Big city leaders call the stimulus package, designed to help and grow the U.S. Economy a "Fine Start."
This is only the beginning folks. Just as now we're being told TARP 1.0 wasn't enough, and to get ready for TARP 2.0, all before being given time to clearly understand how version 1.0 was handled and spent and what those affects will be, Stimulus 2.0 will be rolling down the pipes in no time.
From the Washington Post's Feb. 17th edition:
NEW YORK -- New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg (I) has said the federal money from the economic stimulus plan could save 14,000 teacher jobs and 1,000 police officer positions he had planned to cut. The money could expand the subway system, avert hospital closures and create a new urban economy surrounding energy retrofitting, according to other officials.
Across the country, urban leaders and advocates say the stimulus plan that President Obama is to sign Tuesday will create jobs in cities and blunt the impact of the economic crash. But they hope the funding package only begins to hint at the ambitious urban policy agenda Obama has articulated.
Yes, they hope this is only a hint of more spending boondoggles to come. That way they can continue to make sound budget decisions like the one made by New York City in 2007, a city now clamoring for your tax dollars, to give their transit boss a $40,000 raise. This raise brought Elliot Sander's total compensation to $340,000 a year, with salary comprising $265,000 of that package. Sander also received a housing allowance of $60,000 a year and $15,000 in "deferred compensation".
Sander's pay raise of $40K was equivalent to the average NYC transit worker's annual salary. Was this a wise decision? In hindsight, NO. Now, I have about zero knowledge of what it takes to be a transit director. I can imagine that in a city like NYC, with subways, ferries (for transport & the random Hudson River/plane rescues every now and then), bridges, etc., it is a complex job which requires a talented individual with extensive knowledge. In order to attract someone with that talent, yes, high salaries are needed, otherwise, that individual may go work for say Boston, L.A., Atlanta, or any other myriad of big cities.
However, this pay raise was given less than 24 months ago and now the city of New York is clamoring to get their hands on as much of the money that you went out and earned. Yes, it is easy to understand the chaos that would ensue if a city the size of New York were to go "bankrupt" and/or be forced to layoff a significant portion of its workforce. The problem though with all these bailouts, be they for banks, auto makers, defaulting homeowners who couldn't tell you what ARM stands for, cities, and whoever else, is that a slippery slope is being created like never before.
The further you look, the worse this problem gets. The New York Post reports that Governor Paterson has given more than a dozen of his staff members a 46% raise while at the same time asking 130,000 other state workers to take a 3% pay cut.
ALBANY - Gov. Paterson has secretly granted raises of as much as 46 percent to more than a dozen staffers at a time when he has asked 130,000 state workers to give up 3 percent pay hikes because of the state's fiscal crisis, The Post has learned.
Our leaders in Washington are rewarding those who made poor financial decisions and they are using your hard work in order to do so. You can't tell me that the NYC financial planners couldn't see this shortage of funds coming down the pipe. If they did in fact miss it, they, at the least, need to be fired. And for that matter, ruling out criminal negligence charges can't be done in my mind, considering the amount of individuals who have been put in danger due to such poor management.
It is time for Americans to take a good long look in the mirror and ask themselves, what and who are they really working for?
Kyle Godfrey is an M.P.H. student at Armstrong Atlantic State University in Savannah, GA. Originally from Atlanta, GA, he runs the blog Yellow Limes.
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