Does anyone out there have any doubt that the United Federation of Teachers wants every last dime of our ever rising tax burden to go the early retired, leaving the school system to collapse, that the New York State legislature is on their side, and that Mayor Bloomberg is going along with it to advance his personal agenda (which charitably may be described as saving the universe by having himself rather than someone worse – like the rest of the pols — in charge)? Put this quality MSM reporting together, and think about what it must mean. Yet another retroactive increase in income for retired teachers passes the same day a State Senate vote on Mayoral control is promised. That vote doesn’t happen, and Mayor Bloomberg asserts that appeasing the State Senate is like appeasing the Nazis.
From the New York Times: “On July 9 (emphasis mine see below), two Democratic State Senate leaders, Malcolm A. Smith and John L. Sampson, promised in a detailed letter that the Senate would vote on a bill to reauthorize mayoral control of New York City’s public schools by Friday. ‘Let us be very clear,’ they wrote in the letter, which was provided to The New York Times, ‘regardless of other factors’ the bill ‘will receive a full vote on the floor of the State Senate by July 17, 2009.’”
From Newsday: “Six months ago, it was noted here that despite investment collapses worldwide, active and retired participants in New York City's teacher pension system draw an exceptional taxpayer-guaranteed return of 8.25% annually on savings funds known as 403(b) plans” an unjust, exploitive deal that – “was due to expire June 30,” reducing the guaranteed return they were entitled to regardless of the consequences for the schools and taxpayers to a “mere” 7.0%. “In Albany, Bloomberg's office has pushed for, and won, a one-year legislative extension of the 8.25% percent guarantee – among other key rates and assumptions. That puts off the fate of the TRS payout into what will either be the first year of Bloomberg's third term, or the first mayoral term of Democrat William C. Thompson Jr., now comptroller.” Despite all the chaos in the State Senate “with little fanfare on July 9, the volatile upper house gave final legislative approval to Bloomberg's actuarial extension – by a 62-0 vote. Two days later Gov. David A. Paterson signed it into law, preserving the status quo through next June 30.”
Remember this unearned, undebated, unvetted retroactive giveaway when the quality of education, and the pay and benefits of new teachers, are cut due to “circumstances beyond our control.”
For the record, the reason Bloomberg gave for the giveaway is “the city's independently-appointed actuary lacked ‘sufficient time,’ before the legislative session's end, to complete a crucial evaluation of contribution rates to municipal pension funds.” And for the record, the New York City Teacher’s retirement program still has its fiscal 2007 annual report up on its website, more than two years after fiscal 2007 ended and more than one year after fiscal 2008 ended.
Score one for the teacher’s union, whose members will already be working two less days a year while retiring seven years earlier, all while new teachers will have lower pay which will be used to justify even less work. If they keep it up, maybe they can agree to be paid without every showing up in exchange for extending Mayoral Control. The Mayor must be pretty upset at State Senate demands that he guarantee money for arts and other special interests they can take credit for, given that the entire education system is going to be gutted to pay for early retirement.
From the New York Post: "'If you remember Neville Chamberlain, no matter how many times you said yes, that's the starting point for the next round,’ Bloomberg said on his weekly WOR Radio show. ‘There's always more, more, more.’”
According to the New York Observer: “Asked today whether he meant to compare the senators to the Nazis, the mayor said, ‘I certainly did. What part of that did they not understand? This is ridiculous.’”
No Mayor Bloomberg they aren’t Nazis. They are just fellow members of Generation Greed.