New York Close to Bankruptcy
Cue the flashbacks of New York City in 1975, when it had also faced bankruptcy. This is not the first time the big metropolis has been extremely close to going under. However, the playbook was already set in how to fix and deal with the bankruptcy situation back then. Many argue that this situation is different and more dire due to the number of outside factors and complex securities that affect the markets today.
Ed Koch was ushered in as mayor in 1977 after Abe Beame went to then President, Gerald Ford, begging for a handout/bailout for the city. The famous headline from that time was Gerald Ford telling New York City to “Drop Dead.” Ford was a fiscal conservative who did not believe in bailing out cities, companies and the like.
Ed Koch is credited for the sound financial practices that were established that would enforce the city to follow the GAAP and balance its books/budget on an annual basis. So under law, New York City cannot be running deficits.
So far, Mayor Bloomberg is following the playbook to a “T,” but he still has a ways to go to ensure that bankruptcy does not become an option for the city. It is also important to note that Mayor Bloomberg is only being paid a salary of $1.00/year – something that no other mayor would probably accept.
Sweeping layoffs of government employees are needed to prevent New York going bankrupt, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Thursday.
Bloomberg, who is in tense negotiations with municipal workers’ unions, said an extra 7,000 jobs would have to go unless major reductions are made in employee benefits.
“We cannot continue. Our pension costs and health care costs for our employees are going to bankrupt this city,” he said in comments broadcast on NY1 television.
Bloomberg, running for a third mayoral term at the end of this year, said that proposals from unions so far were “nowhere near what is adequate.”
The possible job cuts, first announced Wednesday, would be on top of 1,300 already proposed and another 8,000 that could be axed through attrition.
Department heads have until Monday to propose cuts and Bloomberg must present the city budget by the end of the month. The city is barred by law from running deficits.
The recession and the Wall Street crisis have knocked a huge hole in city finances that traditionally relied heavily on taxes from financial companies.
The budget office on Wednesday said that 7,000 extra job cuts would allow the city to cut a further 350 million dollars in expenditure.
Suicidal Woman Jumps and Lands on Teenager at NYC Mall
Authorities say a woman jumping to her death landed on a teenager at a New York City mall, causing injuries that sent him to a hospital.
The lower level of the Queens Center Mall was packed with high school students on spring break when the incident occurred Wednesday.
A relative said 17-year-old Derrick MuInoz was briefly knocked unconscious and had a large gash on his head. He is a student at Amityville High School on Long Island.
Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown said the woman was in her early to mid-50s. She was with two teenagers when she plunged several stories.
Keep the boy in your prayers and all the relatives and friends of both people involved in this.
