For those who wonder if New York will ever get a viable Republican Party, the answer is: not until Republicans start pushing an agenda that directly challenges business-as-usual in Albany.
They’ll have their chance in the first days of the coming year.
That’s when Mike Fitzpatrick, a Republican assemblyman from Suffolk County, says he’ll introduce a bill with four reforms that overnight would help ensure that the government works for the people instead of the other way around.
First, it would remove the automatic increases in pay that government workers now get even when their contracts run out. ÂBecause these raises are automatic under the Triborough Amendment to the state Taylor Law, unions have zero incentive to negotiate, while those representing taxpayers have zero leverage.
Second, for police and firefighters, it would require 25 years of service for retirement. In addition, no one could retire before age 50.
Third, it would mandate defined-contribution retirement plans for all new state workers. That’s the same kind of retirement plans that taxpayers in the private sector, who pay their salaries, have.
Finally, it would limit pay raises from binding arbitration to 2 percent, ending the practice of arbitrators awarding fat raises even when cities can’t afford it.
These are all major reforms that address the issue no one in Albany really wants to talk about: out-of-control spending. For that same reason, its chances of even being voted on, much less passed, are almost nil.
That doesn’t mean the GOP can’t push it. The main reason Republicans do so badly in this state is that few people could tell you what they stand for, except maybe the same as Democrats, but less.
The Fitzgerald bill offers an opportunity for Republicans to take a stand taxpayers can appreciate, to force a real debate — and maybe to establish something New Yorkers haven’t seen for years: a genuine Republican agenda.