a recent New York Times/CBS News poll framed the issues, and the way the poll omitted key policy choices, meant the results invariably stayed within the bounds of a relatively narrow range of policy options, rendering a broader spectrum of policy choices invisible. More
The few get to share; the many get to sacrifice
Commentary | By Craig Gurian | Government services, Taxes
It’s hard to find a big-state governor who is not sounding a call for “shared sacrifice." It’s even harder to find one who really means it. At the same time we’re told that real sacrifice requires real pain, we also have to accept that businesses must be exempt from any pain. Instead, states must compete to beg for their favors. More

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