Three hundred and forty-three firefighters were murdered at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Their fire union, the Uniformed Firefighters Association, collected about $80 million in donations after the event. Donors thought that the money would go directly to the widows, children and families of those who died that day. They should have read the fine print. The fire union had other ideas.
Their plan was to invest the money and dole out small amounts to widows and children only over time. The families of single firefighters were not included.
In one of their plans, the amount of money a widow would receive was so small that at thirty-six years old, she would have to live to be ninety-six before she received her full amount on a dollar for dollar basis, an amount that donors expected she would receive immediately.
That scheme was so outrageous that the Charities Bureau at the New York State Attorney General’s office intervened and made the union give the money out as expected, but not all of it. The union got to keep about $20 million, which they then invested. The investment is doing well, and each December they are able to throw a Christmas party and give the children a $500 stipend.
The union also publishes a paper in the winter. In it union officials, surrounded by grateful widows and children, are prominently portrayed. It’s great public relations; the firefighters eat it up.
Joseph J. Hehir
FDNY Retired
Friday, August 6, 2010
Saturday, April 3, 2010
A Tough Problem
Here is what is going on in the federal government’s attempt to influence how New York State educators educate.
As part of the stimulus package Arne Duncan, the head of the U. S. Department of Education, was given $4.35 billion in grant money to distribute to the states. The cash strapped states can surely use it. Never mind that the cash strapped nation doesn’t have it lying around to give.
This is how it works. Instead of distributing education money directly according to population, each state is required to submit a proposal on how they plan to spend the money on education. If Arne Duncan approves, they get the money.
He wants four things from the states: more charter schools, school systems must take student achievement into account when evaluating teachers for tenure, improved training for teachers and principals, and improved science instruction for the students.
Mr. Richard Iannuzzi, President of the 600,000 member New York State United Teachers union (NYSUT) and MR. Michael Mulgrew, the new President of the 55,000 member United Federation of Teachers (UFT) in New York City oppose this. Both unions have the support of the New York State legislature.
Governor David Paterson needs to find $9 billion dollars soon to balance his $133 billion 2010 – 2011 budget. Many other governors have similar problems. Governor Paterson proposes to cut $1.7 billion from education statewide if he doesn’t find some extra money fast. The $700 million the feds offered to New York State could have helped, but the legislature didn’t go along, so the feds didn’t help. There will be an additional opportunity to make the necessary changes to qualify for further grant money in June. Time will tell how this works out.
I personally oppose the federal government medaling in the affairs of local schools, but there is a national interest here. We are being creamed when it comes to educating young people. Asian and Indian students in this country and in their own countries work much harder and are much smarter than the average American student. Further, the level of education in the Black and Hispanic communities is very low, with no improvement in sight. The federal government is trying to raise standards for all to a point where we as a nation can continue to compete economically with other nations.
In New York, there are many obstacles that local school boards must overcome to properly meet their responsibilities. A major obstacle is the powerful influence that teacher unions have on how schools are run. They are able, with their political donations and their ability to “get out the vote”, to influence the legislature to tilt education legislation in their favor. The Triborough Amendment to the Taylor Law voted into law in 1982 by the legislature is an example. While the Taylor Law prohibits teachers from striking, the amendment prohibits school boards from changing the existing teacher contracts when they expire. Under the law there is nothing local school boards can do to change policy while negotiating for a new contract, which could go on forever. Everything, including regular step-ups in pay, must remain as is until a new agreement is reached. The federal government, with its promise of grant money, is trying to pressure legislatures to dilute the influence of unions in school board negotiations. Time will tell if that works also.
Some educators are to blame also. For example, the New York State Education Department included in their proposal for grant money $200,000 for very expensive office furniture for their executives. That item was sited as one reason New York State lost out. The Schenectady, NY school board is now busy trying to protect itself from a possible criminal investigation and sure voter disapproval next November. Student achievement is not their number one priority right now.
Most of all, school boards and educators are fighting an up hill battle to educate when the State’s family structure is in such bad shape. Family structure has a predominant influence on learning preparedness*. The single earner family, where one partner works and the other stays at home to care for the kids, is a dying institution today. Further, families headed by single mothers and families fractured by divorce do not have the structure to properly prepare children for learning. The feds have very little influence here.
This is a tough problem.
*FAMILY ENVIRONMENT has a substantial influence on children's scholastic achievement. Home experiences can significantly affect the development of literacy and language skills among young children (Roskos & Neuman, 1993; Snow, 1995) in families who promote linguistic skill development, parents and other adults encourage reading, make books available to children, read to the children, and limit television viewing (Sulzby & Teale, 1991). Among Indochinese refugee families in the United States, children with high levels of scholastic achievement were likely to have parents who encouraged hard work and excellence (Caplan, Choy, & Whitmore, 1992).
As part of the stimulus package Arne Duncan, the head of the U. S. Department of Education, was given $4.35 billion in grant money to distribute to the states. The cash strapped states can surely use it. Never mind that the cash strapped nation doesn’t have it lying around to give.
This is how it works. Instead of distributing education money directly according to population, each state is required to submit a proposal on how they plan to spend the money on education. If Arne Duncan approves, they get the money.
He wants four things from the states: more charter schools, school systems must take student achievement into account when evaluating teachers for tenure, improved training for teachers and principals, and improved science instruction for the students.
Mr. Richard Iannuzzi, President of the 600,000 member New York State United Teachers union (NYSUT) and MR. Michael Mulgrew, the new President of the 55,000 member United Federation of Teachers (UFT) in New York City oppose this. Both unions have the support of the New York State legislature.
Governor David Paterson needs to find $9 billion dollars soon to balance his $133 billion 2010 – 2011 budget. Many other governors have similar problems. Governor Paterson proposes to cut $1.7 billion from education statewide if he doesn’t find some extra money fast. The $700 million the feds offered to New York State could have helped, but the legislature didn’t go along, so the feds didn’t help. There will be an additional opportunity to make the necessary changes to qualify for further grant money in June. Time will tell how this works out.
I personally oppose the federal government medaling in the affairs of local schools, but there is a national interest here. We are being creamed when it comes to educating young people. Asian and Indian students in this country and in their own countries work much harder and are much smarter than the average American student. Further, the level of education in the Black and Hispanic communities is very low, with no improvement in sight. The federal government is trying to raise standards for all to a point where we as a nation can continue to compete economically with other nations.
In New York, there are many obstacles that local school boards must overcome to properly meet their responsibilities. A major obstacle is the powerful influence that teacher unions have on how schools are run. They are able, with their political donations and their ability to “get out the vote”, to influence the legislature to tilt education legislation in their favor. The Triborough Amendment to the Taylor Law voted into law in 1982 by the legislature is an example. While the Taylor Law prohibits teachers from striking, the amendment prohibits school boards from changing the existing teacher contracts when they expire. Under the law there is nothing local school boards can do to change policy while negotiating for a new contract, which could go on forever. Everything, including regular step-ups in pay, must remain as is until a new agreement is reached. The federal government, with its promise of grant money, is trying to pressure legislatures to dilute the influence of unions in school board negotiations. Time will tell if that works also.
Some educators are to blame also. For example, the New York State Education Department included in their proposal for grant money $200,000 for very expensive office furniture for their executives. That item was sited as one reason New York State lost out. The Schenectady, NY school board is now busy trying to protect itself from a possible criminal investigation and sure voter disapproval next November. Student achievement is not their number one priority right now.
Most of all, school boards and educators are fighting an up hill battle to educate when the State’s family structure is in such bad shape. Family structure has a predominant influence on learning preparedness*. The single earner family, where one partner works and the other stays at home to care for the kids, is a dying institution today. Further, families headed by single mothers and families fractured by divorce do not have the structure to properly prepare children for learning. The feds have very little influence here.
This is a tough problem.
*FAMILY ENVIRONMENT has a substantial influence on children's scholastic achievement. Home experiences can significantly affect the development of literacy and language skills among young children (Roskos & Neuman, 1993; Snow, 1995) in families who promote linguistic skill development, parents and other adults encourage reading, make books available to children, read to the children, and limit television viewing (Sulzby & Teale, 1991). Among Indochinese refugee families in the United States, children with high levels of scholastic achievement were likely to have parents who encouraged hard work and excellence (Caplan, Choy, & Whitmore, 1992).
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Be sure to cancel your home insurance
Be sure to cancel your home insurance with your previous insurer if you switch to a new insurer. Here is what happens if you don’t: My previous insurer, Liberty Mutual continued to bill me even though I didn’t want their insurance anymore. They assume if you ignore their bills after your contract expires that you really want them to continue insuring your home. After a while they get the message and cancel the policy, but they still want to get paid.
Now I have a collection agency calling. What this poor collection agency doesn’t know yet is that I can be so abusive to them that they will be the ones to hang up on me, not the other way around. That’s what happened to the last one anyway.
I am making up a batch of new curse words and profanities to use on them when the time comes. I would let you know what they are, but you are not a collection agency person.
Now I have a collection agency calling. What this poor collection agency doesn’t know yet is that I can be so abusive to them that they will be the ones to hang up on me, not the other way around. That’s what happened to the last one anyway.
I am making up a batch of new curse words and profanities to use on them when the time comes. I would let you know what they are, but you are not a collection agency person.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Our right as a Citizen
The right of all citizens to speak and petition their elected representatives is protected by the Constitution. You have to pay, however, to be heard.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Short-term pain trumps long-term gain.
This is what the Obama administration failed to understand last year. When people are out of a job and can’t provide for their family, they need immediate solutions to ease the pain. They don’t care that much about what’s coming down the road. President Obama, after bailing out the bankers, devoted his efforts to solving the health care problem, which will be a big problem in the future, but not now. He needs to concentrate on the economy so that people can get back to work before he tackles health care reform.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
I believe
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said on December 27 that "the system worked" after Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab tried to ignite a bomb aboard a Northwest Airlines airplane on Christmas Day. She latter had to clarify that statement. She continues to affirm that the people who live and work in New York City will be protected when terrorist Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks, goes on trial sometime in 2010.
New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly assures all that his department is up to the job of protecting New York City during the trial of Mr. Mohammed, after a van with tinted windows and no license plate was recently left on a street near Time Square unattended for at least two days.
I believe them when they say they can protect us. I believe them because I’m an idiot, but you shouldn’t.
Happy New Year,
Monday, September 7, 2009
More Health Care Stuff
There is an interesting AP article by Arelis Hernandez (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_service_dogs/print). Titled “After 8-year delay, VA program hopes to help vets”. It describes an eight-year attempt to match service dogs with disabled veterans. To begin the program the VA first conducted a six-year feasibility study which resulted in inconclusive findings. So far, the program has matched two veterans with service dogs. In 2001, when the program started, there were many organizations that trained dogs to do service work; the VA could have used them, but chose not to.
As I see it, President Obama is asking 85% of the U. S. population to give up a portion of their health care benefits so that the other 15% can have health insurance. If the VA system I have described above is representative of what future U. S. health care will be like, I don’t think that many people will be happy with it.
As I see it, President Obama is asking 85% of the U. S. population to give up a portion of their health care benefits so that the other 15% can have health insurance. If the VA system I have described above is representative of what future U. S. health care will be like, I don’t think that many people will be happy with it.
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