Defenders of public employee pension systems often make the case that pension benefits are not all that generous. The outrageous cases you see on the news — Long Island police retiring in their 40s with pensions in excess of base pay, administrators “retiring” with six-figure pensions and then going back to work with another government agency, one ex-FDNY firefighter running marathons on his $86,000 “disability” pension — are the exceptions, they say. Read More
The looming state budget gap, which could easily exceed $10 billion, is the most obvious and immediate challenge facing Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Read More
In his compelling inaugural speech on New Year’s Day, Gov. Cuomo embraced “a very specific mandate for change that the people want.” Read More
Andrew Cuomo’s unorthodox State of the State presentation this week highlighted a disparity between his muscular rhetoric and his (so far) cautious approach to governing. Read More
Pension reform is now New York City's "No. 1 priority in Albany," Mayor Bloomberg announced in his State of the City message this week. Read More
As states struggle with enormous deficits and exploding pension costs, some analysts are urging Congress to enact a law enabling states to declare bankruptcy the way municipalities can under Chapter 9 of the federal bankruptcy code. Read More
On the eve of what could be the biggest state budget showdown ever in New York, Gov. Cuomo has taken a big step toward delivering on the single most important promise he made to taxpayers in his successful 2010 campaign. Read More
Reducing pension benefits for New York’s next generation of municipal workers, as Mayor Bloomberg proposed last week, would gradually move pension costs to a lower plateau in the coming decades. And despite the union caterwauling that greeted Mr. Bloomberg’s plan, city employees would continue to receive pensions far more generous than those available to private-sector workers. Read More