As last week’s elections demonstrate, middle-class New Yorkers are in open revolt over ever-soaring tax bills. But to cut taxes, officials first have to curb public spending. How?
Here’s one way to get the ball rolling: End the routine salary hikes for public-sector employees, at least for now.
Starting with New York City’s teachers.
No, we have nothing against teachers. They’ve got an extremely tough, and absolutely vital, job. Many work miracles.
But the city’s enmeshed in critical negotiations with the United Federation of Teachers. And there’s just no money for pay hikes — certainly not without hitting up New Yorkers for yet more taxes.
Mayor Bloomberg needs to make that crystal clear to the UFT.
No, it won’t be easy. Teachers have gotten used to annual pay bumps. But city unions have swallowed freezes before. And if ever there were a time when hikes were unaffordable, it’s now.
Consider: State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli last week put the state’s budget gap at $27.5 billion over the next 21⁄2 years. City Hall won’t be able to rely on Albany for extra aid — for years.
Meanwhile, Gotham’s own gap could run to $5 billion next year. Mike is going to have to trim, and he needs to start now.
Sure, capping teacher pay will be tough politically: The UFT backed Mike on his push for renewal of mayoral control and is likely expecting some quid for its quo.
The Post reported in August that the city was planning 4% raises for each of the next two years. But now, zero seems more do-able — especially as the teacher contract will set the pace for other unions.
Plus, let’s be honest — teachers are already doing pretty well: Starting salaries have shot up 43% during Mike’s tenure; senior teachers can make more than $100,000 a year — and get nice benefits.
Meanwhile, school spending is up 38% since 2002.
Mike may be a lame-duck mayor, but surely he doesn’t want to be remembered as a serial tax-hiker. Not when so many New Yorkers seem to think they’ve been socked hard enough.
His only choice is to slow city spending.
Freezing teachers’ pay would be a start.