Special Report by
Bill Hohlfeld, Coordinator Local 46
LMCT
On Friday, December 4, 2009, an
impressive array of speakers gathered at the
Hard Rock Cafe on 43rd
St. and Broadway in New York City, not to sip cocktails
or gaze at the instruments of rock n roll's famous, late
and great, but rather to discuss over bagels and coffee,
the topic that is on every New Yorker's mind today - the
state of the economy.
Despite everyone's
legitimate anxiety about the economy, it was to
everyone's credit that the breakfast began by addressing
the hunger of those far less fortunate than anyone in
the room.
Bill Ayres,
Executive Director for WHY HUNGER (World Hunger
Year) made an appeal for support because as he
quoted John Lennon, "Hunger in America is an obscenity."
His organization, co-founded by Ayres and the late
singer Harry Chapin, dedicated to helping people find
the means to help themselves, is determined to fight
poverty and hunger not only here but also all over the
world. It was a somber reminder to all present that in
the land of the blind, the one eyed man is king.
Next to take the
podium was
Bruce
Ventimiglia, co-chair of BALCONY. In his brief
but very pointed introduction of Keynote speaker
New York State Comptroller Tom
DiNapoli, Bruce reminded the audience that a year
ago
Comptroller
DiNapoli had spoken at a very similar Wall Street
Balcony Breakfast. At that Forum, when we were all
reeling from shock of the economic debacle, DiNapoli
made some economic forecasts for the year to come. Bruce
reviewed those comments and pointed out that our
comptroller had been, in a word,
right.
BALCONY co-chair, Bruce
Ventimiglia
,
was happy to report that the NYS pension fund had
rebounded and that as of September 2009 it showed an 18%
profit. He was quick to admit that the lesson learned is
one of diversification, with the state realizing that it
had become too reliant on tax revenue from "Wall Street"
for a healthy economy.
He went on to say that
bonuses are now federally regulated. And, while that may
assuage the populist rumblings amongst us, (my words,
not his) that regulation does translate to a drop in
revenue. Wall Street accounts for 24% of all wages paid
in NYC, and every job on Wall Street creates two more
within the city and one more in a nearby suburb. These
are sobering statistics if out of the 35,000 jobs lost
recently in New York, 1 of every five were in the
securities industry.
Lastly,
Comptroller DiNapoli
presented a realistic portrayal of our financial
landscape by alluding to the 288,000 jobs lost in the
state since the beginning of the recession. This has
left the state with a budget gap of over $4 million. A
deficit reduction plan has just been passed which
includes $391 million of federal stimulus. But, we are
not out of the woods yet. Close scrutiny of the budget
is still the order of the day. The bottom line does
offer some comfort - New York State, though low on cash,
is not broke. Actually, we can still expect to see a
three year budget gap over $27 billion in 2011 . Of
course means that some tough choices will have to be
made to keep us on track. There are opportunities for
further pension fund and green business investments, and
opportunities for growth in which New York can
participate.
NYC Comptroller, John
Liu
Following Mr. DiNapoli,
NYC Comptroller, John
Liu, who was positive about economic recovery in
New York City. Using a personal story as a metaphor for
the kind of success possible in this city, Liu drew upon
his own experience of receiving a world class education
in NYC and NYS public schools and universities. He also
drew attention to Flushing, Queens, the area he
represented on the New York City Council. He held it up
as a model of financial success based on a thriving
immigrant community made up of a "perfect combination of
human capital and entrepreneurial spirit." That
certainly is the essence of the
BALCONY
membership.
Adding to the morning were the
comments of
BALCONY co-chair Alan Lubin
who, now that he is retiring from his post as Executive
Vice President of NYSUT, will be working harder than
ever to promote
BALCONY. He pointed to
the impact
BALCONY
hasmade on social and fiscal policies governing
health care and the insurance industry. Before
introducing
Tom
Lee, he reminded everyone that joining
BALCONY was about what
you can do and what you can give, not what you can
get.
BALCONY co-chair, Alan
Lubin
, who
manages the
New York State Teachers'
Retirement System funds, reported on the health
of its portfolio, and shared his personal formula for
keeping it so. "It's all about liquidity and alignment
of interests."
It should be noted that not all
the panelists were quite so optimistic. Economists and
financial industry experts,
Barry Weprin of the
Milberg Law Firm,
Gregg Hymowitz of
Entrust and
James Parrott of the
Fiscal Policy
Institute, were all a bit gloomier in their
forecasts for the future, if more aggressive measures
will not be taken to bolster the economy. Issues still
loom like pension relief, continued unemployment, lack
of a national industrial policy, tax reform, and the
need for increased regulation in our financial sector,
just to name a few.
The
BALCONY Breakfast
illustrated two undeniable facts. First,
BALCONY still has a
great deal of hard work ahead, and second, it has the
kind of talent in its ranks that could get that work
done.
The
BALCONY
Wall Street breakfast at New York's Hard Rock
Café was sponsored by the
Milberg Law Firm,
Entrust Capital,
BNYConvergEx,
NYSUT,
Saratoga Capital
Management and
WHY Hunger.
Links of SPONSORS &
SPEAKERS
