Column by Don Glynn —
Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s budget message makes it clear he intends to revamp the existing public employee pension system that could save some $83 billion for state and local governments over 30 years.
“We need pension reform and we need it desperately,” Cuomo said during his annual address Tuesday in Albany.
If nothing at all is done to deal with the problem, the governor said, the state will have to cope with a 185 percent increase in pension costs by 2015. He compared the situation with “a pension bomb.”
Under the proposal, Cuomo is asking for the lawmakers to create a pension tier for new hires that would hike retirement age from 62 to 65 and increase employee contributions. Lower wage earners would pay 4 percent (it’s now 3 percent) and high wage earners would contribute up to 7 percent.
Cuomo explained that under the new system employees would have the option for a 401-K type contribution plan. Instead of a 10-year period for current employees to vest, however, the new ones would be able to vest after one year.
The governor makes a valid argument. “All the private sector companies are doing it, and the person has the option. Why wouldn’t you want to give the person the option?”
Lawmakers weighing that change might want to keep in mind that the new pension system could result in a 50 percent savings to government.
But Cuomo, even with his favorability ratings in the 70 percent range, concedes he faces an uphill battle.
“Remember the politics here,” he told reporters before his formal speech. “It’s hard to reform a pension system. It affects many public employees, very powerful public union employees, and politically it’s difficult to get the Legislature to do this.
•••
FLEETING FAME: In a splendid new biography, “Eisenhower: The White House Years,” author Jim Newton includes an anecdote about the president traveling to New York for Game 5 the 1956 World Series, between the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Yankees.
Ike was thrilled to have a front-row seat as the Yankees’ Don Larsen pitched a perfect game. (No mention of Sal “The Barber” Maglie who gave up five hits in an awesome effort.)
Back home in Washington, Eisenhower wrote a note to Don Newcombe, the Dodgers’ losing pitcher in Game 7 of that same series. “I think I know how much you wanted to win a World Series game,” Ike stated, “I was pulling for you (Odd coming from a Yankee fan). But I suggest that when you think over this past season, you think of the 27 games you won that were so important in bringing Brooklyn into the World Series.”
Newcombe was flabbergasted to receive a note from the chief executive. Meanwhile, Maglie’s performance apparently did not merit any White House comment.
•••
HOUSE FOR SALE: J.P. Morgan Chase has filed for foreclosure on O.J. Simpson’s Miami home that he bought in 2000 for $575,000. A bank spokesman said that Simpson, 64, who once played for the Buffalo Bills, still owes $724,354 on the 4,233-square-foot home that was assessed at $478,401.
For the record, to date O.J. has paid off only a pittance of the $33-million he was ordered to pay in the civil suit for the 1994 slayings of ex-wife Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman.
•••
‘THIS JUST IN’: Ever notice the evening news on TV always begins with “Good Evening” and then the anchor proceeds to tell you why it isn’t” — a customer in Starbucks, Third Street.
Don Glynn
Related Photos
-
Glynn
GLYNN: Cuomo takes on fight for pension reform
- Don Glynn
-
-
GLYNN: Gillibrand seeks help for prime bread-winners
A recent report shows that working mothers across the Empire State earn nearly 15 percent lower pay for the same work as men.
-
GLYNN: Falls, Ont., rolls out red carpet for Wallenda
Before Nik Wallenda even started practicing his high-wire routine in downtown Niagara Falls, state Sen.George D. Maziarz, R-Newfane, had noted the warm welcome the tightrope walker received across the river.
-
GLYNN: Graduates find they’re in staggering debt
Countless senior citizens often gripe about something, sometimes even with good reason. Perhaps they should consider themselves fortunate, compared with the younger generation.
-
GLYNN: All eyes on Seneca casino plaza
There’s a new breed of sidewalk superintendents in downtown Niagara Falls.
Unlike the typical work site — watching hardhats skillfully putting steel beams in place — all eyes Saturday were glued to tightrope artist Nick Wallenda strolling on a 2-inch cable linked to two giant construction cranes.
-
GLYNN: Where Wallenda starts walk still up in the air
Which way will Nik Wallenda walk?
Will he begin his highly touted tightrope performance June 15 at Terrapin Point on Goat Island and proceed past the Horseshoe Falls to his destination near the Table Rock House? Or will he start from the Canadian side and stroll to the U.S.
-
GLYNN: Age not an issue for Slaughter
Rep. Louise M. Slaughter, D-Fairport, whose district previously included the Niagara area, may be sidelined with a broken leg but she hasn’t lost her sense of humor.
-
GLYNN: Politics front and center in state park
If you watched that press conference from Prospect Park on Wednesday, you may have first wondered what it was all about.
-
GLYNN: Cuomo coy on future plans
It was a page out of the past last week when a reporter asked Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo a familiar question.
-
GLYNN: Ex-private eye helps in dog tags mystery
Over the years Paul Austin of Ransomville has often walked along the Lake Ontario shoreline north of Old Fort Niagara in Youngstown.
-
GLYNN: Press corps dean plans Cuomo book
Whenever there’s talk that someone is writing a book about a high-profile public servant (e.g. a governor), it gives rise to speculation there’s more to the subject than what meets the eye.
- More Don Glynn Headlines
-
Police: Gunman Has Hostages in Realty Office
Fugitive Penguin Caught, Returned to Aquarium
50 Years Later, Underground Fire Still Burning
Light Show Transforms Sydney Opera House
Raw Video: Unruly Passenger Restrained in Miami
Raw Video: Robber Uses Drive-thru Window
Raw Video: Dragon Arrives at Space Station
Calif.'s Coronado Named Nation's Best Beach
CEO Salaries Become Sore Issue in Labor Disputes
Raw Video: Fight Erupts in Ukrainian Parliament
Texan Ranchers Remain Wary of Drought
Raw Video: Soldiers Plant Flags at Arlington
Police: Man Arrested in Etan Patz Disappearance
NYC Protests: the Revolution Will Be Scripted
Chicago U.S. Attorney Fitzgerald Resigns
Neighbors of Etan Patz's Suspect: It's Shocking
Gulf Fishermen Reel From Seafood Troubles
Stuntman Makes Skydive Without Parachute in UK
Raw Video: Bride Who Faked Cancer Released
Raw Video: Passed Out Man Robbed
