Providence Mayor Angel Taveras, right, and Treasurer Gina Raimondo at a recent panel on payday loan reform, an issue they both supported.
It’s striking the difference in how efforts to cut public sector pension benefits are playing out in Providence compared to the state level – as municipal retirees are agreeing to a compromise in the Capital City, state retirees are gearing up for a legal fight in court.
About 80 percent of Providence retirees voted in favor of a pension deal with Mayor Angel Taveras earlier this week. Meanwhile Bob Walsh, head of the NEARI, a local teachers’ union whose members are in the state system, was calling the Rhode Island’s reform efforts “a profoundly poorly-thought out solution,” to WPRI and penning op/eds on RI Future.
In part, it’s a telling testament to the different styles employed by those who led the efforts.
Providence Mayor Angel Taveras was understated yet adamant as he brought his ask to the table. Treasurer Gina Raimondo, on the other hand, went on more of a whistle-stop rally-for-reform tour of the state last year talking about truth in numbers more than compromise.
Of course, it’s also, in part, a telling testament to the need for reform – which explains a lot about the two different tacks too.
In Providence, the city was teetering on the verge of bankruptcy, and had made some pretty exorbitant post-employment promises to city staff over the years. At the state level, the only danger was staving off potentially-dismal future scenarios and the danger of paying for the government we already created.
To that end, it is little surprise that Taveras hasn’t achieved the kind of stardom as did Gina. Taveras merely responded to a crisis; Gina created one and then solved it by saving taxpayers money at the expense of public sector unions – of course such actions would win the praise of the ultra-conservative Manhattan Institute and ALEC, which in a recent report called RI’s pension cutting efforts a model for the rest of the country to follow.
On the other hand, Providence’s pension reform savings are already all-but in the bank. On the state-level, any savings to be had still rest in the hands of a judge.
Either way, expect to see many more comparisons between pension reform efforts between the city and state … in fact, at this early date at least, I’d bet it will be the basis for the 2014 Democratic primary campaign for governor between Gina Raimondo and Angel Taveras.
You know, I have to be honest: I’m a little resentful of the subtle sexism inherent in the use of Treasurer Raimondo’s first name — particularly by you, Bob. The Mayor is referred to by his last name, but when it comes to the Treasurer, you minimize and diminish her by using her first name. I know this is only a blog — but Bob, I suspect you’re well versed in the AP style guide, suggesting that this choice was probably made deliberately.
Not to mention the fact that when you refer to other men with whom this blog generally disagrees (see Anthony Gemma, Rep. Jon Brien), you respectfully use their last name… but with the treasurer, it’s always “Gina” (see, the title of this post: www.rifuture.org//gina-chafee-also-at-odds-on-muni-pension-bills.html)
What’s up with that? Disagree all you want. No need to add a disrespectful, sexist element.
It’s about name recognition not gender discrimination. – BP
Ok I’ll admit, that was a little trolly.
True. I forgot how common, non-distinct and unrecognizable the name “Raimondo” is in this state.
Bob,
Didn’t Taveras pretty much do the same as the legislature only through city ordinance and that’s what forced the recipients and employees to the table?
We are still waiting at the State table for the other side to show up to discuss the pension situation. They had plenty of opportunities since last November. While I would have preferred that the City accomplish the negotiation without the illegal ordinance hanging over everyone’s head, they negotiated, which is the fundamental point.
One major thing missing in the pension discussion is the absence of inclusion of our Congressional dlelgation in the ultimate solution. Across the country, since 2008 or so, pension funds and endowments have suffered enormously as a result of Federal Reserve and Treasury decisions to deal with problems in the economy. The result has been pension funds being drained by these policies and the public being hoodwinked to think that it was the entire fault of the pension systems and their members all along. Sure hter are reforms that need to be made to pension systems, disfferent for every state and locality, but one thing pervades over the past 6 years. It has been major declines in returns on investments. CALPERS, the country’s largest pension fund only made 1% on their investments last year. Treasurers like Gina Raimondo bit on the bait offered by public outrage and figured to try to solve it with class envy rhetoric piled upon insinuations of corruption and incompetence, which the usual characters took hook, line and sinker. Bernanke and Obama owe it to all pension funds to devise a multi-year pension return support program which gurantees a minimum of returns in return for evidence of reforms that do not impair current retirees or vested employees. It can be done. In fact the FED could make the multi-year gurantees a balance sheet issue rather than a budget issue. What is being done to explore this reasonable solution? NOTHING. Our myopic Treasurer, Governor, General Assembly and union leadership have frittered away their time trying to solve the problem without addressing the 800 lb gorilla in the room. Now they need to get with it, or they all should be fired, forthwith!!