In the News: Minchin Lewis

"High taxes do not guarantee good services. Low taxes do not mean unsatisfactory services," says Minchin Lewis, adjunct professor of public administration and international affairs.

Yilin Hou, professor of public administration and international affairs and senior research associate at the Center for Policy Research, has won a prestigious economic policy research award from the Pu Shan Foundation of China, for his paper "Real Property Tax: Ability to Pay, Distribution of Tax Burden, and Redistribution Effects."

"The lesson we can take from nature is that evolution is the key to the future of local government. Evolution in nature and in government is risky—the outcome is uncertain. But the outcome of a refusal to evolve is certain: extinction in nature and irrelevance in government," writes Minch Lewis, adjunct professor of public administration and international affairs.

The FY 2018 New York State Executive Budget established the County-wide Shared Services Property Tax Plan requiring local governments to consider ways of sharing services in order to save taxpayer money, and improve the delivery of those services. To support the implementation of this new law, the New York State Department of State contracted with the Campbell Institute to develop a non-partisan guide to help public officials and citizens more usefully consider the possibility of sharing services within their counties.

"Unfortunately, many plans have not made their Annually Required Contributions. Even if they had, many economists predict the required payments are not high enough," writes Minchin Lewis, adjunct professor of public administration and public affairs.

Minch Lewis, adjunct professor of public administration and international affairs, pointed out this is not the first time the City of Syracuse has gone through government overhaul. “We have to be open-minded and realize this is a historical time and there’s a historic opportunity,” Lewis says.

Minch Lewis, adjunct professor of public administration and international affairs, talks about why Governor Cuomo's proposed gondola will be a boost for tourism, as it can add a feature to the tourism industry, provide a connection between the Fairgrounds and Amphitheater, create additional jobs and bring resources to the economy, and give the community another marketing tool supporting other institutions.