A nest egg. A rainy day fund. A reserve. Back up. We all have some, or would like some. In case things go sideways, a way to pay some bills in the meantime. If you have assets that would cover a full year of expenses, that’s pretty good. And in 2011, the United Federation of Teachers Welfare Fund was about two-thirds of the way there: they had assets of $239 million, and expenses of $306 million. They also had revenue of $289 million. That means they lost a little, and the nest egg went down to $222 million. As long as revenue and expenses were balanced, the assets (the rainy day fund, the nes ..read more

At the hearing last Thursday… (oh there’s a lot to write, but I won’t)… the UFT’s lawyer was there… Alan Klinger… sitting with… the lawyers for the City… sitting with those who are trying to force retirees into Medicare Advantage. And doing it on our dime. The United Federation of Teachers’ lawyer sat with the City attorneys and helped shape arguments that, if they succeed, will force retirees out of traditional Medicare. Just another reminder ..read more

I turned 60 a month ago. Made me smile. I used the day and the days immediately before and after to celebrate. Not sure what I was celebrating, in particular, but celebration seemed in order. When the odometer rolls over, there is a sense of excitement, but the world hasn’t changed. Maybe it’s just a moment to reflect. Friday before my birthday I went to the bar – and was joined by friends, former colleagues, former students, family. Hours passed, chatting, relaxing. I felt good. I wore my brand new “60” t-shirt. Someone brought me home-made chicken soup. And my birthday day? I met ten peopl ..read more

Huge civil rights protest, half a million, 60 years ago. And some of you might want to say, “but the March on Washington was sixty and a half years ago – and it was a quarter million” – which is correct. And it makes the point. A protest, twice the size, not in Washington DC but here in New York City, happened 60 years ago, and it is hidden. The NY Daily news sent a note to subscribers – 60 years ago (Wednesday) a few hundred school kids skipped schools to greet the Beatles at JFK. A few hundred. None of the NY newspapers sent out notices about the 60th anniversary of half a million kids boyco ..read more

This is a post about questions that do harm, but do not make sense. Does your dog bite? Really? No. Here’s my question. “Can you help me find my bicycle?” “I don’t know, what does it look like?” “I don’t know. I don’t have one.” See, the question doesn’t make sense. That was my turn. Now it’s The New York Times’ turn. Perhaps they want to talk about “learning loss” – they do that a lot. “Our students suffer learning loss” – says the Times, whose staff’s children are presumably not part of ‘our students’. “What did they learn and then ‘lose’ or forget?” You know why there’s no answer? Because ..read more

After wasting tens of millions of dollars, Ron DeSantis dropped out the day before New Hampshire. He didn’t contest a single primary (Iowa was caucuses). Republicans have run some pretty awful campaigns. Chris Christie. Rudy Giuliani. Rick Santorum. Greg Abbott. Chris Christie. But DeSantis may be the worst. Is that me, kicking the smug vile torturer when he’s crawling away? Nope – look here: So sad for me. I was creating maps. Also rans. Who would be the big loser to Trump. My maps were showing who was in second. I just started last week, not anticipating DeSantis’ slimy early exit. Look her ..read more

The calendar works that way. The shortest day is around December 21. And the length of the day then changes slowly. The days get longer and longer and longer, and the changes happen faster and faster. And the fastest change happens around March 21. We are now a third of the way from December 21 to March 21 (roughly), so the days are starting to get noticeably longer. The story continues. After the first day of spring (roughly) the days keep getting longer, but the changes become smaller, until they reach their longest (and stop getting longer!) around June 21. And then shorter and shorter, fas ..read more

This was my first full year retired (officially from January 3, 2023). There was so much to do! What did I do? Not do? Learn Math I wanted to take courses. I tried to enroll non-matric at Queens College, but turned out I had already matriculated while on sabbatical in 2013 or 2014. So they took me as a continuing masters student. I took one course in the spring, and two in the fall. Two of the three turned out well. I’m registered for Set Theory and Theory of the Integral for the upcoming term. I didn’t mean to get a masters, but that looks like where I’m headed. I wanted to study independent ..read more

Arthur and I discuss congestion pricing, and drug prices. I actually think what I wrote about congestion pricing was clearer. The point I make here, inelegantly, is that of all the things to go after Mulgrew for, this is not one of them. And the drug price stuff is a big deal – Arthur thinks we covered it – but it is a huge topic (involving large costs, and mega-profits). The highlight is part II of the interview with Tom Sheppard, Bronx parent and PEP member. Starts about halfway through. Tom takes down mayoral control, school closures, and disparate impacts on communities of color. He also t ..read more

[Note: Congestion Pricing is back in the news. Implementation may now just be a few months away. And Mulgrew just joined with some politicians to sue to stop it. Now, Mulgrew’s reasons may not make sense. And Mulgrew acted on his own, clearly did not even pretend to go to the Exec Board or the DA. But Congestion Pricing is bad policy, there’s much better ways to limit traffic, and it’s regressive, terrible tax policy. If it is stopped, that’ll be good. Read on. This is a repost from summer of 2021. – jd] If all the major politicians in New York agree on something, it’s either a very good idea ..read more