Bloomberg: 50% increase in NYC taxes

Union workers in the public sector have to realize that we are in a new economic environment these days. The people who pay their salaries (the public) have themselves been dealing with unemployment, under-employment, reduced, or at best, stagnant wages.

One thing we need to do, right off the bat, is stop this insane practice of paying "retired" cops six-figure pensions for 50 years. It's absolutely absurd that men in the prime of their lives (40s and 50s) are being paid NOT to work -- literally by the tens of thousands.

If they want to "retire" after their 20 years, fine. But they should not be able to touch their pension money until the rest of us can -- at age 65 at the earliest. It's up to them, therefore, to decide how to bridge those next 20 years: find another career ... go into private security ... or here's a wild idea ... KEEP WORKING AS A COP.

Very nice NYCMatt.

If they want to "retire" after their 20 years, fine. But they should not be able to touch their pension money until the rest of us can -- at age 65 at the earliest. It's up to them, therefore, to decide how to bridge those next 20 years: find another career ... go into private security ... or here's a wild idea ... KEEP WORKING AS A COP.

Sure Matt ... You could tell that to the cops that spent most of the their years dealing with CROOKLYN N BOOGIE DOWN BRONX,ALPHABET CITY for example. Lets not forget also GUASHINGRON HEIGHTS DURING THE 80'S AND 90'S n 2000 and i will put on YOUTUBE you yelling " I am a COOP PRESIDENT" meanwhile they throw yo punk azz off a ROOF ON 181 ST

No one forced them to become cops. If they can't take the heat, get off the beat.

@ MATT ... then who you gonna call when a tenant is kicking yo ass ?? Ghostbusters ??

The worship of cops and firefighters seems to come and go. They've been getting their salads tossed since 9/11, but that'll turn eventually. E.g., http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/30/nyregion/to-defend-police-city-cites-officers-laziness.html?smid=pl-share

There has to be a reaction from the "New York's Finest/Bravest" crap. Not necessarily "New York's Fattest", though that's true enough, but somewhere in the middle.

Amen Matt. I think that can be applied across the public sector workers spectrum. Why do librarians make $700k a year? and school superintendents $250-500k+/year? you cant have your cake and eat it too- public servants used to trade lower/average wages and medicore benefits (ie HIP health insurance) for total job security and a pension. Now they get it all- top salaries/wages, top benefits AND the pension and job security. I know plenty of teachers who retired recently with $100k pensions. The ones who retired 20 years ago? Much more reasonable $40k pensions. The politicians made the unions grand promises when the economy was booming and govts were flush with cash then when it went bust the unions refused to give an inch.

librarians make $700k a year?

... or are you referring to companies/institutions that put IT under the auspices of librarians, because both shelved books and bits/bytes are data that need organization and retrieval systems?

Unions could care less where the money comes from. All they want is to grab it at all costs. Very greedy institutions.

Check seethruny.net to see the salaries of NYC/NYS public workers.

That website is actually http://seethroughny.net/payrolls/city-of-ny. Some eye-popping salaries there. Not to mention overtime and pensions. Unsure if any money is taken out of their paychecks for health insurance as with most private sector jobs.

this is anti-labor bullsh*t.
keeping slandering the unions & the working class and see what kind of a world we will live in.
don't drink the kool aid.

I don't agree with that statement. I am not against unions in any way, but there does need to be reform. Putting twenty years in of work and collecting a full pension ( often an exaggerated pension as a result of amplified overtime in the last five years of service) from that day forward is financially unsustainable and ridiculous. Nor is it reasonable to make zero contribution to your healthcare when every other industry demands significant contributions--unless they don't even offer healthcare. And, lets be honest, the real "working class" isn't holding down a 50k a year union job. That's a very dated idea. Today's working class is pulling down 15 bucks an hour and likely seeing a yearly diminishment of their benefits. More importantly, neither they nor anyone in the private sector has any real job security anymore.

unsure: and that's good? labor, with few exceptions, has been eviscerated. And so many of these tales of early cushy retirement are tremendous outliers. I do think the one job where we need to have early lucrative pensions is firefighters. That is one crazily dangerous career, and one that takes an incredible amount of physical toil. Yes, they are largely crazy on some level, but they are channelling that for the public good.

You are accepting the new status quo as norm. The big businesses thank you.

I don't see it as accepting the status quo, I see it as being practical about the fact that our states/municipalities/etc can not afford the system as it is. I agree that there is a fair shelf life to being a firefighter. But there has to be another less-dangerous capacity in which we could continue to employee these people after their days on the frontline are finished. As it is, a brief (and admittedly taxing) job is followed by a long, expensive retirement.

I appreciate the jobs that city workers do. And, trust me, I'm in the same income bracket as most of them. But I believe there are systemic issues at play here that are not sustainable. What happens when those funds run out? It isn't a bottomless pit of money.

AboutReady, your points of view are hypocritical. Your husband takes in the big bucks from representing corporations, and you are planning on receiving settlement money that was ultimately funded by the State of New York to benefit the middle and working classes.

9d: Wow. Thanks for the link - there are truly amazing (and not in a good way) numbers in there.

Of course any candidate caving to the unions can be seen cementing a core voting block....

what rhymes with cliche?

Yup -- are you drinking the kool aide and eating the donuts too?

>what rhymes with cliche?

risqué?

greensdale:
she is already known to be the biggest hypocritical comment poster on streeteasy.
Being "a partner in an International Law Firm is not, nor has it ever been
"a crazily dangerous career and one that takes an incredible amount of physical toil."

You go girl!

You really got it correct about Ralph and his firefighting career.

Right on!

This is NOT "anti-union".

This is "get a clue about reality".

And for the record, I belong to FOUR labor unions.

You go girl!

You really got it correct about a clue about reality.

Right on!

NYCMATT, very well said... and nice to hear some logic, from someone who actually belongs to a union.. kudos!

Unions USED to be about fair wages, now it's all GREED.

NYSeethru website doesn't even include allowances/perks.. real take home is MUCH higher..

I remember that article about a toll booth worker, clearing $320,000 per year, wtf

also why do MTA workers/school admin always compare their "meager" (>$175,000) salaries to Goldman Sachs/Blackrock CEO's?

..that's like an IT worker/nurse/media analyst/etc demanding a raise from their boss because lloyd blankenface got a bonus in a down year..

Well said Matt and ss400k

"Unions USED to be about fair wages, now it's all GREED."

Careful not to lump ALL unions into this, particularly those in private industry.

And let's not forget ... on the other side of the bargaining table ... it's ALWAYS been about greed from the management side.

I've yet to be involved in any negotiation where management was more concerned about "fair" wages as it was getting away with paying the ABSOLUTE LOWEST wage possible without triggering a strike.

i guess I just find it ridiculous to sit around criticizing unions when the american worker is one of the most persecuted groups in the country (union or not). how about we discuss how big rich corporations pay zero in taxes while i'm paying like 40%? or about how under the european reconstruction, they are going to give big corporations the same rights as COUNTRIES? (I guess corporations are people wasnt't good enough). or about how quality of life and wages have been steadily declining since the 70's as profits are continously shifted to shareholders and CEO's. Or that companies like monsanto have their own army (and the legal right to use it as they see fit). now just where do you think they're trying to go with all this. call me a pinkie commie bastard all you want, but i do think the power shift is heading towards a state of crisis.

Amen, glamma.

worker=commodity

oh, and thx, glamma, for telling it

matt, yes i believe in SOME unions.. particularly some in PRIVATE SECTOR, hence why I noted NURSES in my example, especially when Health CEO's rake it in..

what I don't agree with are most public unions which have a more direct effect to ever rising real estate (and other) taxes that hurt middle income taxpayers..

$200,000 for an MTA car repairman and that's without counting allowances per NYSeethru website?

$320,000 for a toll booth worker?

It's disgusting how PUBLIC unions try to merge themselves with rights of PRIVATE industry unions (ie nurses) for their own gain personal gains.. 2 separate beings.

glamma, you are merging PRIVATE an PUBLIC unions together.. nurses for instance who actually do the work should take in some of the CEO's profits..

why should the toll booth worker (et al) making over $320,000 per annum from taxpayers screw over middle income (who don't make CEO salary) taxpayers? Just because the Google CEO (who at least delivers a product) rakes in millions? Disconnect much?

And yes, I agree that off-shoring has gotten outta hand.. why not also go after the politicians as well who receive kickbaks from the companies and turn a blind eye?

provide direct to link to source of 320k per annum toll-booth collector

your "see through ny site" is a POS

here's a toll collector job for you 17$/hr and you cant troll the net all day--and enjoy the emphysema

dope

"And so many of these tales of early cushy retirement are tremendous outliers."

Not really. Taking tons of overtime in the years before overtime is pretty standard.
And how about the LIRR disability union scam?

Let's not pretend this is a rare thing.

"how about we discuss how big rich corporations pay zero in taxes while i'm paying like 40%? "

Sure, let's discuss... it still ends up getting *additional* personal income tax.

I had a corporation, and I had to pay a hell of a lot more than your 40% on that income.

>I had a corporation

You named your pet iguana "corporation"? Was that to impress Mitt Romney?

"You named your pet iguana "corporation"? Was that to impress Mitt Romney?"

dont you mean Al Gore?

Al Gore is now 'richer than Romney'
http://www.washingtontimes.com/blog/watercooler/2013/jan/10/al-gore-now-richer-romney/

"You named your pet iguana "corporation"? Was that to impress Mitt Romney?"

Here in Manhattan, "corporation" means something else than your third-world country. Maybe you'll learn when you finally get to visit.

Good thing you have google maps...

>Here in Manhattan,

But you are originally from Brooklyn.