By adamg on Wed., 5/28/2014 - 9:44 am
John Keith considers statements out of City Hall on the need to build middle-income housing in neighborhoods not being overrun by luxury towers and conversions of old garages into condos.
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Fraud is not a problem?
By Stevil
Wed, 05/28/2014 - 3:04pm
The law very clearly states that the aid must be necessary and without it the project would not happen. I highly doubt that a $4 million tax break on a project expected to generate well over $3 billion in pre-financing profits (before adjusting for inflation) amounts to a hill of beans. However, Mr. Rosenthal signed a legal document to that effect in order to obtain the break. My guess is that if the state ever took a look at the numbers Mr. Rosenthal is sending to his financial partners, that $4 million isn't even a tiny fraction of a rounding error. The legality of the break has zero to do with the merits of the project or new taxes to be generated. The law was actually designed for affordable housing projects that truly are on the margin, but the BRA has bastardized it into "tips" for the 1%. And sadly we don't have a law enforcement officer in the state willing to look at that even though Menino has used this law to give away hundreds of millions to well connected developers (and I hope this is the last time Mayor Walsh does this).
The road ends at the feet of
By anon
Wed, 05/28/2014 - 3:19pm
The road ends at the feet of Coakley and she isn't interested in enforcing the law unless it personally benefits her. Notice how every major corruption probe in this state has had to come from the Feds?
Until we get a real AG interested in doing the job more so than using it as a political stepping stone nothing will change.
The pensions are mostly a state system.
By Pete Nice
Wed, 05/28/2014 - 12:34pm
But the health care is costly. Interestingly enough, unions used to give up 10-20% of health care costs for fractions of a percentage raise back in the 1980s and even 1990s. That's how much health care costs have risen in the last 20 years.
Perhaps you know better
By Stevil
Wed, 05/28/2014 - 12:38pm
Since you work for the city - but I thought all Boston Pensions were from the Boston Pension fund except the teachers. Teachers in most (all?) other communities have a state fund, but Boston teachers have their own.
Interesting footnote to my point above - the BRA gave State Street a tax break to move to South Boston a couple of years ago while they were under investigation for defrauding both the state and city pension fund. Perhaps more interesting, I think this was contingent on certain employment levels. State Street is in the process of laying off at least 400 people. Wonder if anyone is following up on that?
Yea I was talking about the teachers.
By Pete Nice
Wed, 05/28/2014 - 12:51pm
The state runs it (or regulates it, but the city and employee pays into it.
Overall budget yes
By Waquiot
Wed, 05/28/2014 - 12:44pm
Still, that $13,500 per pupil doesn't count retiree costs, which are budgeted separately (yes, I once claimed the system was self funding, and I was wrong, but now I know where the budget item is.)
Medical costs going forward for retirees should be lessened, as they are getting shunted to Medicare. Of course, retirement can be reformed, and not in the radical ways some people want it to be reformed, but the political will isn't there.
single-payer healthcare and/or controlled healthcare costs...
By anon
Wed, 05/28/2014 - 2:33pm
health care is something like 11-12% of the city's budget and increasing (not to mention pension funds would be self-sufficient without healthcare costs). roll this into income tax (and simplify the process to doctors to reduce their overhead costs) and suddenly a bunch of municipalities and state agencies have a lot more wiggle-room.
BPS has the largest number of city employees, so this would be a huge savings.
So you expect the same
By anon
Wed, 05/28/2014 - 3:23pm
So you expect the same administrative people which can't keep costs down running schools (let alone keep fresh food in the cafeterias) are going to keep costs down running their own healthcare scheme?
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