The call of the night came from a ten-year-old girl on Staten Island. Her mother was a teacher, and the girl was worried about her future. She's only known one mayor. I asked if she would one day vote for a politician like Mayor Bloomberg. She said, Noooooooo wayyyyyyy.

Mayor Bloomberg presented a fiscal plan today that closes a $2 billion budget gap without raising taxes. The Mayor's $68.7 billion proposal also doesn't call for layoffs of teachers or uniformed workers. Bloomberg credits "years of prudent planning and spending restraint" for making his plan possible.

The preliminary budget did come with a warning about pensions for municipal workers. Bloomberg said payments are reducing the money that's available for other services, and pension spending is now six times what it was in 2002. The City faces a budget deficit of $3 billion in fiscal year 2014, and $3.5 billion in 2015.

What's your reaction to Mayor Bloomberg's preliminary budget that calls for no layoffs or tax increases? Do you support an effort to cut spending on pensions for City workers? How would you rate Mayor Bloomberg's handling of the budget during the recession?

Send your thoughts using the link above.

He is full of it!!

Rosalie from Canarsie

Hi John,

My reaction is that I am never impressed at anything he does. We will end up paying for higher fares as always and the service has declined everywhere plus everything is filthy. He toots his own horn. This man has more corruption in this administration than anybody. He has contact with to much money and it seems as though nothing is ever accounted for. We can ask question but never get proper answers if any at all. The speech is the same as every other one and no one pays attention anymore. HE AND ALL THE OTHERS SHOULD JUST GO. MAKE IT EASIER ON ALL OF US. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH ALREADY

Thank you John,
maxxiee
mp

Is Bloomberg deaf AND blind? To him 'Balanced Budget'means tax CUtS(or NO increase 4 top 1pct.or rule change 2 make it fairer! +cut 'costs' by attrition of 1000s of teachers, cops,fireman etc who retire or leave!! But biggest Question..WHY, WHY r pension plans,bond funds+retirement accts FLAt or losing value+execs still getting obscene 'performance' bonuses????!!!

Sami.
Eastside

It's good that the mayor's plan does not call for layoffs for essential services, but the mayor is calling for cuts to municipal workers pensions, and no taxes on millionaires, again the working class is asked to sacrifice while the rich get a free ride.

Felix
Bay Ridge

Once again, Bloomberg uses his position to attack the middle and working class in New York City. Despite tons of evidence that many are not paying their fair share, including the crooks who hide their income behind "capital gains", Doomberg refuses to even address the issue. Instead, he aims at "pensions". Neglecting the fact, of course, that workers help fund their own pensions, the city has neglected its required payments in the past, and that Wall Street's criminal activities resulted in loss of pension funds. Where were Doomberg and Cuomo when Wall Street was tearing the guts out of everyone's retirement funds??? Where was the indignation when hard working people were defrauded and robbed?? This pension song is getting old, much like Doomberg and his single minded war on the working people of New York City. He should take Cuomo and go away.

Disgusted in Queens

Not cutting the education budget is not the same as not cutting school budgets---More for IZone and Charters?--The devil is always in the details but it seems few know the right questions to ask.

nuff said

John,

The day of reckoning draws nearer every day. Governments local, state and Federal are bankrupt. It is time to let them all fail and to start over again with governments limited to their constitutional power.

Joe
Port Richmond, SI

If there is no tax increases, why is it I received my property tax assessment for next year and it is increased by $800? Additionally, the market value for the same property decreased by over $900. Explain that Mr. Mayor!!! I don't get it. No layoffs - great No tax increases - ????????? I feel like I was just robbed!!!

Jessica
Arden Heights, Staten Island

It looks to my like a "smoke and mirrors" appeasement plan whose ulterior motives are really to bust hardly earned pensions and other union collective gains putting us back in life before FDR's New Deal, i.e., societal darkness.

Rafael
Bushwick

DOWNSTATE NY SENDS A HELLUVA LOT OF MONEY UPSTATE. THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL NEED TO HOLD ONTO THE MONEY INTENDED FOR UPSTATE , UNTIL THE GOVERNOR REMOVES HIS HEAD FROM HIS ARSE. FOODSTAMP PROGRAMS AND PROGRAMS FOR THOSE THAT ARE SPECIAL NEEDS HAVE BEEN CUT DRASTICALLY. PENSIONS ARE NOT THE PROBLEM, THEY ARE IN FACT SELF SUSTAINING BY ACTIVE MEMBERS CONTRIBUTIONS AND INVESTMENTS.

JOE, BAY TERRACE

NYC will have money if the mayor will get these Dollar Vans Off Our Street. This will be a good Topic. All the Dollar Vans Driver do is make good money and dont pay taxes and send the money home to their country. GET THOSE DOLLAR VANS OFF THE STREET. That why the MTA is going broke cause we have illegal alien driving up and down our street making money driving reckless and sending the money they make home to jamaica island. then we wont have to have budget cuts. Get those vans off of our street It should only be the Mta riding up and down our street. only and nyc because u cant go to another state and drive up and down and take the money from their state no way. GET THESE VANS OFF OUR STREET. I would love to here what new yorker have to say about this topic.
Eyes4uzz

PETE FROM MANHATTAN:

Mayor Mike: stop whining and complaining about pension costs. According to Bloomberg News, the average NYC pension is less than $20,000 annually, 75% of pensions are less than $30,000 annually, and New York City's pensions are 101.5% funded.

The City is paying more now in pension costs because then Gov. Pataki, back in the late 1990s, allowed the City and other municipal entities to suspend annual pension contributions if the stock market performance of the pension exceeded 16-18%. The stock market exploded in the late 1990s, flooding City and State coffers with cash. Good government groups warned the City that if it didn't make pension contributions back in the late 1990s -when it was flush with cash- the City would have to contribute much more later.

Municipal employees shouldn't be punished and demonized because of poor planning decisions made by City and State officials nearly 20 years ago. The employees held up their end of the bargain, and deserve all the benefits they're entitled to.

Can the Mayor cut the pensions of people already receiving pension payments? Or for that matter any person with a contract that includes pension benefits without renegotiating the contract? To me that would be unfair. Balancing the budget appears to be a gargantuan job recession or not. Who knows if the Mayor is leaving a house of cards or a full deck?

Bill
Manhattan

God no. They're angry enough already.

Jordan
Flushing

How does Alex rodriguez pay $1200 year in real estate taxes on an 8.4 million dollar apt? I pay $4100 a year on a 400000 dollar house. I took a paycut knowing that I will have a pension and benefits for life!! The civil service tests come out every four years they are not a secret. The city is an equal opportunity employer. Take them, pass the exam and get hired. Go tell the cop that got shot yesterday he doesn't deserve his pension !!!!!

Nick

When is this city going to embrace medical marinuana to solve its financial troubles once and for all?

Jeremy
Forest Hills

I'm tired of hearing the plea for pension reform by mayor mike. The people responsible for raiding the set aside for pensions during his tenure should be punished and responsible for restitution.

Debbi from the Bronx

The mayor is a liar. My real estate taxes were raised twice for 2012 via a 2 percent increase and an increase of my assesment.

Chris. New drop

Our mayor is doing is good job, our City is prosperous and booming. Just look at retail stores, vacant stores are few and far apart. Look for an apartment for rent in Mahattan, a one bedroom is $3000 a month plus and there is low availability.

I travel often, and most of the Cities are hurting. Travel even 20 miles to long Island, and you will see rows of vacant stores, and abandon houses everywhere.

Ed
Murry Hill

This is just a preliminary budget. Just wait till it all hits the fan.

Peace, Nick
Hell's K.

Mayor Bloomberg has been overall very good for the City. He has kept us not only going in tough times but his low key approach and non chalant demeanor has been very refreshing and reassuring. If he could have convinced the big banks (his pals) to avoid firing so many people -lower level and mid level workers- it would have been much better. People who have a job should be happy with his performance as I am.

Andrew
Sunnyside
Queens

Tax the 1 percent not the middle class with less benefits going forward for new hires!

Jesse in NYC

Mayor Bloomberg is doing a great job. I am not surprised that some people do not like anything that he does. They are simply envious.

Kristina

Of coarse the pension payout is going to be higher since 2002 , look at the number of people who retired with 3/4 due to 911 illnesses. It's all a numbers game. Although I do like what Bloomberg has done with the city, he should leave city workers alone. They use city workers pension contributions and invest the money for the city's own profit. If they change the system , 10 years down the line they will be complaining again that they have no money. City uniformed workers do 3-4 times the amount of work state workers, and should not have the same pension system as the rest of the state. Which from what I understand is what Gov Cuomo wants.

Patrick the Bronx/Chelsea

Regarding pensions, the person you interview have no clue about what is being discussed.

There is a big difference between pension cuts [not being discussed by the mayor] and not providing new pensions for new workers

Too many of your viewers should educate themselves about the real issues.
Barry

John & The Call -

I believe Mayor Bloomberg is just being realistic with his Civil Service Pension Reform initiative. Is there any pension system analyst in the benefits plan sector who can reference a pension system (private or public) in the country which includes overtime pay in the pension benefit calculation? This is simply unsustainable and we the taxpayers are paying for this inflated benefit. These inflated pensions should no longer be a rite of passage for these municipal employees to "work the system" with overtime for the last years of service.

By the way, kudos to you on your performance last night on L & O, SVU!

John, Oakwood

Is not fear that this mayor try to look good upon our little money we are making in here. he is being trying to destroy unions all over.

Taxes seen to be raise without any consideration, train fares, food, basic utilities, tolls and everything in NYC has become a super expensive city to live in. And who's paying for all the finance perspectives and projects? Us, regular citizens and workers that we struggle to pay and survive.

Beatriz

What's "gobbling up" the budget are the BUSH TAX CUTS which have us all floundering to make up the difference - and ... how "wonderful" that they will only cut pensions for FUTURE workers - can't wait to live in THAT America 30 years from now! Nice cheerleading the "race to the bottom" . Good job! What you want is the late, great (and much too uppity) American Middle Class to be turned into compliant serfs and the "Land of the Free" transformed permanently into "The United States of Serfs and Lords" - as the trickle-down policies and tax giveaways to the rich were always meant to do.

...but HEY! I have an idea! Let's go back to a top marginal tax rate of 90% like we had under that Socialist Eisenhower! Oh right... but that was BEFORE America was the LEAST upwardly mobile with the widest gap between rich and poor of all industrialized nations... you know.. when we had a NEW DEAL that CREATED THE MIDDLE CLASS TO BEGIN WITH.

I only hope I live long enough to see the next American Revolution - because it's coming as sure as there will be a day of reckoning for those who CONTINUOUSLY oppress the working class.

Tara

Cutting child care spots simply doesn't make sense. Private child care can cost $1,200.00/month. Rent in this city for a one-bedroom apartment costs over $1,000.00/month. If you do the math, a single parent earning $45,000.00 has no income left over after taxes, rent, and child care. Cutting child care spots will make it impossible for many single parents to work. It carries the risk of decreasing tax revenue in the long term.

Joseph

City employees work hard for their middle class wages, n pension.. He needs to stop, hurting the civil service employees, who earn their pension, by trading current hi paying jobs in turn for a low salary n pension. Tell him to contribute some of his millions to adjust our budget, since he is rich.

Norma

Cutting child care spots simply doesn't make sense. Private child care can cost $1,200.00/month. Rent in this city for a one-bedroom apartment costs over $1,000.00/month. If you do the math, a single parent earning $45,000.00 has no income left over after taxes, rent, and child care. Cutting child care spots will make it impossible for many single parents to work. It carries the risk of decreasing tax revenue in the long term.

-Joe, Forest Hills

Hi John,

Once again the conversation to "save" the city money turns to pension reform. As a City employee I can tell you that it's a "DIVERSION" from where monies are wasted. Projects go over budget constantly, Council people make a substantial amount and have numerous perks that cost all of us a pretty penny. $1 out of every $6 goes to pension costs, we contribute to our own pensions. Once again, the Mayor is out of touch. Tell him to address the real problems...

Dave
Brooklyn

King bloomberg boasts that there will be no new taxes, but I think that there should be increased taxes - on the wealthiest new yorkers! all the so-called budget balancing at the city and state level is on the backs of the poor, working poor and public employees, pitting new yorkers against one another. instead of blaming city workers and cutting back their pensions, everyone should get a pension! let the rich pay their fair share and there would be plenty of money to go around. I'm in a higher tax bracket than Mitt Romney and I work 2 part time jobs and pay for my own health insurance. should bloomberg be bragging about not taxing the rich because he's cutting back on childcare and libraries? I don't think so. tax the rich!!!

Meryl

First of all, Bloomberg doesn't mention city workers pay into their pension. City workers deserve their pension since they don't make millions like those in the private sector. Firefighters and cops risk their lives ever day and they deserve their pensions.

Carl

As a retiree administrator from the Board of Education, I negotiated on " both sides of the table." Particularly after the fiscal crisis in 1975, the city consciously gave us higher pension benefis in order to solve cash-flow problems. Then, during the Giuliani/Pataki years, deals were cut--the same sorts of deals cut by Christie Whitman and now Chris Christy in New Jersey--whereby the city and state reduced their contributions to the pension funds, taking short-term, not long-term views. Now that the economy has changed, they all blame it on the employees, not on their own mismanagement. Notably, a lot of the folks "cutting the deals" above were and are Republicans--the same folks now screaming about pension costs. If they had paid into the funds what they SHOULD have paid into the funds, we wouldn't have the problem.

Stephen

Instead of criticizing city pensions why isn't the focus on medicaid and public assistance abuse. Half of New York State's budget goes to medicaid. Cut public assistance before you go after the guy that gets up and goes to work every day!

Paul

Just listened to sound bite from Bloomberg's budget speech on NY1 where he states, "...just think if your rent went up, grocery bills, metrocards, 6 times in a decade. What planet does this guy live on? Here's some news for Mr. Bloomberg & his fellow 1% cronies: my rent is increased every year, a loaf of bread costs $3.99, & I remember when the subway cost 15 cents! He also states that taxes won't be raised. Does he mean a moratorium on all taxes...I'm always mystified when politicians say they won't raise taxes then we see increases in city fees, hidden taxes on utility & telecom bills, increases on tolls & public transportation, meter parking, & the 'sin' taxes.

The mayor once again puts his foot in his mouth illustrating that he is completely out of touch with the middle class & the less fortunate among us.

MRVelez