Yesterday, Councilman James Oddo shared the Independent Budget Office's breakdown of who exactly is the 1% in NYC, as well as who the 10% is and how much they contribute to the city's tax revenue. He explained to us that he wanted to cut through the rhetoric and get at the truth and found the data illuminating: "I represent a lot of people who are 10%, who make $105,000/year." more ›

City Councilman James Oddo, one of the few Republicans in the City Council, has been hearing a lot about this Occupy Wall Street stuff. The Daily Politics reports that he was so curious about who really is NYC's 1%—and 10%, for that matter—and how much they pay in NYC taxes that he asked the Independent Budget Office for some details. Oddo shared the IBO's response today, "I think the numbers bear out the argument that we should not be attacking higher-income New Yorkers because their tax dollars fund, in large measure, all the services that New Yorkers have come to rely on." Another thing: don't get him mad. more ›

The city's Independent Budget Office says that Wall Street pay has gone down a considerable amount. According to the Post, "The IBO reported that securities-industry wages averaged $311,279 in 2009, down 21.5 percent from $396,370 the previous year, and down 24.6 percent from $412,915 in 2007." Oh, so they're still making bank? Pffft. more ›

Yesterday was the release of the annual report of cost-cutting suggestions filed by the Independent Budget Office, the nonpartisan, publicly agency, whose report shows both the pros and cons of certain suggested measures. While many of the ideas are bureaucratic pipe dreams, this could be the year that the city takes the IBO up on some of its offerings with the city in a budget crunch resembling nothing from recent years. more ›