Do we actually have different political parties, different factions within those parties, and different politicians with different points of view? In the past two years, the City and State of New York have decided — at a time of financial crisis, at a time when most Americans have no choice but to work longer — that its teachers should stop working seven years earlier at age 55, and then be paid to do nothing for anyone else ever again. Older generations got to walk out the door (they should spit in the children's faces on the way out) contributing little or nothing to this; after all it was claimed it would cost nothing. And then, immediately the City and State have turned around and decided to cut the pay of all future teachers by five percent, with some advocating a later retirement age for younger generations as well. As if this was in now way in conflict with, had to be justified relative to, and had nothing to do with the decisions previous decisions to enrich retirement benefits for those cashing in and moving out. As if somehow what cost nothing for older and existing public employees was too costly for future public employees.
Tier V, or a higher contribution level for future hires but not existing hires — these proposals add greed to greed, injustice to injustice, and damage to what is left of public services to the existing damages. And here we are coming to the end of a campaign for local office, and no one has said so. This has barely even been spoken of.
No one has asked what the effect on public service quality will be of slashing pay and benefits for new hires, to pay for those cashing in and moving out, again. No one has given reasons why those who took so much more than anyone else, the retired and near retired, should not be asked to give anything back. No one has questioned why a deal can be made in the dark that will mean higher taxes, and diminished public services, in perpetuity, why those harmed by that deal have no say in it, and why those who benefit can only be asked for modifications that don't affect themselves, and even those modifications can only be agreed with their consent. The consent of the victims is neither asked or required.
There are those who are in favor of sacrificing younger generations, such as the Manhattan Institute and Citizen’s Budget Commission, and those who pretend to be against but willing to agree to it to help fund Generation Greed, notably the public employee unions. I'd rather have the entire school system shut down for ten years than have this happen again. This is evil and injustice powerful enough to compel silence.
The silence should end. Those who benefitted from this endless cycle of enriching those cashing in and moving out and making younger generations worse off — in every way all the time — should be forced to justify it. They are not even forced to admit it is what they have done, wanted to do, worked to do for years. They claim it's a "win for everyone," a "fair compromise." We have not one elected official willing to stand up and say this is wrong. Not one candidate. Not one newspaper. Not only do those grabbing more and more privileges for themselves demand those privileges, they also demand rationalizations.
I'll say it again — the actual moral obligation of younger generations to pay taxes for the health care and retirement income of older generations is falling toward zero. And yet they can't help themselves — they keep grabbing and demand lies. Demand that actuarial assumptions be made to support the finding that people can receive retirement income and retiree health insurance for seven additional years at zero cost. Demand that people report but not challenge the fact that an agreement to cut the pay of future NYC teachers by five percent is a win for everyone. Demand that those two decisions never be spoken of together.
Why hasn't anyone asked the head of the UFT this question: "The last time New York City allowed its teachers to retire at age 55 (in 1968, so much money was diverted out of the classroom that the quality of its schools collapsed, hundreds of thousands of children over two decades were not educated, and subsequently hired NYC teachers became the lowest paid in the Metropolitan Area. Is this what you have achieved again, and are you proud of it."
Whatever happens now is not due to "circumstances beyond our control." It happens, has happened, will happen because some people, the most selfish people, matter more than others.
To see this, one only need to look at what is happening in Ohio, where in order to make it at least possible that public education will continue to exist and the pension system will not collapse, the amount of their paychecks that existing teachers are required to contribute to the pension plan is being increased from 10 percent to 12.5 percent (most NYC teacher with more than 10 years seniority have been paying 0), and the employer 6 from 14 percent to 16.5 percent (NYC taxpayers are paying about 25 percent, but that is about to soar, and money spent on actual education will be slashed to pay for it). If a 56-year-old earns $60,000 in pension income in Ohio, they pay the same state income tax on it as a 56-year-old working for $60,000 in wages; in New York the wage earner pays much higher taxes, the public retiree pays nothing. NOTHING!
The New York State constitution may say that pensions cannot be reduced no matter what the consequences. But it doesn’t say that the pension contributions existing employees are required to make may not be increased, nor that those who retirees with sweet deals and stuck it to those coming after cannot be made to pay for their retiree health care, or that retired public employees cannot be asked to pay state and local income taxes on their retirement income the way the wage serfs that serve them are required to pay taxes.
Perhaps older residents of Ohio have realized that they cannot have their education system collapse, cannot be so unfair to young workers, cannot be so unfair to new teachers, cannot raise taxes so high their economy collapses, and still have someone working and paying taxes in the state to ensure the benefits they have promised themselves will be paid for. Perhaps after decades of having the young, and those starting new businesses, move away, that state has realized their is price to treating them unfairly. Or perhaps they are so much worse off at this moment that they cannot hide from what they have done anymore.
Here in New York, I want the truth. I want Mayor Bloomberg, Comptroller Thompson (who as the city’s chief fiscal officer never said a word about any of this), Sheldon Silver, Governor Paterson, Joe Bruno, George Pataki, Carl McCall, Randi Weingarten and the rest to say that they have collectively made a decision that those their age should be better off, and those coming after much worse off. Explain why they have done so. Explain why it is fair, or why fairness doesn’t matter. These decisions demonstrate the values of all those who made them, and all those who benefitted. Why aren’t the beneficiaries at least required to accept the harm done to others to benefit themselves? Why aren’t the victims told what has been taken from them? Why doesn’t anyone vote no, or speak up?