Sign of the Times
- New York City's firefighting staff would fall to the lowest number since 1980 while its police force would be cut back to its 1992 roster under Mayor Michael Bloomberg's austere budget plan, a report said Friday.
Bloomberg, who has ordered 10 rounds of budget cuts since 2007, pins the city's fiscal health and its future on ensuring its residents' safety and improving public school education.
Budget cuts risk imperiling these priorities, reducing the number of firefighting staff to 10,282, and the number of uniformed police officers to 34,413. Bloomberg's $65 billion budget plan also includes just under 5,000 teacher layoffs.
Ensuring safety? Improving schools? By cutting everything evidently. Everything except entitlement handouts, but that's a nationwide problem coming to a head rapidly.
Labels: we got nothing
posted by SCC at 12:03 AM
38 Comments:
i hate to say it as a copper and member of a union.... but this is what you get when all your workers are unionized. 70 something thousand city workers who are unionized making 50 thousand + dollars a year with unions screaming for 20%+ raises every four years... nobody can afford that. Unions are going to destroy the economy in this country... its already happened with the auto industry. too many unions not willing to take cuts so the big jobs leave and go elsewhere where it can be afforded... so what do you get, flint. if unions are not gone then our whole country will be flint. Do away with unions and we will save our country.
All I know is that these minute deductions destroy the quality of life. To anybody bigshot enough reading this blog whether you are democrat or republican I have something to say to you......
We are not going to be a reserve currency any more.
UCPD 'Do-Nothing' said...
"Only in the CPD, "rise to your level of incompetence" is the motto.'
Well, thanks a hell of a lot, CPD. We've sort of 'adopted' your motto here at the UCPD, with the addition of Doty and Owens here. Two idiot peas in a pod if there ever was one. Thanks a hell of a lot!
3/18/2011 10:08:00 PM
You can thank Shields (michelle obama's cousin)
It's amazing that when times are fiscally tight, the first place everyone looks is toward the workers and not towards the people who receive for not working.
12:22.....Lay off the Glenn Beck show for a bit. Unions are necessary. A weakened labor movement allowed Democrats and Republicans to pass NAFTA in 1993. This nation has been in a slide ever since. Now they want you to work for the same wages as a cop in Calcutta. Wake up.
Before the union we were at the mercy of drunken Irish Captains changing your DOG whenever your weekends approached, dumping you from watches, constantly denying TD on a whim. What would happen today? You'd be flogged by a mad black woman with an extension cord at roll call.....and this state's kangaroo courts will back her, not you. Again, wake up!
Bloomberg is an asshole who actively studied the Daley model of government.
It's all about Mike and his money, period. He has been actively fellating Muslims for personal financial gain. His disrespect of Americans in general and 9/11 families in particular is fueled by far more then the need to hobble together a 51% coalition of shit to win urban elections.
Bloomberg Financial is making a big pitch to get into the global "Sharia Finance" business. Look it up.
The problem is that the private sector has recessions every few years and we never do. Our benefits are great because we used to make shit. Our pay now rivals the private sector and something is going to give and I believe it's going to be us. Promises were made to us and we expect the promises to be kept, the new hires are going to get a trimming.
The best thing for all concerned is to get a fiscally conservative president in the White House. We need a balanced budget fast and we also need to encourage personal savings. Too many people drink the water but don't help carry it and those of us that work don't put enough away for what our grandparents called a "rainy day". Balancing the budget and restraining the growth of entitlements will cause the economy to boom.
Now to those of you that holler that we had a balanced budget under Clinton, yes we did and the reason we had a balanced budget is because Newt Gingrich dragged Clinton, kicking and screaming to make changes in spending.
Remember when Mr. Obama said we have was it 58 states? How about the Austrian language he referred to? How about the Navy Corpse-Man? Rarely hear of the Messiahs mis-steps but Michelle Bachman confues Concorde New Hampshire and Concorde Massachusets and you never hear the end of it. Dan Quail mispells potato and they laugh him into obscurity. Mr. Obama takes a vacation every few weeks it seems, not a peep. Ronald Reagan takes a nap and that's all you hear about. Remember when the presidency was too big for one man? The presidency was just to big for Jimmy Carter's stupid ass. Reagan was, if you listen to the mainstream media, asleep with alzheimers for 8 years and no one said the job was too big for him. Don't you just love the liberal media?
so are they talking layoffs or a hiring freeze?
OT-anyone hear that the State of Illinois is going to provide free auto liability insurance for the indigent?
There's just not the number of fires like back in the 70's or 80's. Thus we really don't need that many firemen.
To 3/19 @ 1220.. I too am a union police officer and I dont know what your smoking but the unions are NOT the cause of the financial crisis.. Last I looked I had almost 9% of my monthly check paid into my pension...almost $9,000 a year... I also pay taxes... So how might I be the problem? My monthly deductions are almost $3400 in pension, healthcare and taxes.. The problem is the thievery by our elected officials.. The millions stolen by mayor mumbles given to his cronies for shoddy work.. Hired truck scandal=$60+ MILLION..and he knows nothing about it?? $300+ MILLION for a park?? Who made that budget? But officer... If you are one... You suggest that unions are the problem and must be abolished for the country to survive? The politicians need to be abolished to control our money.. New batch of kool aid..drink up kid. Sgt. Gogo
One more thing I cannot figure out is where does all of the money go that is generated from the lottery... Why is the Chicago public school system $300 million in the hole annually? Probably because of the unions... Now I understand.. Its called misappropriation of funds... We are short over 2000 police officers and we are/were budgeted for a certain number.. We are not hiring,promoting at the rates we once were.. The command staff is taking furlough days... Where is that money? I thought all of these concessions were being done to save jobs and money? 2000 officers at $40,000 ea is many millions saved... Furlough days save how many thousands... Yet we need to give more... While the city continues to spend,spend,spend.. We gave plenty. But again its those damn unions! I dont buy it. Sgt Gogo
once upon a time someone said that if you want quality you have to pay for it--- no union means you have no rights--- if we didn't go to the table and ask for a raise every four years we would be losing--- the raise from the current arbitrator's decision is gone, burned up by increases in state and property taxes-- now gas is nearing 4 dollars a gallon which means that everything else is going to go up--- most officers are probably worse off now than they were four years ago if you adjust for inflation--- just imagine how bad it would be if we had no union or collective bargaining agreement....
Anonymous said...
i hate to say it as a copper and member of a union.... but this is what you get when all your workers are unionized. 70 something thousand city workers who are unionized making 50 thousand + dollars a year with unions screaming for 20%+ raises every four years... nobody can afford that. Unions are going to destroy the economy in this country... its already happened with the auto industry. too many unions not willing to take cuts so the big jobs leave and go elsewhere where it can be afforded... so what do you get, flint. if unions are not gone then our whole country will be flint. Do away with unions and we will save our country.
3/19/2011 12:22:00 AM
I hate to say it, Your a moron. Why do you think unions came into existence? Who sets the standards of affording a union worker? The rich bean counters that want to increase their bottom line for wall street. Have you taken a closer look lately at the standard of living in this country, which includes nonunion people? It has declined, except for the rich. The rich have been cosistently moving further ahead of everyone else in their wealth. With all the give backs and increases in taxes, charges and fees to pay for the free hanouts, the alleged middle class is closer to poverty than to the "upper class". Keep believing what they want you to believe while they have you, "Do more with less" all the while they are taking more and more from you. Including your common sense.....
You guys think Rahm and Daley were assholes? This Bloomberg is a real MFer, the NYPD guys hate him more than they hated Guiliani.
SCC is right, start cutting money to those who don't contribute, but just take, take and take some more from society.
Never dare say cut entitlements because we have become a nation depended upon there voting block.
cpd could cut another 1,000 officers from budget
projects are gone
west side and southside vacant lots and abandoned buildings
detectives are no longer rounding up suspects after burge was thrown under the bus , strictly dicks are a paper tiger killing crime
now time to reduce cpd management
commander 155,000 a year in mlas
that's a waste on money , could hire 3 recruits with that money
Someone needs to educate 12:22am as to what life was like on the P.D. before unions. Unions aren't just about the 1-4% raises we get.
The key to this is education. Educate the average taxpayer on prorams such as sec.8, ssi, wic, link, heating assistance, free cell phones, ...etc.
And then explain the fraud and abuse.
to poster #1...first of all, the USA is about 12% union and while they are not all good they do give us some protection...Greedy Big Business and a goverment that spends too much is the problem...we are the first generation in America who will not do as good as our parents did!
Firefighter is an extinct profession.
Our cities are no longer built entirely of wood. High rises have sprinklers. Clothing, carpeting, furnishings are all made of fire resistant material. We no longer burn oil or coal for heat in our homes.
The only place fires will occur with any regularity is in the ghetto where irresponsible fools live in hundred year old homes.
Now police? We will live on forever.
“Do away with unions and we will save our country.”
3/19/2011 12:22:00 AM
Working people, in unions, demanding a fair wage are destroying our country???
It is it NON-WORKING people getting everything free that is destroying the USA.
Nobody has to work; the government will take care of you.
Free housing, free food, free education, free medical care, free social security, free cell phone, everything is free, free, free in the USA.
I worked this job before the union and a contract. You wouldn’t like it, believe me.
FOP isn’t much, but it’s better than nothing.
We are following the same exact footpath from The Great Depression. Don't believe me? Just read through a history of the The Great Depression. Here it goes: 1. The American consumer and American businesses lived way beyond their means. Piling up debt at record clips. In the 1920's the total debt to gdp ratio was 170%. Today it's close to 370%. Does it all sound familiar? 2. As a result of too much debt, eventually people and businesses couldn't keep up with debt payments and thus banks were bankrupt. Sounds familiar? 3. Banks went under and the government stepped in to bail them out (at a huge cost to the taxpayer that is. There is nothing for free.). 4. The government didn't allow the free market to work and thus painted themselves into a corner. 5. In the end, the free market won and the government itself couldn't bail out the entire economy and the economy tanked.
Please note- during the 1929 stock market and subsequent economic collapse, the federal government intervened into the private marketplace to "save us". However, despite all of that intervention and money, the economy was worse off three to four years later. The same will be true now.
We have about 5000 years of historical data that shows we have had booms and busts that follow. And no one has figured out a way to stop the busts that follow a boom.
Any fool that thinks this can't happen in Chicago is being just that- foolish. Especially if you have less than five years on the job. Those with less than five years on the job are at most risk. Those who are dogs are at most risk.
I tell people to save for a rainy day. Well a hurricane is coming our way!
"Bloomberg, who has ordered 10 rounds of budget cuts since 2007, pins the city's fiscal health and its future on ensuring its residents' safety and improving public school education."
Ah. Isn't that called "being two-faced?"
No matter. As he said during the winter snows, New Yorkers trapped by inadequate snow removal and piles of garbage on impassable streets could "take in a Broadway show."
*
Please tell me that the guy who left the first comment is joking! WTF do you know about Flint or what is destroying this country. I know for sure that the middle class is not destroying this country! Typical probably voted democrat.....
i hate to say it as a copper and member of a union.... but this is what you get when all your workers are unionized. 70 something thousand city workers who are unionized making 50 thousand + dollars a year with unions screaming for 20%+ raises every four years... nobody can afford that. Unions are going to destroy the economy in this country... its already happened with the auto industry. too many unions not willing to take cuts so the big jobs leave and go elsewhere where it can be afforded... so what do you get, flint. if unions are not gone then our whole country will be flint. Do away with unions and we will save our country.
3/19/2011 12:22:00 AM
You're way off on this one. But going through a whole diatribe to try and help you understand how wrong you are seems futile.
Unions have nothing to do with the destruction of our country. Nor do they have anything to do with destroying the AMERICAN Auto Industry.
If you want to place blame somewhere: place blame on the Banks, Our Government out sourcing jobs, the continued growth of technology replacing jobs and illegal immigration.
First the FOP is not a Union. The police can not and for that last 20 years, hava not, gone out on strike. A fraternal orginization has fought for many "rights" and has earned those rights. For instance the right for 80 percent of the officers on a watch to be there by bid. That means by senority. In addition officers have earned the right to earn overtime when they have to work every holiday. There are other rights that have been earned that should not be diminished.
If a City is poorly managed, and they squander their money on useless shit, ( we could name hundreds ) then the City managers must answer when they have to lay off or not fill vacant positions for law enforcement or fire.
Dont give me that shit that a cop doesent deserve 50 grand a year. Fuck you.
Firefighter is an extinct profession.
Our cities are no longer built entirely of wood. High rises have sprinklers. Clothing, carpeting, furnishings are all made of fire resistant material. We no longer burn oil or coal for heat in our homes.
The only place fires will occur with any regularity is in the ghetto where irresponsible fools live in hundred year old homes.
Now police? We will live on forever.
3/19/2011 11:27:00 AM
-
You're clinically insane. Go sign yourself in.
Off Topic:
http://www.suntimes.com/4387407-505/company-pleads-guilty-to-rigging-city-physical-exams.html
The first question should have been, who is this doctor related to?
---not a cop
It's amazing that when times are fiscally tight, the first place everyone looks is toward the workers and not towards the people who receive for not working.
3/19/2011 06:25:00 AM
-
True. Take back from the productive, give more and more to those who refuse to help themselves.
The only people that should be unionized are police officers and fireman. No reason anyone else should be. Unions were needed before thousands of pages of laws were enacted to protect workers. Enough regulations out there for workers. Unions have become a cash cow for the socialist democratic party. Thats the only reason democrats fight so hard for them. Go look at the figures and see how much unions gave to that disaster Obama. Unions should not be able to influence an election. Just one guys opinion.
rosco said...
There's just not the number of fires like back in the 70's or 80's. Thus we really don't need that many firemen.
3/19/2011 08:47:00 AM
i really don't need your help.
Chalkie
3/19/2011 10:41:00 AM
not that i'm the first person to say this to you, but, you, sir, are a wasted nut.
"Firefighter is an extinct profession.
"Our cities are no longer built entirely of wood. High rises have sprinklers. Clothing, carpeting, furnishings are all made of fire resistant material. We no longer burn oil or coal for heat in our homes.
"The only place fires will occur with any regularity is in the ghetto where irresponsible fools live in hundred year old homes."
--3/19/2011 11:27:00 AM
Nope. Here's the quickest refutation I can make -- the first link I could find to a current firefighting textbook. No commercial interest of mine, just grabbed it.
http://www.emergencystuff.com/0135022347.html
Modern materials? Holy God. Why do you think the guys wear air packs. Burning synthetics, plastics = cyanide, etc., horrible toxic smoke. Kills people.
"Now police? We will live on forever."
Agreed. Unless the firemen beat you up. (grin)
God bless and stay safe.
"Bloomberg is an asshole who actively studied the Daley model of government.
"It's all about Mike and his money, period. He has been actively fellating Muslims for personal financial gain. His disrespect of Americans in general and 9/11 families in particular is fueled by far more then the need to hobble together a 51% coalition of shit to win urban elections.
"Bloomberg Financial is making a big pitch to get into the global "Sharia Finance" business. Look it up."
--3/19/2011 07:06:00 AM
I will. Boy, that's a hot one. Bloomberg coming along and computer-institutionalizing a hostile culture's ancient and traditional banking system, trying to bring it all under the same safe Goldman Sachs/JP Morgan umbrella...
Talk about the ability to play both sides against the middle.
It's war.
We are now at outpost Bloomberg West.
To 09:01 There are only two reasons our pension is in trouble The first and main reason is that the city for the last 21 years has not contributed their share, plain and simple, they did not put in the money that they were mandated to do.
The second reason is that the pension fund took a big hit when the stock market crashed in 2008. That said in 2009 the fund made up about half of the losses. In 2010 my guess would be that because of how well the stock market did we made up the rest of the losses. Unfortunately the profits from 2010were not counted in the funding because they used data from 2008 and 2009, just like our pension funds 2010 annual report wont be out until at least July or later in 2011, so our funding problem is not good but alot better than being reported The politicians are using those figures to scare everyone and get the po's to accept increrased contributions and lowered benefits Dont let them do that What Rahm says contribute more and accept lower benefits and we say "Thanks" its better than nothing wake up
Saying we don't need as many firemen is like saying we don't need an army unless there is a war. Do you think FDNY was overstaffed on 9/11? Think it can't happen again or happen here? Wake the fuck up. Unions are not the downfall of this country, the welfare state and the fact that we hardly make anything here anymore. Blame the pols and the selfish American, not those who want to work for a decent age.
The problem I have with unions is that they consistently back democrats. Just like Jesse Jackson, Michael Moore, Barbara Streisand, etc. The union people were standing there screaming at the Wisconsin State Capital with the same wild anarchists that have caused problems in Chicago. The unions spend millions of dollars of their members' money to elect liberal democrats. I can't back that. I have a problem with who their friends are.
Post a Comment
<< Home