Friday, May 22, 2009

Retirement benefits draining city coffers

From the NY Post:

The city faces potentially catastrophic costs of up to $43 billion from recent pension investment losses, which threaten to drain the municipal budget and put taxpayers on the hook for years.

Recent market losses have left massive gaps for city taxpayers to plug -- $15 billion from Fiscal Year 2008, and an estimated $28 billion from 2009 if the pension funds dip 20 percent as feared, officials told The Post.

The city says it will have to fork over $7.9 billion in extra pension contributions through 2016 -- but payments would go on another nine years to pay off the staggering debt.

This year the city is paying $6.4 billion in pension contributions, plus $1.7 billion for retiree health benefits. Those costs are expected to rise to $12.3 billion in 2016.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Unions are killing this city.

Anonymous said...

It's the unions job to fight to get as much as they can for its paying members, its the city negotiators that agree to these benefits.

Anonymous said...

It is not just unions.Believe me, all these pols are in it with BIG benefits. Is this info public? How much does Koch receive each month? Giliani? former Borough Prezes?Let's get a FOIAs request and see how much some of these pols take in from us.Scandalous. (But yeah, there is abuse by some union members.)(And yes, the city negotiated money or benefits and back in the '80s they gave away big in terms of pension.)

Anonymous said...

So instead of blaming unions that refuse to accept reasonable offers regarding healthcare premiums and retirement benefits, and instead demand more and more, you are blaming the city for caving to their demands?

linda said...

how about investing in secured accounts? since the hit with the stock market all we hear is bloomass complain about money. that bastard is listed the richest man in NYC on yahoo, fuck him. and union workers WORKED for their benefits. the city should cut salaries from all the dumb asses running this city....

ew-3 said...

Politicans won't mess with the unions as they need them to get elected. And the rewards they give the unions will destroy us.
The UAW has just been give GM and Chrysler. All for helping H get elected.
Fortunately this can't go on forever. As Maggie Thatcher said:
"The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money [to spend]."

Anonymous said...

Invest in secured accounts? What in the blue hell are you talking about?
Every worker works for his money, but city workers are getting disproportionate benefits for the value they provide, and it is killing this city.

Sarah said...

Why would anyone worry about any financial city problem? We have the smartest, most able Mayor on the planet. I am sure he has known about all these problems for years and is ready to solve them all. Thank God he is our hero!

Anonymous said...

Regular city employess make no money only the appointed employees with no civil service protection (like Como) make the real money

MOST employees make less than $40K with degrees. The aversage salary is higher because Bloomy appoints all of these croneys for $120K

The appeal to the city are the benefits to offset the shitty pay.

Anonymous said...

So instead of blaming unions that refuse to accept reasonable offers regarding healthcare premiums and retirement benefits, and instead demand more and more, you are blaming the city for caving to their demands?
----------------------------------
Who do you blame more, the child who says, "give me a bag of candy Mommy", or the mother who gives the whole bag to the child?

Anonymous said...

So union workers are little children? Thanks for a dumb analogy.

The average salary for uniformed union workers is more like $70,000 not $40,000.

Anonymous said...

why seperate them when bloomberg is speaking off ALL union workers

including non-uniformed douchebag