Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Good point (in your bold print). If all the teachers in my district magically took a 10K cut in pay next year (after two consecutive real freeze years and 30% of medical FYI) we would save 4M in an 80M budget. How much would my property taxes go down (assuming other district expenses and the local gov't portion of my taxes increase at the normal rate)? And what about the next year if we gave those same teachers a COLA raise (after 2 years of freezes and one year of a 10K cut)? My point is that even a magical 10K cut in teacher pay will not give the property tax savings some folks dream it will be! And magical 10K cuts just ain't happening in any case.
True, but to answer your own question, that "magical cut" translates to a potential 5% savings. That's not chicken feed. Of course you're right it's magical or in fact a pipe dream but the "attitude" could produce benefits for the taxpayer. Teachers in my district have NOT taken any freezes and are still getting 7% raises (3.5 step, 3.5 union). No additional buy in to medical. So, reform pension, reduce pay 1% (or not), increase medical contribution and at least you have a semblance of TRYING for fiscal sanity. Just saying "cut a magical $10k" (and I'm not blaming you) is the kind of hyperbole the union lawyers AND the districts rely on to avoid making any reforms. How about "cut 1% per year for 3 years, pay 20% into medical (Empire Plan is the best out there and still a bargain and a half at 20%) and pay into the pension system for 25 years." I also propose "all savings will be split 50/50 between the taxpayers and student programs!"
Point me to the negotiating table, I'm ready to crash the party!!!
So true and we our property tax rate is $8.70 per 1k assessed (thats everything)....
But dude NY is known for high taxes in general. Take away the school tax the property taxes are still not as low as most states. Reason why NY is losing business is because of our outrageous taxes.
I don't often like to quote Bill Maher, but he said something interesting on this topic. He said we used to look at union workers and say "I want what they have." Now we look at them and say "I don't have that, they shouldn't either". What changed?
This was precisely what I was trying to get at with my post earlier in the thread.
You lost all your credibility there making stupid assumptions. No I'm not retired. I used to work for NY as an epidemiologist but I sick of cold, gray weather and moved to San Diego where I landed a higher paying private sector job for a pharmacological research company. So now you can say I'm the reason why health insurance is so high. Yes, I am a hypocrite but I am still disgusted how much our CEOs are making.
Wow, just wow. That has got to be the most bizarre statement I ever heard from a NYer. Everyone knows NYS has some of the highest property taxes in the country. NY is constantly ranked one of the worst states for business partially because of property taxes. So much business has been lost or outsourced to southern states because NY has such high property taxes. Most of California has lower property taxes than NY.
You're clearly not a current resident. My property tax burden is under $4k. School tax is $8+k for a whooping $12+k. The $4k does not seem all that egregious being in a top metro area and is in fact on par with other desireable metro cities. The $8k translates to over $20k per student spending and little of that is going to students or programs anymore. It is ALL for contractual raises and pension obligations. Even in austerity budgets, these costs drive the budget up. The system is broken. The prop. tax system is an election red herring around here. Not one is freaking out over the $3500. It's the $8k to the schools that is keeping and driving businesses and homeowners out.
True, but to answer your own question, that "magical cut" translates to a potential 5% savings. That's not chicken feed. Of course you're right it's magical or in fact a pipe dream but the "attitude" could produce benefits for the taxpayer. Teachers in my district have NOT taken any freezes and are still getting 7% raises (3.5 step, 3.5 union). No additional buy in to medical. So, reform pension, reduce pay 1% (or not), increase medical contribution and at least you have a semblance of TRYING for fiscal sanity. Just saying "cut a magical $10k" (and I'm not blaming you) is the kind of hyperbole the union lawyers AND the districts rely on to avoid making any reforms. How about "cut 1% per year for 3 years, pay 20% into medical (Empire Plan is the best out there and still a bargain and a half at 20%) and pay into the pension system for 25 years." I also propose "all savings will be split 50/50 between the taxpayers and student programs!"
Point me to the negotiating table, I'm ready to crash the party!!!
You should run for a seat on your local school board. Seriously!
You're clearly not a current resident. My property tax burden is under $4k. School tax is $8+k for a whooping $12+k. The $4k does not seem all that egregious being in a top metro area and is in fact on par with other desireable metro cities. The $8k translates to over $20k per student spending and little of that is going to students or programs anymore. It is ALL for contractual raises and pension obligations. Even in austerity budgets, these costs drive the budget up. The system is broken. The prop. tax system is an election red herring around here. Not one is freaking out over the $3500. It's the $8k to the schools that is keeping and driving businesses and homeowners out.
I don't often like to quote Bill Maher, but he said something interesting on this topic. He said we used to look at union workers and say "I want what they have." Now we look at them and say "I don't have that, they shouldn't either". What changed?
I never wanted to be in a union. If I were a mediocre worker or had a poor education, yes, I would jump at the chance because I would need one.
I make a distinction between 2 types of unions: private industry and public sector.
I don't care what goes on in private industry. That is between the private employer and the union. Bottom line is, company has to make money for the union to get their perks. It's based in REALITY.
Public sector unions should be illegal. There is no accountability. There is no basis in REALITY for what they do. Then the bill, no matter how high or unrealistic, is forced upon the captive taxpaying public.
I don't often like to quote Bill Maher, but he said something interesting on this topic. He said we used to look at union workers and say "I want what they have." Now we look at them and say "I don't have that, they shouldn't either". What changed?
I love Bill Maher but applied here this is the same old insipid redirection. Show me another place or two ON PLANET EARTH where kindergarden teachers make $125k for 10mos work, career tenure and stellar benefits for life. Let's deal with reality, not silly homilies. I wouldn't care that they get diamond rolex's and chauffeured limos except I'm paying for it!
I don't know if this has been covered on this thread yet because I haven't read all 30 pages of it, but...
My husband's company is having a layoff at the end of this month, October 2012. Twenty percent will be leaving - that's roughly between 40 and 50 employees let go. Luckily for us my husband has found a parachute with another company if he's laid off, but the same job as he's doing now will be accompanied by a 33% pay cut.
A husband of a friend of mine who's been laid off since June of 2008 has turned up two short-term jobs both at a 50% pay cut from the job he lost, which he held for about 23 years.
Point is, the salaries for private sector jobs have decreased dramatically. Our taxes, real estate and otherwise, keep increasing. No teacher or cop or administrator that I know of would ever dream of taking anywhere from a 33 to 50 percent pay cut.
So, with salaries falling so sharply, where do the teacher unions think their over-bloated paycheck and over-bloated pension money is going to come from? Do the rest of us lose our houses, go hungry, live with no utilities, and walk to work just so we can hand over whatever money we have through the real estate tax portion to the union?
And please keep in mind these teachers all work a part time job. 20 hours a week for 37 weeks a year they spend in the classroom teaching (good, bad, or otherwise), plus one hour for lunch, plus one hour for "planning" where they change the dates on their old lesson plans. Nowhere near a full-time job.
The day is coming when some teacher drives up to my house and demands that we write them a personal check for $10,000. Might as well be now, because that's what we're paying in real estate taxes for the teachers' salaries and pensions.
I love Bill Maher but applied here this is the same old insipid redirection. Show me another place or two ON PLANET EARTH where kindergarden teachers make $125k for 10mos work, career tenure and stellar benefits for life. Let's deal with reality, not silly homilies. I wouldn't care that they get diamond rolex's and chauffeured limos except I'm paying for it!
Chesterfield, which leads the area in population and public school enrollment, also leads in the number of government and school employees who receive at least $100,000.
The combined compensation of Chesterfield's 131 six-figure workers totals more than $16 million. By comparison, Swartzwelder oversees an annual budget of about $20 million in King and Queen.
[/quote]
100K isn't what it use to be especially living on the Island
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
