Reed on Meet The Press (Atlanta, Washington: low income, homes, school)

[arjay57]

Mayor Kasim Reed is on NBC's Meet The Press this morning.

[arjay57]

Mayor Reed was very impressive, in my opinion. He was direct and specific in his comments, and was clearly at ease among a group of national pundits.

His theme was that America needs to be willing to put its chin out and take the hit, and then get on with business. He talked about how he has been tacking the pension issue. He said cities can be more nimble than the federal government in implementing changes.

Reed also commented that politicians need to tell it like it is, so local governments and citizens can make the necessary adjustments. For instance, he said he'd had very candid conversations with the Obama administration and that it was clear that federal funds would be drying up, and that Atlanta was reeling itself in accordingly.

The mayor was smooth and polished, and acknowledged that some of what he had to do might not be popular with everyone. New York Times columnist David Brooks complimented him for being out front and doing the hard work.

Way to represent, Mr. Mayor!

[midtown mile girl]

He handled himself like a mature, responsible mayor-which should reflect well on Atlanta and I hope will get Atlanta on the radar for more business & development. I wish some other black leaders would behave this well and focus on the issues that concern everyone like Kasim did this morning.

[arjay57]

Check out the video at about the 31:30 mark.

Meet the Press- msnbc.com

[noah]

Great showing. Hope his fight against pension reform (which is 20% of the city's budget) doesn't make him a one term mayor because we need the reform and need a visionary leader like Reed.

http://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta/atla...to-836968.html

http://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta/pens...or-836429.html

[AcidSnake]

Probably depends on how the pension reform stuff is gonna shake out with the age 50+ black crowd.

Government jobs are the bread & butter for a lot of the black working & middle class in Atlanta, & messing with the city pension at a time when decent paying jobs with dependable retirement plans are pretty scarce may rear some ugly resentment if it isn't done right.

No doubt there are many people (Derrick Boazman & GA Senator Vincent Fort comes to mind) who will inevitably take advantage of the resentment and will jump on the Mayor Reed hatefest bus in a heartbeat if many of the babyboomers who already got in over 15 years of service end up biting a major bullet when these reforms are said & done.

I hope that Mayor Reed treads veeeery lightly on this issue. Oldheads vote in large numbers, especially when they are provoked by fear & uncertainty.

If Reed wants a long lasting career in electoral service, he better choose carefully which voting groups he can afford to throw under the bus & the groups he can't with Pension reform.

At least that's my understanding of the issues, anyways.

Originally Posted by noah

Great showing. Hope his fight against pension reform (which is 20% of the city's budget) doesn't make him a one term mayor because we need the reform and need a visionary leader like Reed.

Atlanta mayor holds his own on "Meet the Press" *| ajc.com

Pension decision biggest for Reed *| ajc.com

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by AcidSnake

Probably depends on how the pension reform stuff is gonna shake out with the age 50+ black crowd.

I hate to think our city's future depends on 50+ year old black city employees getting cushy pensions. There are an awful lot of us 50+, 60+ and 70+ taxpayers (as well as younger ones) who are being called on to pay for that. In addition to paying for everything else our city government does. And paying for the school board, MARTA and Grady. Oh, and of course our own homes. And, not to mention, our own medical expenses and retirement.

Retirement payments are as scarce for the rest of us as they are for city employees. Many of us don't get anything at all. We're not immune from fear and uncertainty, either.

We're ALL taking some serious punches and struggling to hang on.

[AcidSnake]

I had once wondered how Georgia's future could hinge so much on whether or not our state should keep the 1956 version of the Confederate flag with the St. Andrew's stars & bars. And yet, rather than worry about transportation, water issues, and attracting new businesses, a good portion of this state's voting population would rather continue their grand tradition of thumbing their nose at minorities & Washington D.C. with the flag.

In light of that situation, it's not really surprising in my opinion that the pension reform may likely determine Mayor Reed's political future & even moreso Atlanta's destiny. Fear-based reactionary politics has a grand tradition here in the south and will continue to be the reality for the foreseeable future.

Originally Posted by arjay57

I hate to think our city's future depends on 50+ year old black city employees getting cushy pensions. There are an awful lot of us 50+, 60+ and 70+ taxpayers (as well as younger ones) who are being called on to pay for that. In addition to paying for everything else our city government does. And paying for the school board, MARTA and Grady. Oh, and of course our own homes. And, not to mention, our own medical expenses and retirement.

Retirement payments are as scarce for the rest of us as they are for city employees. Many of us don't get anything at all. We're not immune from fear and uncertainty, either.

We're ALL taking some serious punches and struggling to hang on.

[JonSavage]

Originally Posted by AcidSnake

I hope that Mayor Reed treads veeeery lightly on this issue. Oldheads vote in large numbers, especially when they are provoked by fear & uncertainty.

If Reed wants a long lasting career in electoral service, he better choose carefully which voting groups he can afford to throw under the bus & the groups he can't with Pension reform.

At least that's my understanding of the issues, anyways.

Do you think there is any level of reform that the group you're referring to would accept? I doubt it but I'd love to be wrong.

[neil0311]

Originally Posted by arjay57

We're ALL taking some serious punches and struggling to hang on.

Are we though? Unions demand more. Low income folks demand more. Senior citizens demand more. It seems like entitlements keep growing, yet a growing majority pays no federal tax.

We need a fundamental reform of the US tax system, and the sacred cows of US politics....the so-called entitlements....have to be on the table for discussion and for reform. Social Security is one such program that is broke and cannot continue as currently constituted. Everyone is scared to deal with it, and dealing with it has been kicked down the road for the last 30 years. Same with public sector pensions.