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Fred that is a very dangerous attitude to have and I am glad you are not in office. You believe the workforce should not be cut because people will be out of work? So the city should just employ everyone for the sake of giving people jobs? Huh? That's part of the reason we are in this mess! Life ain't fair and cutting workers is what kept much of the companies across the world viable and in business..but government should be exempt because??
Yes we should look at our politicians policies, but at the end of the day, we know what the city's biggest expenses are: the workforce and all the obligations tied to workers. If you want to save money, and not just a nickel here or there, you don't ignore your largest expense! Geez.
The only problem with "just cutting across the board" is that you may end up with essential work not being done. If there is waste, yes, get rid of it, but there is a weird thought process amongst some in the private sector that most of the public workforce is just a bunch of politicians' nieces and nephews hanging out not really doing anything of worth all day. If, for example, you just arbitrarily cut out a group of people whose work saves the city more money than they cost, what have you gained? Inevitably, two or three or five years down the road someone starts whining that this isn't being done or that isn't being done...yeah, because people were calling for heads back then, and the heads that did that work were cut.
I am willing to take that risk, and so should our Mayor. And down the road we can grow smartly, if needed. Otherwise all this talk about "ideas" is a waste of time if you are not actually cutting our largest expenses: The city payrolls.
It's so easy for those who've had the luck, or the connections, to never have been laid off, to talk about cutting people's jobs and salaries on a whim. And of putting already demoralized, out-of-work people to do some community service as a penance for collecting employer-funded benefits while they seek work that has at least some semblance to their backgrounds and experience.
How about Bloomberg looking at the revenue side and stopping the incentives, credits, and handouts to greedy developers and assorted scavengers who ignore the average New Yorker's needs in a city that can use more affodable housing, infrastructure, and decent basic services?
A whim? I believe we had a near collapse of our economy, several investment banking firms have gone under/sold off, our entire auto industry nearly disappeared, small businesses across the board have shuttered, and millions in the private sector are out of work. Our local city government is in just as much financial trouble, with billions in the hole...and you think this is a whim? Or something anyone enjoys doing? Huh?
Life isn't fair, trust me I know. But Moderator cut: Language happens, and the idea that you should keep people on the payrolls so as not to upset them, or stress them, because they are demoralized is absurd to put it lightly when we are in the hole for billions upon billions for the foreseeable future.
Everyone keeps ignoring the elephant in the room, making up excuses, "don't be so mean" and "must be nice to have never been laid off" etc etc. We are adults, there is no more money, we are billions upon billions in the hole, and the inefficient/bloated/beauracratic system is completely unsustainable.
The only answer is to cut the payroll, as it is the city's largest expense by far. Anyone that claims we should "be nice to the poor city workers, we can't have layoffs, that's just unfair and mean" does not have the city's best interest in mind, and is simply trying to avoid the problem, not solve it.
The Mayor, like a good parent, oftentimes has to make the tough decisions for their family in order to get through the hard times, not pretend they have the rent and pay the landlord in toilet paper, or ignore Coned until the electric is shut off. Unless the city is seriously entertaining a substantial cut in the workforce, which is the city's largest expense, there is no point in asking for ideas to save money.
Last edited by bmwguydc; 11-05-2010 at 04:28 PM..
Reason: Inappropriate language
There's already a freeze on Section 8 which is really a great thing but Bloomberg should also cut the hand-outs people on welfare and other rent subsidize people get.
Section 8 has been frozen but so shoud the Work Advantage Program as well as the HASA Program and any other rent program. Millions of tax payer dollars can be saved and put to better use like schools if they cut or freeze those programs. Voucher amounts should NOT be as high or as inflated as they currently are despite what the rental market is in NY. Tough times require tough choices so something like this is required even if it's not the "popular" thing to do.
And by cut I mean the City needs to adjust and lower the amount portion the City pays to the landlords. So if normally the City pays 70% of a program tenant's rent, the City should only pay 40%-50% of a program tenant's rent and have the tenant cough up more out of their pockets and yes, program people can absorb the hike even during these times despite what anyone may say.
A whim? I believe we had a near collapse of our economy, several investment banking firms have gone under/sold off, our entire auto industry nearly disappeared, small businesses across the board have shuttered, and millions in the private sector are out of work. Our local city government is in just as much financial trouble, with billions in the hole...and you think this is a whim? Or something anyone enjoys doing? Huh?
Life isn't fair, trust me I know. But sh** happens, and the idea that you should keep people on the payrolls so as not to upset them, or stress them, because they are demoralized is absurd to put it lightly when we are in the hole for billions upon billions for the foreseeable future.
Everyone keeps ignoring the elephant in the room, making up excuses, "don't be so mean" and "must be nice to have never been laid off" etc etc. We are adults, there is no more money, we are billions upon billions in the hole, and the inefficient/bloated/beauracratic system is completely unsustainable.
The only answer is to cut the payroll, as it is the city's largest expense by far. Anyone that claims we should "be nice to the poor city workers, we can't have layoffs, that's just unfair and mean" does not have the city's best interest in mind, and is simply trying to avoid the problem, not solve it.
The Mayor, like a good parent, oftentimes has to make the tough decisions for their family in order to get through the hard times, not pretend they have the rent and pay the landlord in toilet paper, or ignore Coned until the electric is shut off. Unless the city is seriously entertaining a substantial cut in the workforce, which is the city's largest expense, there is no point in asking for ideas to save money.
Ideas? Specific jobs/areas that should be cut that the city can do without? Serious question--not sure what you have in mind/where significant cuts can be made that won't have a negative long-term impact. Cops? Fire Dept? Sanitation? There has to be some kind of logic to it beyond "let's just fire a bunch of people, that'll solve everything."
And you can't just dismiss people making a living as "be and adult and suck it up". That means more homeless, fewer taxes being paid in, less money being spent in the city which has an impact on sales tax, strain on food stamps and other services for the unemployed, etc.
I understand the ramifications, but let's take it to it's most basic level: If you had a job earning $250,000, and now you have a job earning $75,000, would your lifestyle change? That is, would you still be spending as if you were earning $250,000? Maybe for a little while but then reality kicks in and you realize you cannot afford it..so what do you do? You make cuts...no more landscaper, no more chef prepared meals, sell your car, rent a cheaper apts, etc.
But for some reason, government is exempt? Why? Because we can just raise taxes infinitely? Huh? I understand these are bad choices, but when you have NO MONEY, there are no alternatives. I don't have the knowledge to tell you where the cuts should be made, but as Mayor a responsible leader would make the cuts. Period. And actually, you CAN just dismiss people making a living..it happens all the time, every day.
People in the private sector have been laid off, and it hasn't been pretty, but why should city workers be exempt? I just don't get it. We don't have to eliminate fire/sanitation/police, to use your examples. But we have to suck it up and get garbage pick-up 2x a week instead of 3, for example. As a city it will force us to create less waste, which in the end is a good thing!
I am not saying the ONLY solution is to cut the city workforce, but any solution that does not incorporate substantial cuts in the payrolls is just a waste of time. You can make every "feel good" reason not to do it, "it's unfair", "You can't just dismiss people" etc..but at the end of the day, your Landlord will evict you for not paying rent and he isn't "mean spirited" or obligated to keep you because you should not feel stressed. The city is no different, and if it cannot pay its bills, and it can't, people need to be let go and life goes on. The end.
First, I'd like to know how much money he's squandered with narrowing the streets and setting up those silly rickety chairs in the middle of the streets.
....... But we have to suck it up and get garbage pick-up 2x a week instead of 3, for example. As a city it will force us to create less waste, which in the end is a good thing! ......
Who has garbage pickup 3x a week? We only have 2x a week pickup now, in Queens.
I am in the Bronx (Mott Haven) and I have garbage pickup Tuesday/Thur/Sat, recyclables are on Tuesday, and bulk pickup is Sat.
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