Tag: Albany

Last week was Medicaid week, based on data I have collected and want to let people see. That was planned.  This week is turning out to be public employee pension week.  That was not planned, but is in response to an excellent series the Times has produced on the subject.  Better than anything the Times has done on any subject where I have specific knowledge in years.  Today, the Times smoked out the three remaining major party candidates for Governor on the state legislature’s practice of granting New York City public employee pension sweeteners over the objection of New York City.  For the most part, all three candidates answered the same, but even so, Suozzi had the best answer.

Last week was Medicaid week, based on data I have collected and want to let people see. That was planned.  This week is turning out to be public employee pension week.  That was not planned, but is in response to an excellent series the Times has produced on the subject.  Better than anything the Times has done on any subject where I have specific knowledge in years.  Today, the Times smoked out the three remaining major party candidates for Governor on the state legislature’s practice of granting New York City public employee pension sweeteners over the objection of New York City.  For the most part, all three candidates answered the same, but even so, Suozzi had the best answer.

May I call your attention to the latest NY Times articles here and here.  And let me repeat what I said yesterday:  these pensions will not be paid! 

Twenty years from now, when the burden of debt and senior citizen benefits is leading to public service and benefit cuts, soaring taxes, and a crashing standard of living, and seniors of my generation, and those after, realize that they will have to work until physically unable and then face poverty rather than having the cruise-ship lifestyle of those who came before, then public employees who retired in their 40s and 50s will be as unpopular as the tobacco companies are today.  Back room deals will be cut, and budgets passed with little review, but to their detriment, not their benefit.  With no one else benefiting from this largess, they will be a big target for desperate times. 

May I call your attention to the latest NY Times articles here and here.  And let me repeat what I said yesterday:  these pensions will not be paid! 

Twenty years from now, when the burden of debt and senior citizen benefits is leading to public service and benefit cuts, soaring taxes, and a crashing standard of living, and seniors of my generation, and those after, realize that they will have to work until physically unable and then face poverty rather than having the cruise-ship lifestyle of those who came before, then public employees who retired in their 40s and 50s will be as unpopular as the tobacco companies are today.  Back room deals will be cut, and budgets passed with little review, but to their detriment, not their benefit.  With no one else benefiting from this largess, they will be a big target for desperate times. 

May I call your attention to the latest NY Times articles here and here.  And let me repeat what I said yesterday:  these pensions will not be paid! 

Twenty years from now, when the burden of debt and senior citizen benefits is leading to public service and benefit cuts, soaring taxes, and a crashing standard of living, and seniors of my generation, and those after, realize that they will have to work until physically unable and then face poverty rather than having the cruise-ship lifestyle of those who came before, then public employees who retired in their 40s and 50s will be as unpopular as the tobacco companies are today.  Back room deals will be cut, and budgets passed with little review, but to their detriment, not their benefit.  With no one else benefiting from this largess, they will be a big target for desperate times. 

May I call your attention to the latest NY Times articles here and here.  And let me repeat what I said yesterday:  these pensions will not be paid! 

Twenty years from now, when the burden of debt and senior citizen benefits is leading to public service and benefit cuts, soaring taxes, and a crashing standard of living, and seniors of my generation, and those after, realize that they will have to work until physically unable and then face poverty rather than having the cruise-ship lifestyle of those who came before, then public employees who retired in their 40s and 50s will be as unpopular as the tobacco companies are today.  Back room deals will be cut, and budgets passed with little review, but to their detriment, not their benefit.  With no one else benefiting from this largess, they will be a big target for desperate times. 

Imagine it’s 20 years from now, the year 2026.   After 43 years in which Social Security payroll taxes had been greater than Social Security payments, with the surplus used to finance the rest of the federal government (but also promised to future retirees), the Social Security system will have begun to run a deficit in 2018.  Taxes will have been substantially increased, and many kinds of federal spending (housing subsidies at the top of the list) slashed to pay Social Security back, but now Congress has no choice but to bite the bullet and drastically slash Social Security benefits for future retirees.  That’s bad for the 50% of private sector workers who have no retirement plan other than Social Security, and bad for the additional 30% who only have a 401K plan – a plan they now realize has nowhere near enough money to pay for decent retirement.   The poverty rate among the elderly, who have been the richest and most privileged of Americans for the past 60 years, begins to soar.

Imagine it’s 20 years from now, the year 2026.   After 43 years in which Social Security payroll taxes had been greater than Social Security payments, with the surplus used to finance the rest of the federal government (but also promised to future retirees), the Social Security system will have begun to run a deficit in 2018.  Taxes will have been substantially increased, and many kinds of federal spending (housing subsidies at the top of the list) slashed to pay Social Security back, but now Congress has no choice but to bite the bullet and drastically slash Social Security benefits for future retirees.  That’s bad for the 50% of private sector workers who have no retirement plan other than Social Security, and bad for the additional 30% who only have a 401K plan – a plan they now realize has nowhere near enough money to pay for decent retirement.   The poverty rate among the elderly, who have been the richest and most privileged of Americans for the past 60 years, begins to soar.

Imagine it’s 20 years from now, the year 2026.   After 43 years in which Social Security payroll taxes had been greater than Social Security payments, with the surplus used to finance the rest of the federal government (but also promised to future retirees), the Social Security system will have begun to run a deficit in 2018.  Taxes will have been substantially increased, and many kinds of federal spending (housing subsidies at the top of the list) slashed to pay Social Security back, but now Congress has no choice but to bite the bullet and drastically slash Social Security benefits for future retirees.  That’s bad for the 50% of private sector workers who have no retirement plan other than Social Security, and bad for the additional 30% who only have a 401K plan – a plan they now realize has nowhere near enough money to pay for decent retirement.   The poverty rate among the elderly, who have been the richest and most privileged of Americans for the past 60 years, begins to soar.

Imagine it’s 20 years from now, the year 2026.   After 43 years in which Social Security payroll taxes had been greater than Social Security payments, with the surplus used to finance the rest of the federal government (but also promised to future retirees), the Social Security system will have begun to run a deficit in 2018.  Taxes will have been substantially increased, and many kinds of federal spending (housing subsidies at the top of the list) slashed to pay Social Security back, but now Congress has no choice but to bite the bullet and drastically slash Social Security benefits for future retirees.  That’s bad for the 50% of private sector workers who have no retirement plan other than Social Security, and bad for the additional 30% who only have a 401K plan – a plan they now realize has nowhere near enough money to pay for decent retirement.   The poverty rate among the elderly, who have been the richest and most privileged of Americans for the past 60 years, begins to soar.