Thanksgiving - A day to appreciate what we have.

By Henry J. Stern
November 24, 2004

Thanksgiving is one holiday that retains its original spirit, with relatively little commercial intrusion. It is an occasion to give thanks for the blessings we have received. One thing to be thankful for is being alive. It is a good thing to turn one's mind to an expression of gratitude, because it is human nature (or at least the nature of most of the humans I know) to think more often of those things we do not have, or goals we have not reached, rather than rejoice at what we have achieved or what has been given to us.
 
Walt Whitman wrote about this with awareness and insight in "Leaves of Grass" (1855):

I think I could turn and live with animals, they are so placid and self contain'd,
I stand and look at them long and long.
They do not sweat and whine about their condition
They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins,
They do not make me sick discussing their duty to God.
Not one is dissatisfied, not one is demented with the mania of owning things,
Not one kneels to another, nor to his kind that lived thousands of years ago,
Not one is respectable or unhappy over the whole world.

The good news is that there have been no catastrophes in New York since 9/11, despite the hatred that radical Islamo-fascists like Osama bin Laden have for us. It is unusual to take comfort from the mere absence of disaster, but with killers loose who wish to destroy us, whoever it is whose efforts have protected us deserves our gratitude.

We have reason to be thankful for the economic recovery which the city has enjoyed, symbolized by the rising prices of residential real estate. In a free market, individuals are making decisions that they want to live here, and are willing to pay large sums to do so. That is a healthy sign. Look at the streets: you'll see crowds of people, diverse in age and ethnicity, New Yorkers by choice as well as by birth. Art and culture are flourishing, crime is down, and the spirit of the city is upbeat.

The City and State may be Blue,
But our Budgets are Deep in the Red

In our corner of the world, the City of New York, we do have certain problems. We described them last week in "Chicken Little Was Right," reporting on the impending three billion dollar city budget deficit, the six billion dollar state shortfall, and the uncounted billions that the federal government is adding to the national debt. Congress has just raised the debt ceiling to $8.118 trillion dollars. That is a figure normally seen in astronomy, when calculating distances between stars and galaxies. But the debt is real, and the interest New York City pays to its creditors now exceeds $4 billion dollars a year.
 
We have lived long enough to see the city in distress and in recovery, repeating some errors of the past, but learning enough to struggle through the present. The city and state have relied on increased borrowing, off-line budgeting, debt siphoned off to authorities, and other fiscal devices which can be characterized by the word "Enron." The financial problems of all three levels of government will not be solved by rising revenues, because expenditures are rising even faster.

When we can borrow no more, necessity will compel a financial solution. In 1975, the banks pulled the plug on the overly-indebted city. What external force will bring us to a reckoning in fiscal 2006 or the years to come? It is not city officials, however, who are fully responsible for this. It is, in part, state and federal laws and court decisions mandating expenditures that our tax base cannot pay.

Our Friends in Albany

So many of the ordinary expenses of government have become legal obligations that the areas of discretion for local executives and legislators have been considerably reduced. In today's Post, the last two paragraphs of a small story on page 23 make the point:

"Meanwhile, despite the objections of Mayor Bloomberg, Pataki also signed into law legislation giving city district-attorney investigators the same retirement package as their city police counterparts. But, citing MTA objections, Pataki also vetoed legislation that would have offered better retirement benefits to bridge and tunnel officers by establishing a presumption that any lung disease contracted by the officers is job-related."

This is a striking example of what is wrong with government. Police officers have unique retirement benefits because of the physical demands of the job, the risk involved in police work, and the desirability of having younger men and women serving. These considerations are much less relevant to city district attorney investigators. This bill means that investigators will be able to retire in their 40's with generous pensions for the rest of their lives, or their wives' lives if they choose that option. Many will take other city, state and federal jobs, so they can double dip.

It is the City of New York which will have to pay the increased costs which this bill will require. That will mean that there will be less revenue with which to provide city services, since pension costs, like interest on the public debt, are mandatory and take priority over spending on police, fire, schools, sanitation and parks.

The governor vetoed the bill which would have imposed additional pension costs on the MTA, a state agency. How would the presumption that lung disease is job-related apply to a heavy smoker? These pension sweeteners are granted by Albany outside the city's collective bargaining process. They enable legislators to ingratiate themselves with municipal unions.  Ironically, former Senator Guy Velella was particularly active over the years on behalf of correction officers.

Good Guys

There are commissioners in this administration who have done exceptional work. Three of them are Ray Kelly in Police, Dr. Thomas Frieden in Health, and Adrian Benepe in Parks. I am sure there are others who are unusually meritorious, but I am not as closely in touch with all the agencies as I once was.

There are a few who are less distinguished in judgment, competence, temperament or attitude but this is Thanksgiving Day, not Judgment Day, so let it be. As far as I know, they are all honest and intelligent men and women; we are not pursuing scoundrels. People with ethical issues have left quietly. The problem here is that any mayor, to some extent, becomes invested in his appointees, and even as he learns their limitations, he may rationally believe that the time to make changes is between terms, not during an election year cycle. That was the timing President Bush followed.

Holiday Reading

Five daily newspapers are published in New York City, not counting the two free ones which are given out at subway stations. No one can read them all. What we try to do, when we can, is link to articles about subjects we think have particular civic importance. The long holiday weekend will give you a chance to read the stories, if you care to.

Here are today's links to eleven informative and relevant accounts:

• Times: "Democrats in Assembly Plan a Huddle Over Reform," by Michael Cooper, pB5; "Giving Poor Children a Chance to Study Hard, Long and Late," by Samuel G. Freedman, pB9; "For 157 Students, It's Third Grade for the Third Time," by Elissa Gootman, pB9

• Sun: "School Talks Stall, at Least for Now, Weingarten Warns," by Dina Temple-Raston, pp1, 4

• Post: "Bloomberg vows he'll fight MTA's fare hike," by David Seifman, p2; "Record 2.5M in city on Medicaid," by Stefan C. Friedman, p8

• News: "Mayor votes not to spend $75M again," by David Saltonstall, p40; "Jail that mob built," by Greg B. Smith and Thomas Zambito, p14; "Park vendors win 450G," by Lisa Fleisher," p16; "Pushcart emperors live high & pay low," by Lisa Fleisher and Adam Lisberg, p16

• Newsday: "Guy walks into a bank, and could return to jail," column by Joseph Dolman, pA40

Have a good Thanksgiving.