In listening to your messages to those of us not on the state payroll I am not sure you know why the state is near bankruptcy.Not once have I heard anything in your statements that would require the state to reduce it spending and payroll.In recent years the public employee has become better compensated in both pay and benefits than his private counterpart.This was not TOO bad when the state of the economy was good but in recent years the private sector has seen huge reductions in salary, benefits and especially retirement packages.It is said that within ten years the total budget of New Jersey will be required to pay the benefits of state employees.Not once have I heard you even suggest that the public sector be reduced to the level that the public would be able maintain.
At one time it was rumored that you had been employed by one of the investment institutions and were supposed to have some experience with financial affairs.However, with the financial meltdown and the condition of New Jersey’s finances I guess that rumor was incorrect because even I who did not have investment institution experience can see that the current state financial policy is unsustainable.When are you going to do some thing to put the long term state financial policy on a sustainable sound footing?
It is time for the public employee to give up some of the unsustainable benefits and salary, if necessary, to put the state on a financially sustainable footing and it is time for you to require that!
Have you noticed that the only successful schools in New Jersey’s inner cities are the parochial schools, mostly Catholic?But the only answer to the public school disaster is more money to the already failing schools.What would be the cost to New Jersey if all the Catholic school in the state were to close?Have you priced that into your budget?I suggest to you the following article from the January 27, 2009 issue of the Wall Street Journal.
After listening to your public plea to pressure the congress into passing your stimulus package I wonder if you could tell me why a portion of my fixed income should be used to pay the excessive salaries and benefits of those who created this economic mess.I remember when applying for a home loan I had to have a verified job, 20 percent of the purchase price to put down in cash and the house payment, including taxes and insurance, did not exceed 28 percent of my salary.I am sure that most of the people in the banking and investment community also remember those requirements.I also am sure that they remember why they were requirements.They knew that if those requirements were waived many of those loans would default.
When those in congress decided that these requirements were “discriminating” against the “poor” they insisted that these “requirements” be waived or eliminated.They then created those investment devices that allowed them to pass to others the risk of those loans that history told them were going to default. The irony is that they then bought packages of sub prime collateralized mortgages themselves apparently believing themselves that those with no verified income, no down payments and loans far above any sane percent of their incomes would somehow be good investments.
I am retired from TWA, a company destroyed by the legalized robbery of Carl Ichan, and trying to live on rapidly eroding savings while at the same time being taxed to maintain the inflated and unwarranted salaries, benefits, expense accounts and luxury meetings of those very same “experts”.
If you want me and those of us beyond Washington to support your stimulus package, then, require any entity who receives tax payer money to limit their salary, benefits, expense accounts and trips to luxury spas to the level of that of average taxpayer being asked to support them.What I mean is no salary for anyone in a business receiving government bail out money over your suggested $500,000.00, (I would have that figure a lot less than that because those of us being asked to pay this bill come nowhere near $100,000.00.), no meetings not held at a company headquarters, no bonuses, (I never had a bonus in my life.) and no expense accounts that pay for luxury meals and spa excursions of which the average tax payer never sees.If they think they can do better at some organization that has not taken government money let them go. They have been a disaster at the current crop of financial organizations.
I would like you to tell me why I should be taxed to maintain those life styles when they have been the originators of this terrible financial meltdown?
President Barack Obama 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NWWashington, DC20500
Dear President Obama,
I see that with your recent rather limited restrictions to executive compensation you are allowing the continued use of money demanded from modestly paid tax payers to be used for the unconscionable pay to these obviously incompetent or if not incompetent then criminal executives.
First of all why should the tax payer be giving money to healthy banks?And if we are giving money to healthy banks why should their compensation be limited?It is perfectly OK with most of us if they will not take out money if they have to limit their already excessive compensation.
Also why should the vote of the shareholders be non-binding.It is time for the shareholders to have a vote that counts!
If financial institutions have to take Federal money to survive why should their bonuses and other incentives compensation not be “clawed Back”.These people have been incompetent or criminal and the money tax payers are being asked to provide covers these unconscionable pay schedules.
It is hard to see that any of these executives meet the definition of “top talent” that these pay levels are supposed to attract.It appears to me that most of these executives have put most of their time into increasing their salaries, bonuses, stock options and lavish perks.It is time for this to stop.
It appears to me that the scenario of the disastrous merger of Bank of America and Merrill Lynch where the immense loses of Merrill Lynch were not disclosed to the government or the other entities involved is the pattern for all the TARP money distributions.It is obvious that those managing this recovery have no idea how to go about it or what the effects of what they are doing will be.
I do not think most of the American people would approve of their tax dollars going to the executives of these failing financial institutions especially to maintain the pay levels of the people who have caused out economic melt down.
Please do not use our tax money to reward these people!
President Barack Obama 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW Washington, DC 20500
Dear President Obama,
I understand that you are concerned with the deteriorating economy of the United States and that you are dedicated to do something to reverse that deterioration. I have some serious objections to the way this is progressing. The outrageous compensation packages detailed almost daily in national newspapers are beyond the understanding of the average taxpayer who is being asked to provide the funds to bail out those industries and therefore the executives whose policies have caused this economic distress. Therefore, I am very pleased with your recent limitations to the compensation of those grossly overpaid executives of the financial institutions that are to receive "significant" TARP funds. But I understand that these limitations are only for those yet to receive TARP funds and only if it is over a "significant" and apparently unspecified amount. .
This, then, will allows those institutions that receive less than the "significant" amount to use an even larger percent of this "less than significant amount" to continue to pay those unwarranted and unacceptable salaries, bonuses and benefits. The response given to those objecting to the continuation of these enormous salaries is that these very talented people, those who have gotten us into this financial disaster, will quit and go somewhere else. Where else can they go? Most of these institutions that have been guilty of paying these enormous and unwarranted salaries are effectively bankrupt because of the policies of these same individuals.
Most of us who have worked for private industry have never made more than a minor percentage of the salaries of these financial institution executives and yet we will be required to continue to pay these exorbitant and outrageous compensation packages. You will never get the support of those of us who have worked or work for private industry if you continue to allow these egregious policies to be part of your Stimulus Package.
Because of the policies of these same financial industry executives all of us have seen our savings melt away and many have seen their jobs disappear yet your plan to stimulate the economy will invest a significant portion of those supposedly stimulating funds into the pockets of the very individuals that have caused so much financial misery not only in the United States but across the world.
Most of us want to support you and a plan to reverse the economic decline but this is not the way to get the support of those of us outside of the excessively compensated financial world.
I can not wait for “Card Check”.Just think of how much fun the work stoppages and strikes will be!It is so much fun to have the teachers go on strike and have the kids miss school.I so enjoy watching the NEA blackmail politicians and school boards into more and more unsustainable and unbreakable pay, benefit and pension contracts.I so like watching the users of public transit systems having to ride their bikes to work in the rain.It creates so much modern art when the garbage stacks up on the streets of our cities when the public employees decide they are underpaid and/or over worked.What a hoot when we hear of a “one day strike” by the French or Italian Air Traffic Controllers bringing flight operations in Europe to a stop.Wow, is “Card Check” going to be fun or what?Does anyone remember when the Greeks staged a country wide one day strike in 2007 protesting the government’s attempts to cut back public employee pensions?This is going to be such fun!
There was a day in this country when there was a desperate need for some worker representation but those days are long gone.Has anyone noticed that a lot of American jobs are going over seas?How many of those once were union jobs?With card check how many more will be forced overseas?All of those jobs have been in the private sector; none of them have been in the public sector!
Has anyone noticed that the biggest unions in the country are the public employee unions, SEIU, (Service Employees International Union) and AFSCMA (American Federation of State, City, and Municipal Employees), NEA (National Education Association), AFT (American Federation Of Teachers?Has anyone noticed that they have the ability to blackmail elected officials into unaffordable contracts that are far more generous and ridgid than anything in private industry?What public official can stand the pressure to settle a transit, garbage or teachers strike in the face of the pressure from the public?How many of you have seen a teachers strike settled without the need to raise taxes?When you voted for the last school funding increase how many have seen the option for voting for the current spending level?Has anyone noticed the state of New York City’s financial situation which has in large part been brought about by throwing money at the public employee unions to keep union peace?Has anyone noticed that when a private company goes out of business or declares bankruptcy the employee pay, benefits and pensions disappear?Has anyone ever heard of a public entity going out of business or being able to abrogate their employee contracts?What happens when the public paying for these state guaranteed benefits can no longer afford them?Well, “You just have to raise taxes, you promised these people this pay, medical care for life and pensions far better than you can ever expect”.I have yet to see a judge say otherwise.Have you?Card check is really going to help make this a lot worse!
What this country needs are more Employee Union control companies like General Motors, Ford and Chrysler.The managers of these companies have truly screwed up.They have screwed up so badly that without the ability to adjust their work force levels or the pay and benefits of that work force they will cease to exist.Eastern Airlines was brought down by a strike by of it’s mechanics.They seem to think the union paid their salaries.I have often wondered if they thought Eastern got what it deserved.
I guess all those who support Card Check are looking forward to higher prices, increased labor strife and outrageous demands by the public employee unions.Get ready for higher taxes and more strikes your Mayor, Governor or President has to settle at unaffordable costs.Card Check is going to be a great fun until we find out how much it is going to cost us.We really do need more unions to force up costs now that the country is doing so well!What great fun.What more can government do for you?
