The Citizens Budget Commission, in , observes that a one-year wage freeze for all 308,000 city employees would save taxpayers a whopping $1.2 billion annually -- not just once, but forever (assuming the city wouldn't make up for it with bigger raise Read More
If the Republican leaders of the newly reconstituted state Senate majority really intend to press for property tax relief before the end of session, they should start by reviving the school property tax cap. But they should ignore the latest version of the tax cap sent up to the Legislature by Governor David Paterson. The governor's new program bill includes a gigantic carve-out for teacher retirement costs, which over the next few years will be skyrocketing. Read More
A major transit union may shut down London's Tube for two days starting tonight, "making life wretched for most of the working population," in the words of the Evening Standard. The strike, if it happens, is partly the legacy of the national governme Read More
Governor Paterson today announced he's calling "Bold Steps to the New Economy." What's bold about the plan is not immediately apparent; what's new apparently boils down to $100 million in state grants to be doled out "over several years" to attrac Read More
Has the Paterson Administration just deprived itself of crucial leverage over the largest state employee unions during two challenging fiscal years ahead? It sure sounds that way, if the unions themselves are to be believed. Read More
Governor Paterson is reportedly close to striking a deal with state employee labor unions under which the governor will drop his plan to layoff off over 7,000 state workers in exchange for the unions' acquiescence to (a) Read More
Today's Times features about the new charter school in Washington Heights, which will pay teachers $125,000 when it opens next fall. But six-figure teachers are not unprecedented in the Big Apple--or elsewhere in New York. New York City Read More
Last year, after Lehman Brothers collapsed, Mayor Bloomberg signed 4 percent annual raises for two years for the city's biggest civilian union, DC-37, even as it was obvious that such raises were unaffordable. The mayor is planning to repeat this fea Read More
City comptroller Bill Thompson -- who's also running for mayor -- released that termed the city's fiscal outlook "extremely sobering." The most sobering aspect is the extent to which New York has allowed its dependence on Wall Street to transform i Read More
Deposed Metropolitan Transportation Authority chief Elliot Sander has an in today's Times in which he notes that "with the Legislature's political support for labor negotiations, the agency would be better positioned to conduct serious an Read More
, in addition to an average 10 percent reduction already experienced by employees under an unpaid furlough program. Meanwhile, in New York, most state workers just received a 3 percent wage increase, and . At least 42 state lawmakers, in Read More
Governor Paterson he will veto "any legislation this year that calls for more spending." Well, that's a relief. But what does he mean by "spending"? Tough spending restraint?[/capti Read More