At the 30,000 foot level, New York's Census data is set to be released sometime this afternoon reports Kenneth Crowe at the Times Union. We already know from the Census Bureau that we've lost enough population to lose two congressional seats. Today's numbers should offer a deeper look into demographic data like the changing racial make-up and age distribution of the state.
On a related note, Census data released yesterday shows that the recession seriously curbed start-ups, reports Justin Lahart at the Wall Street Journal's Real Time Economics blog:
In past recessions, start-ups didn’t take nearly as large a hit as they did in the downturn that began at the end of 2007, notes John Haltiwanger, a University of Maryland economist who has worked extensively with the Census start-up data. Even in the deep recession that ended in late 1982, start-up activity held up fairly well. “Start-ups weren’t immune, but the guys in the garages were going to try to do what they were going to do no matter what,” said Mr. Haltiwanger. One reason that fewer companies got started in the most recent recession is that the availability of financing dried up. Angel investors and venture capital funds cut back on putting money into new businesses, and opportunities for self-financing, like taking on additional mortgage debt, became more limited.
State budget
Yesterday Governor Andrew Cuomo released a video warning that he's prepared to shut down state government if the parties in Albany can't agree on a spending plan.
The response to the governor's shut down threat is being rebuffed by Senate leaders, reports Nick Reisman at Gannett:
Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, R-Nassau County, told reporters Wednesday that there is no need for a government shutdown. "I know there's more interest in talking about a government shutdown, but I'd rather talk about the progress that's being made to get an on-time budget and dealing with the $10 billion deficit that's out there," he said. Silver also rejected the idea that the budget would come to emergency appropriations and brushed aside the promise from Cuomo that lawmakers would be blamed.
Meanwhile Nicholas Confessore at the New York Times City Room blog has some special insight into the governor's budget process: he's gotten ahold of an "internal memo" that shows what the Cuomo administration is and isn't prepared to compromise on during the budget negotiation.
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