Monday, December 6, 2010

TICK...

Posted by at

20 comments:

  1. Ke$haDecember 6, 2010 at 10:42 AM

    Tok?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mark RauterkusDecember 6, 2010 at 3:07 PM

    Days of Hanukkah are fleeting?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Lady ElaineDecember 6, 2010 at 10:53 PM

    Counting the days to when Luke will be brought up on charges?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Bram ReichbaumDecember 6, 2010 at 11:29 PM

    What are they going to do. Charge him with smoking?

    ReplyDelete
  5. MHDecember 6, 2010 at 11:46 PM

    Nobody Photoshop him into the Basic Instinct scene.

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousDecember 7, 2010 at 9:14 AM

    If he's charged with smoking, he'll likely get the "Costa deal".

    But I see that Bram is hopin' and prayin' that Luke avoids charges. Appearing in federal court to answer questions about the Ford emails won't be fun.

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnonymousDecember 7, 2010 at 9:19 AM

    Bram,

    does Luke Ravenstahl deserve another term based off of what he has done so far during his time in office?

    And if you had to give him a grade from A-F what would it be?

    ReplyDelete
  8. AnonymousDecember 7, 2010 at 9:53 AM

    Z-

    ReplyDelete
  9. MinutemanDecember 7, 2010 at 10:25 AM

    With the state takeover looming and now appearing to be inevitable, folks are getting snowballs ready for the Mayor. Yet, it seems pretty clear that he had a plan that would have prevented takeover and would have been the best start possible to properly funding the pension.

    The folks who are come-hither staring at the state are going to look pretty terrible to the folks who actually live, work, vote, and shovel snow in the city.

    Politicians who have confused the term "progressive" might have won free entry to the nicer East End cocktail parties, but they will not gain anything in the eyes of the majority of city residents. A lot hangs in the balance here...whimpering about "Lukey" gets us nowhere.

    ReplyDelete
  10. AnonymousDecember 7, 2010 at 10:42 AM

    "best start possible" - - -PLEASE!

    The best start possible would be to address the pension reforms necessary to lower the long term costs of this pension. None of the options discussed do that. Selling assets, borrowing money etc are just throwing money down a bottomless pit.

    It doesn't matter who administers the fund. What matters is the cost of the fund. If there are not significant concessions on pensions from the public employees the city won't make it regardless of whether the fund is administered locally or by the state.

    What the city needs right now is leadership on this issue and there's not much of that on the fifth floor of the city county bldg.

    ReplyDelete
  11. MinutemanDecember 7, 2010 at 11:02 AM

    Are "concessions" by employees really possible? You're expecting city employees - police, firefighters, emergency responders, don't forget...NOT only 5th floor employees - to simply shrug and cede their pensions? I would counter - that is not possible.

    City leadership provided a plan that would work, at very least. State takeover will not work...we've all seen the numbers.

    No matter what ends up happening with the lease deal - the Parking Authority needs to change how they do business, and quick. It seemed like LAZ had some good ideas about how to run things more efficiently and generate more revenue, and not only via rate increases (increases that EVERYONE now accepts as inevitable).

    451 million smackers - today. Sounds like a plan to me.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Bram ReichbaumDecember 7, 2010 at 12:28 PM

    I'm with Minuteman on everything except "East End cocktail parties".

    Anon 9:19 AM, as shaky as Ravenstahl's homework and attendance have been, his midterm exam is due in 24 days. (That's what the clock is about). Talk to me about grades after that.

    ReplyDelete
  13. BrianTHDecember 7, 2010 at 5:20 PM

    Yes, all the past and present public employees need to see is a display of "leadership", and then they will gladly volunteer to solve the legacy cost problem out of their own pockets.

    Sheesh.

    Back in reality, the problem remains that significantly reducing the pension obligations will require reform at the state level, and meanwhile the state seems perfectly content just to let the City figure out how to pay for those obligations instead. That sucks, but there is no use pretending the magical elixir of "leadership" will somehow change that situation.

    ReplyDelete
  14. BrianTHDecember 7, 2010 at 5:24 PM

    Oh, and it amuses me that "leadership" has now become code for "come up with a way to avoid making hard choices, regardless of the consequences". I used to think it meant the opposite.

    ReplyDelete
  15. AnonymousDecember 7, 2010 at 7:29 PM

    Remember people - it is STATE LAW that police and firefighters retire at the age of 50. Not City. Not collectively bargained. Not some backroom agreement between Joe King and Darlene Harris.

    STATE LAW

    ReplyDelete
  16. MHDecember 7, 2010 at 8:34 PM

    The Trib just said the firefighters sued the city to require it to avoid a state takeover. I'm no lawyer, but suing so that a city has to avoid the provision of a state law doesn't seem like a really great argument.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Bram ReichbaumDecember 7, 2010 at 9:08 PM

    Yeah, I was just thinking to myself that lawsuit doesn't seem like a winner. The "tax anticipation bond" interests me a little more but not by much.

    ReplyDelete
  18. AnonymousDecember 7, 2010 at 11:19 PM

    So I guess I figured out the clock then, eh?

    ReplyDelete
  19. BrianTHDecember 8, 2010 at 9:00 AM

    State law doesn't require the City to underfund the pension such that it will be taken over, so there isn't a necessary conflict. Still, I doubt this lawsuit will work.

    ReplyDelete
  20. MHDecember 8, 2010 at 9:10 AM

    The hearing is set for December 20th, which leaves maybe three working days until the takeover deadline. I don't see how it could work even if there was a good argument to be made.

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)