Is the governor's START-UP NY program in trouble? Critics on both sides say it looks like a flop, but the governor says that's being unfairly hasty. Companies participating in the state's START-UP NY program created 76 jobs in 2014; the promise is more than 2,000. The governor says we're well on the way to achieving that number. So why are the critics so adamant that this program is a waste of tax dollars? What do economists say? We ask our panel:
- Leslie Whatley, executive vice president of START-UP NY
- Mike Durant, state director of the National Federation of Independent Businesses
- Kent Gardner, Center for Governmental Research
- Roger Cook, Working Families Party western New York chapter
