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What the hell is Cuomo thinking?  It’s game over.  Reform takes resources, and the resources are going to the retired.  That deal has been cut, and is irrevocable.  We already have the highest state and local tax burden in the country.  If Wall Street is not allowed to rob people as much the tax base is likely to shrink, not increase.
It’s time to stop with the reforms and tell the truth about the schools, and shift resources and attention to those issues where there is a chance.  I see it.  Why doesn’t he?  All he can do is negotiate a lie about what we are paying and what we are getting in exchange for political support.  Or not do so.

There is only one “reform” worth undertaking, and it doesn’t require a commission or a negotiation.  Send everyone in the state a letter detailed what is being spent, per child, including pensions and OPERB, in that district, that part of the state as a whole, and the U.S. — based on the latest Census data.  Perhaps adjusting for the higher cost of living Downstate as I do, perhaps not. And showing how much of that money is spent on teachers, including retired teachers, per child, and per 20 children.

The letter should also note that the pensions have been negotiated between the teacher’s union and the state legislature, and the contracts have been negotiated between the individual districts and the union, and cannot be changed except in ways that the require less of the teachers or give them more in retirement.

And that’s it.  Nothing else should be said, ever.  The ongoing battles are just adding to the deception about the reality.

And speaking of California, their tax burden as a share of personal income is way lower than ours. Their teacher pensions are less rich.  Teachers there contribute far more to their pensions, do not get Social Security, and pay taxes on those pensions.  They deserve more.

School spending has soared, the city is broke, and yet the people who launched the Campaign for Fiscal Equity lawsuit say the schools still stink. And there isn’t a damn thing that can be done about it.

The sky actually fell, for those who give a damn about that.  For those who don’t, there is no problem, never was, and never will be. 

He wrote “highest state and local tax burden,” so presumably he’s talking about NYC in that sentence. 

“Do you have a source for your claim that NY has the highest state tax burden in the country?”

If you really want to undestand this in detail, read this post and download and print the attached spreadsheets. They show the TOTAL state and local tax burden as a percent of the income of state (and parts of NY State) residents, by tax.  The source of data is the U.S. Census Bureau.  One table shows all the states and all counties of NY state for FY 2007.  The other shows selected areas as far back as I could get the data.

http://www.r8ny.com/blog/larry_littlefield/taxes_data_from_the_census_of_governments.htmlBasically, NY is number one except in years when oil prices are high.  Those years, the total tax take as a percent of income may be higher in Alaska and Wyoming, because of all the taxes paid for the oil and gas industry — taxes for other businesses and residents are low there — Alaska sends people checks.

This data lags, and the FY 2009 data came out recently.  I have just finished compiling it, but have not had time to write about it.  But what I can tell you is NYC’s state and local tax burden was 53.2% above the national average that year, up from 34.4% above average in FY 2002, a year chosen for comparison because it was also a recession year.

By the way, a group such as the Manhattan Institute would tabulate the per capita tax burden rather than the tax burden as a percentage of income.  That would make NY’s burden seem much higher relative to other places.  The post explains why I chose the percent of personal income measure.

Damn.  What happened to my link?  Spam is killing Room Eight. Try this link instead..

http://www.r8ny.com/blog/larry_littlefield/taxes_data_from_the_census_of_governments.html

It would seem to me that Tornifolio couldn’t wait to get out of the classroom and become an administrator.  He has less than 8 years in the classroom and I don’t know in which license he taught in or received his tenure in.  The bottom line is that anyone with less than 15-20 years in the classroom cannot be an effective school leader.  As for Tornifolio’s track record of closing schools, the facts are out there.  Here is Tornifolio’s certfication.
JOHN P TORNIFOLIO   CertificatesDescription Effective Begin DateEffective End Date StatusSchool Administrator/Supervisor Permanent Certificate09/01/2003 IssuedSpecial Education Permanent Certificate09/01/1997 IssuedMathematics 7-12 Permanent Certificate09/01/1994 IssuedSocial Studies 7-12 Permanent Certificate02/01/1994 IssuedSocial Studies 7-12 Provisional Certificate09/01/199108/31/1996ExpiredMathematics 7-12 CQ02/01/199301/31/1998ExpiredSchool Administrator/Supervisor Provisional Certificate09/01/199808/31/2003ExpiredSocial Studies 7-12 CQ02/01/199101/31/1996ExpiredMathematics 7-12 Provisional Certificate02/01/199301/31/1998ExpiredSchool Administrator/Supervisor CQ09/01/199808/31/2003Expired

Nope no one cares but you. Keep playing with your numbers you will wind up playing for a long time. Your such a loser with only one thing on your mind.
You said it many times it’s over find something else to be OCD over.

two peas in a pod