Joe: To the end, looking out for Number 1
With all the affectionate goodbyes to Joe Bruno, here's a reminder of who he really was:
He was on the state payroll for 39 years, and his base legislative salary was $79,500. But you will be financing his retirement with an annual pension of $95,000, based on 41.7 years of pension credits.
How's that?
Well, the pension calculation also takes into account an additional "stipend" of $41,000 he got as majority leader. And he gets an extra two years of pension credits as a Tier 1 system worker qualified for Section 80-a benefits for legislative employees who began before July 1, 1973 under a law that somehow got through the Senate in 2000 -- while Joe Bruno was majority leader.
So, he passed a law that approved more money for him.
That's Joe.
Read about it here.
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Comments (14)
JR
Thats not a fair post. I have been critical of Joe and have ask for him to resign as Majority Leader. But JR that was a cheap shot.
Now a cheap shot back to you.
How Much money did Errol Cockfield make as the Albany Bureau Chief before he went to work for Gov Spizer and now for Paterson.
What type of pension does Newsday have for it's employees compared to the State Pension that Mr. Cockfield could enjoy if he works 41 years.
I hope you will answer this in the interest of fairness.
VTY
VJ Machiavelli
http://www.vjmachiavelli.blogspot.com
VJ - If you think that Newsday or any other business has a pension system for it's employees anything like the pension system for legislators like Bruno, I have a bridge to sell you. Bruno is a swindler who was lionized for taking taxpayers money and spending like it was his own. His last day was a celebration of his disgraceful career.
The extra pension sweetener for Tier I is to get them to retire sooner rather than later because they cost employers more money than those in the other tiers. The law wasn't passed for Joe Bruno.
This post is a red herring because Bruno worked 41+ years. Personally, I don't think a pension of $95K for someone in his position and for someone who is 78/79 years old is out of line. Should he have worked for free? I also don't care about the pork barrel spending because if it didn't go to build a stadium, it would have went for more Medicaid/welfare. It isn't as if our taxes would have gone down.
Out of all the people I don't want to defend . . .
It's not fair to blame Bruno for the Tier 1 pension adjustment. Don't forget that it was also passed by a Democratic Assembly and signed into law by a Republican Governor. Selectively blaming a legislator for bills you disagree with that pass into law is just lazy. There's a lot of checks and balances in the system. If you're going to blame one side, blame them all.
JP, I agree with you. I hate having to defend Bruno, but think he has earned his pension. Take aim at the LI school superintendents, one of whom has a $300K+ pension and another who is collecting his six-figure pension in prison after being convicted of on the job theft.
I intended the post to be slightly tongue in cheek. You all are correct that Bruno almost certainly did not pass the legislation with himself in mind.
I just thought it was emblematic of a guy who, throughout his tenure, mixed legislative matters with private business dealings in a way that at the end came under scrutiny.
As for $95,000 -- hey, in the abstract, I think every 79 year old should have $95K a year. But most of them don't -- and remember, this is a pension for a part-time job. Bruno pursued other business interests as well.
Remember too: Public pensions on average are better than the private sector. USA Today reported last year that civil servants are 2x as likely to get a pension as private sector workers, and the average govt pension is $17K compared to $7K in the private sector.
Joe, for a part time job, gets $95K. Taxpayers support a retirement system that is far more generous than the one they enjoy. It's a structural problem that Joe was part of creating.
JR
How about the salary of Errol Cockfield and are you going to post my other reply that is being held ???
VJ Machiavelli
http://www.vjmachiavelli.blogspot.com
JR, I am missing something here? Legislators are part-time and I wish they were even MORE part-time because when they aren't in session they can't pass bad laws. However, Joe Bruno was in a full-time position because of his leadership role. I don't know how he had time for the other business interests (he should be investigated), just as I don't know how Shelly Silver has time to work for his megabucks law firm. Than again, how did Spitzer have time to do his cavorting?
But, at the end of the day the guy worked in state government for more than 41 years and was one of the Big Three for a long time. His pension is less than $100K and he is already almost 80. This doesn't seem out of line.
The private sector is eliminating their pension plans and going the 401k route. That's too bad. I bet many public employees wish they, too, could have the option of a 401k because they would own it and be able to pass the balance down to family members. The current pension plan could seriously shortchange someone like Bruno who is no longer married. When he dies, his pension is over. No one is getting a piece of it. In that way, it is similar to Social Security.
Dear JR
I guess you are no allowing my post that was waiting approval.
Now lets see what Errol Cockfield pension could be.
His salary is at least 150,000.00 dollars and if he does not get a raise and works 30 years times 2% = a pension of 60% of 150,000.00 = $90,000.00 not bad for a "SPOKESMEN"
And as you said twice what he would get in the private sector I guess that means Newsday Too.
No wonder he went to work for "GOVERNMENT"
VJ Machiavelli
http://www.vjmachiavelli.blogspot.com
Joe Brono did NOT work full-time for the State for 41 years, Prior to his election to the part-time job of State Senator in 1976, he had another part-time patronage job as an aide to Republicans in the Assembly. He became Majority Leader in 1995, so the only time he was working anything close to full-time was for less than 14 years! Don't attempt to compare Bruno to a blue-collar worker working 9 to 5 for 41 years.
and these are the guys we want to remain in the majority? PATHETIC!
The ERS, the state pension system credits employees at every level with service time based upon the number of days they work. The employee has no say in this. It is simple math. Republican and Democrats both get pensions. If the Democrats had the majority, things would be no different. In fact, the Assembly Democrats and every other member of the state legislature all live by the same rules.
Again, I don't see how this is an issue. This is the law. Just because the legisture is only in session for about 6 months doesn't mean the legislators aren't spending some time in their offices, at community events, etc.
Yoda
Does Errol Cockfield work "FULL TIME" as a mouth piece. Sometimes you have to see "CHEAP SHOTS" for what they are "CHEAP SHOTS" but then again you are a "BUDDY" of Ben Smith and blog on Room 8 The blog that Banned me from posting.
VJ Machiavelli
http"//www.vjmachiavelli.blogspot.com
It's an issue because it's a structural problem in NYS. The public sector receives retirement benefits that exceed the retirement benefits of the non-public workers who have to support it.
401-K plans do not make up the difference. In fact, private sector companies have been switching to 401-K plans to escape the long-term liabilities that folks like Bruno have happily imposed on taxpayers.
It's unsustainable over the long haul.