Rochester, N.Y.-- Say what you will, now that the federal government averted a shutdown and New York State has an on-time budget. Things right now should be all hunky-dory, right? Well, nothing could be further from the truth.
The idea of shared sacrifice in these budget proposals is the mantra of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and the deficit hawks who continue to hammer away at the middle-class way of life. The other big lie is that our government is broke. We are not broke-- we have misplaced priorities.
As we wallow in one of the worst economic dilemmas in decades, GOP Tea Party extremists and some Democrats continue to gut public services and cut government spending-- the only real spending there is right now-- and risk restarting the layoff train just as the jobs picture brightens ever so slightly. The guise of "equal pain" is a lie and an empty promise.
No economy can function when the working class has been stripped of all its equity and spending power. The fact is that right now no less than 16 newly elected Republican Governors around the country are promoting anti-worker legislation disguised as budget deficit reduction plans. The fact is that our country is not broke-- the wealth that the working class generates has been transferred, in the greatest heist in history, from the workers and consumers to the banks and the portfolios of the uber-rich. At the same time, these same Republican Governor's are giving multi-million dollar tax-breaks to individuals and corporations who helped them get elected.
A national crime of epic proportions
What is happening in America is a national crime of epic proportions. From the state and federal level, the proposed budget cuts have totally missed the mark. Have we forgot why government exists in the first place? These evil budgets will cause massive misery, civil unrest and pain for those who are marginalized for one reason or another-- just you wait.
Albany has drawn too much ill-gotten praise for reaching an on-time budget, but the full impact of cuts on state and local workers, not to mention the needy, has yet to be measured.
At the federal level, Republican deficit zealots want to cut anything and everything that is linked to the poor and middle class. Let's be honest here-- the list targets already vulnerable populations-- home heating assistance for low-income seniors, home healthcare for the disabled, NPR, Planned Parenthood, nutrition programs for pregnant women and children. For god sakes, this is an overt attack on those who can least afford it. Should the newly unemployed look for government assistance ever again? Forgeddaboutit. The GOP has moved the goal posts so far to the right that there is no realistic chance that a rational compromise can be reached.
When government budget decisions hit close to home
In just a few short weeks, I will be staring back into the tearing eyes of my co-workers who have just told me they received notice that they no longer have a job with the Rochester Public Library. They will not be able to feed their kids. They will be not be able to pay their rent. By no fault of their own, they will lose their dignity, self-respect and any spending power they now possess. Workers are not the only ones who will be harmed. The bigger losers here are our Monroe County residents who have lost access to their library services because some decision-makers feel the rich deserve more.
I already know how this conversation will go. They will say, "Why couldn't you or the union help save my job?" What's worse, my fellow union co-workers and I will be on the angry front lines trying to explain away to disgruntled library patrons that they will no longer receive the high level of services they were accustomed to because right-wing ideologues and cubicle bureaucrats have a master plan.
I will have to explain to them that more than 114 people who work in City management/confidential positions will continue to draw salaries that exceed six-figures while the hourly wage earners fall by the way-side.
In a news press conference on April 7, Monroe County Legislator Saul Maneiro (D-Rochester) said, “Since taking office, the County Executive's budget has included three previous salary increases (5.1% in 2007, 2.5% in 2008 and 5.1% in 2010) for these Management & Professional employees. To say that a fourth additional raise is warranted at this time due to ‘cost of living increases’ when many County employees continue to be compensated at 2003 schedules is inappropriate and misleading to taxpayers."
Monroe County Democrats noted that two Monroe County Administration officials-- one of whom also serves as the County Executive’s campaign manager-- received even larger raises, potentially up to $20,000 per year. This comes at a time when County administration is also making an effort to privatize Monroe Community Hospital and layoff hundreds of skilled workers. Where is the outrage?
After digesting all this calamity in the past few weeks, I have come to the conclusion that I am extremely disappointed by our noodle-boned Democratic representation in Washington and Albany. Heaven forbid we find another tax bracket for the top 2 percent of Americans who stole our middle-class wealth back in 2008. Heck, we could even skip those who make less than a million dollars and still have a fairer state budget. Let's hope NYS Assembly Majority Leader Shelly Silver puts the millionaire's tax back on table-- New York state residents need that revenue so it can keep our economy moving in the right direction.
To put this in perspective, 400 Americans have the same wealth as half of all Americans combined. Let's revisit that number please-- 400 obscenely rich people, most of who benefited in some way from the multi-trillion dollar taxpayer "bailout" of 2008, now have as much loot, stock and property as the assets of 155 million Americans combined.
Again, this is about percentages. The rich pay even less percentage-wise than the average middle-income taxpayer. And just last week, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders revealed that most of the top U.S. corporations get tax refunds-- yes, our tax money is filling their pockets while they enjoy billion dollar profits.
Middle-class vilification
Every time we turn on the TV or go online, we hear some supposed expert talking about the need to go after "middle class entitlements"-- namely Social Security and Medicare-- because they say that's where the money is. I reject the use of the word "entitlements." The GOP, to their credit, have turned that conversation upside down.
The difference is that Medicare and Social Security are governmental trust funds. They are not paid for through income tax. They are supported by direct contributions from those who benefit from them. We continue to pay into these safety-nets, and should expect a full return on our investment. These are not give-aways to people who don't deserve a helping hand. Social Security and Medicare are the last vestiges of successful non-privatized governmental programs. Anti-labor forces want to turn our invested money over to the private sector-- I will fight tooth and nail for that not to happen.
We are now in our fourth month of 2011, and unions continue to be vilified for trying to protect a middle-class standard; the poor are dismissed as freeloaders and drug users. The result, of course, the poor and middle class will have to suffer at the expense of those who are insulated from any harm. These actions eat away at my core beliefs-- I physically recoil when I watch these Tea Party mega-extremists pontificate on C-SPAN and the evening news.
The GOP 2012 Ryan Budget Plan would turn Medicare into a voucher plan, which if approved, would surely leave millions of seniors paying even more out of pocket for health care. Social Security is temporarily spared, but you know that won't last.
According to leading economists, for the past 60 years, the payroll tax on workers and employers raised enough to pay annual benefits for decades to come-- with each generation paying benefits for retirees. But since 1983, workers have been paying higher taxes for the expressed purpose of generating the surplus needed to pay for the Baby Boomers retirement.
According to the CBO, the surplus now totals about $2.5 trillion in government bonds. We middle-aged taxpayers have been paying for our own retirement for years. And of course, we have a right to those benefits. It would be a tragedy of Greek proportions if average folk did not rise up and stake their claim.
It is my estimation that the American people are hungry for our leaders to restore a vision for a national future founded on the premise that social justice and material prosperity are not competing values-- that they can co-exist and are necessary to each other for a healthy, sustainable and growing economy. The sooner we recognize that, the better.
-Ove Overmyer
The opinions expressed here are those of the author only and do not reflect the views of CSEA as an organization.
 |
| Rochester, N.Y. residents take to the streets for a "Save Our Schools" rally on March 17, 2011. The New York State legislature passed a budget that union advocates say will decimate our schools, communities and working families. photo: Ove Overmyer |
Rochester, N.Y.-- Say what you will, now that the federal government averted a shutdown and New York State has an on-time budget. Things right now should be all hunky-dory, right? Well, nothing could be further from the truth.
The idea of shared sacrifice in these budget proposals is the mantra of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and the deficit hawks who continue to hammer away at the middle-class way of life. The other big lie is that our government is broke. We are not broke-- we have misplaced priorities.
As we wallow in one of the worst economic dilemmas in decades, GOP Tea Party extremists and some Democrats continue to gut public services and cut government spending-- the only real spending there is right now-- and risk restarting the layoff train just as the jobs picture brightens ever so slightly. The guise of "equal pain" is a lie and an empty promise.
No economy can function when the working class has been stripped of all its equity and spending power. The fact is that right now no less than 16 newly elected Republican Governors around the country are promoting anti-worker legislation disguised as budget deficit reduction plans. The fact is that our country is not broke-- the wealth that the working class generates has been transferred, in the greatest heist in history, from the workers and consumers to the banks and the portfolios of the uber-rich. At the same time, these same Republican Governor's are giving multi-million dollar tax-breaks to individuals and corporations who helped them get elected.
 |
| The pain and suffering caused by our federal and state budgets will be massive. |
What is happening in America is a national crime of epic proportions. From the state and federal level, the proposed budget cuts have totally missed the mark. Have we forgot why government exists in the first place? These evil budgets will cause massive misery, civil unrest and pain for those who are marginalized for one reason or another-- just you wait.
Albany has drawn too much ill-gotten praise for reaching an on-time budget, but the full impact of cuts on state and local workers, not to mention the needy, has yet to be measured.
At the federal level, Republican deficit zealots want to cut anything and everything that is linked to the poor and middle class. Let's be honest here-- the list targets already vulnerable populations-- home heating assistance for low-income seniors, home healthcare for the disabled, NPR, Planned Parenthood, nutrition programs for pregnant women and children. For god sakes, this is an overt attack on those who can least afford it. Should the newly unemployed look for government assistance ever again? Forgeddaboutit. The GOP has moved the goal posts so far to the right that there is no realistic chance that a rational compromise can be reached.
When government budget decisions hit close to home
In just a few short weeks, I will be staring back into the tearing eyes of my co-workers who have just told me they received notice that they no longer have a job with the Rochester Public Library. They will not be able to feed their kids. They will be not be able to pay their rent. By no fault of their own, they will lose their dignity, self-respect and any spending power they now possess. Workers are not the only ones who will be harmed. The bigger losers here are our Monroe County residents who have lost access to their library services because some decision-makers feel the rich deserve more.
I already know how this conversation will go. They will say, "Why couldn't you or the union help save my job?" What's worse, my fellow union co-workers and I will be on the angry front lines trying to explain away to disgruntled library patrons that they will no longer receive the high level of services they were accustomed to because right-wing ideologues and cubicle bureaucrats have a master plan.
I will have to explain to them that more than 114 people who work in City management/confidential positions will continue to draw salaries that exceed six-figures while the hourly wage earners fall by the way-side.
In a news press conference on April 7, Monroe County Legislator Saul Maneiro (D-Rochester) said, “Since taking office, the County Executive's budget has included three previous salary increases (5.1% in 2007, 2.5% in 2008 and 5.1% in 2010) for these Management & Professional employees. To say that a fourth additional raise is warranted at this time due to ‘cost of living increases’ when many County employees continue to be compensated at 2003 schedules is inappropriate and misleading to taxpayers."
Monroe County Democrats noted that two Monroe County Administration officials-- one of whom also serves as the County Executive’s campaign manager-- received even larger raises, potentially up to $20,000 per year. This comes at a time when County administration is also making an effort to privatize Monroe Community Hospital and layoff hundreds of skilled workers. Where is the outrage?
 |
| MIDDLE-CLASS FOLK ARE FIGHTING BACK Over the past several weeks, Rochester, N.Y. has been a host city for dozens of protests and rallies decrying budget decisions by federal, state and local government officials. Tom Privitere, Western N.Y. regional field director for PEF (in red) leads a cheer at the "Save Our Schools Rally" at the Liberty Pole on March 17. photo: Ove Overmyer |
To put this in perspective, 400 Americans have the same wealth as half of all Americans combined. Let's revisit that number please-- 400 obscenely rich people, most of who benefited in some way from the multi-trillion dollar taxpayer "bailout" of 2008, now have as much loot, stock and property as the assets of 155 million Americans combined.
Again, this is about percentages. The rich pay even less percentage-wise than the average middle-income taxpayer. And just last week, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders revealed that most of the top U.S. corporations get tax refunds-- yes, our tax money is filling their pockets while they enjoy billion dollar profits.
Middle-class vilification
Every time we turn on the TV or go online, we hear some supposed expert talking about the need to go after "middle class entitlements"-- namely Social Security and Medicare-- because they say that's where the money is. I reject the use of the word "entitlements." The GOP, to their credit, have turned that conversation upside down.
The difference is that Medicare and Social Security are governmental trust funds. They are not paid for through income tax. They are supported by direct contributions from those who benefit from them. We continue to pay into these safety-nets, and should expect a full return on our investment. These are not give-aways to people who don't deserve a helping hand. Social Security and Medicare are the last vestiges of successful non-privatized governmental programs. Anti-labor forces want to turn our invested money over to the private sector-- I will fight tooth and nail for that not to happen.
We are now in our fourth month of 2011, and unions continue to be vilified for trying to protect a middle-class standard; the poor are dismissed as freeloaders and drug users. The result, of course, the poor and middle class will have to suffer at the expense of those who are insulated from any harm. These actions eat away at my core beliefs-- I physically recoil when I watch these Tea Party mega-extremists pontificate on C-SPAN and the evening news.
 |
| Make no mistake, Social Security is under attack by GOP ideologues in the House of Representatives. |
According to leading economists, for the past 60 years, the payroll tax on workers and employers raised enough to pay annual benefits for decades to come-- with each generation paying benefits for retirees. But since 1983, workers have been paying higher taxes for the expressed purpose of generating the surplus needed to pay for the Baby Boomers retirement.
According to the CBO, the surplus now totals about $2.5 trillion in government bonds. We middle-aged taxpayers have been paying for our own retirement for years. And of course, we have a right to those benefits. It would be a tragedy of Greek proportions if average folk did not rise up and stake their claim.
It is my estimation that the American people are hungry for our leaders to restore a vision for a national future founded on the premise that social justice and material prosperity are not competing values-- that they can co-exist and are necessary to each other for a healthy, sustainable and growing economy. The sooner we recognize that, the better.
-Ove Overmyer
The opinions expressed here are those of the author only and do not reflect the views of CSEA as an organization.
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