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alstry (35.45)

When Will The Bleeding Stop?

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August 20, 2009 – Comments (4)

When will the bleeding stop?

Bing wants the answer as it relates to the city's budget, but union leaders say they're feeling the pain, too.

"We know the unions have to give some concessions, but this is an administration and a mayor that wants to lay off 1,000 people and still expects the workers left to take a 10% pay cut," said Catherine Phillips, chief negotiator for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employee locals that represent city employees. "He can't just gut our contract, and he can't have everything."

Bing has challenged the 11,500 unionized employees to agree to a 10% pay cut by Aug. 28 to save the city between $8 million and $10 million. Contract negotiations hit another snag Tuesday, when the city and unions agreed to bring in a mediator for the next bargaining session -- making it nearly impossible for any agreements to be reached by Aug. 28.

Also, Bing told pension trustees of the general retirement system Wednesday, uniformed officers could be subject to the 10% pay cuts. "I've got to be as fair as I can, and nobody is protected," said Bing.

http://www.freep.com/article/20090820/NEWS01/908200460/1003/NEWS01/Wary-workers-fear-loss-of-jobs--services-will-hurt-city?GID=PYLKAgqAmHZKTx57gWJnX3U+4ZmZbJL6IBpE8aNYFiQ%3D

Starting September 1st....millions of state, county and local workers face massive wage cuts and job losses.......many are wary as their decreasing salaries are simply not enough to meet their monthly expenses....especially the interest they must pay bankers.  The bankers who just raised the interest on their credit cards and the same bankers they just help bail out.

Yup...those selfless bankers, some of whom got tens of millions in bonuses from taxpayers....EACH....while 11,000 workers must take paycuts becuse the city of Detroit borrowed too much from those bankers (money those bankers never had in the first place) and lost millions because of investments those bankers put the city into....sometimes the bankers profiting on the other side of the trade?

Yes my friends...America is bleeding.......and the bankers are standing above you laughing while holding the knife.....maybe you are the next one to be cut because your employer can't afford to pay interest and your salary at the same time?  Maybe not...maybe its your customers that can't pay you because they borrowed too much or their customers can't pay them.....

The Zombulator never stops....until there is no blood left.

4 Comments – Post Your Own

#1) On August 20, 2009 at 11:17 PM, alstry (35.45) wrote:

The Zombulator is everywhere....big and small towns

Homestead City Manager Mike Shehadeh made his first suggestions for budget cuts Monday as leaders met to discuss how to pay for services and personnel after nearly a quarter of the city's tax base vanished this year.

On the chopping block for the new budget year: 26 more staff jobs, including four vacancies. Eight jobs have already been cut.

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/miami-dade/communities/story/1192284.html

You think there are replacement jobs for all these people in the state with the highest foreclosure rate in the nation?

Looks like we may have a few more foreclosures....

We better restructure soon.....or the Zombulator will get us all.

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#2) On August 20, 2009 at 11:29 PM, alstry (35.45) wrote:

Coast to Coast...The Zombulator is out in full force...

Contract talks with public safety employees have grown acrimonious, with Villaraigosa denouncing a publicity campaign by the firefighters' union against more cuts. A proposal to give early retirement to 2,400 civilian workers -- slashing $200 million each year from the payroll -- has run into problems over how the city would pay for it.

And city financial advisors privately have begun warning that even if the council signs off on early retirement and wins new agreements with public safety employees, the city will still fall short by an estimated $40 million.

In the meantime, the Planning Department has been hit by furloughs. The Fire Department has begun shutting down rescue units and ambulances on a rotating basis. And Police Department commanders have begun developing a contingency plan to furlough officers at least two days a month starting in October.

If negotiations with police and fire unions reach an impasse, the city has the authority to unilaterally slash paychecks for officers and firefighters -- as well as the number of hours they are on duty.

"We are moving toward impasse and that's a shame because . . . there is a way out," Villaraigosa said last week. "I certainly understand that it's tough to make those sacrifices. But what's the alternative, to go into bankruptcy? No, we can't do that."

Villaraigosa and council leaders have asked police to accept a 14% cut in overall compensation -- salaries, bonuses, overtime and benefits.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-la-budget17-2009aug17,0,6713393.story

If practically everyone's wages are being cut in upcoming weeks...how can the recession be over?

Can you imagine how much lower tax receipts are going to be next year...if we ever make it.........unless we restructure.

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#3) On August 21, 2009 at 4:44 PM, dudemonkey (58.44) wrote:

Maybe there's something to Alstry's predictions:

 

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/20090821_Nutter_lays_out_dire_future_unless_state_helps.html

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#4) On August 22, 2009 at 9:14 PM, Lordrobot (89.78) wrote:

The Recession is not over, the injection of liquidity is a drug. It is intended as are the massive increases in welfare and unemployment benefits, intended to make the pain go away. But the injury still exists and the drugs will eventually wear off and nothing will have been resolved, except a huge growth of the Federal Government overhead and 9 trillion in debt.

As for feeling sorry for public employees I have no sympathy. Originally public sector jobs were significantly lower in pay than the private sector. The jobs were a trade off since they lasted a lifetime and came with solid benefits.

More recently, the pay scale of the private sector has vastly outstripped the private sector. And it is not just here but across the board of the public sector as well as the "Tax exempt businesses". CEOs of small hosptials are paid in excess of 400K a year. Look at Michelle Obama, 300K a year as a race relations administrator.

Today a school superintendant is paid on average 180K a year. Middle administrators are paid 90K and 80K without blinking.

But the party's over. The inflation and real estate bubble had created a tax revenue bubble that was exploited by local governments and they spent everydime and created new debts with building projects. They spend the money like water. And now the party is over and cut back and or unemployment or early retirement is at hand.

Union consession is laughable. There is not one study that shows a union teacher is superior to a non-union teacher but this blight plagues school boards across the country because their 'concessions' never touch near the revenue reductions. So no matter how you deal with them, they always want more.

These are the seeds of the destruction of any society when the public sector refuses to limit its appitites to the capacity of the private sector to fund a reasonalbe sized government. The government then borrows and destroyes the dollar and the golden goose. These institutions of government and their unions must collapse or the economy will collapse and capitalism will deal with it appropriately.

Once the drug wears off and there are no more drugs, then and only the will the markets be able to rescale government from its years of grotesque sloth.

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