Governor Andrew Cuomo has joined the ranks of responsible executive leadership in New England, along with Rhode Island governor Lincoln Chafee and New Jersey’s Chris Christie. I am surprised and relieved to see a Democratic governor acting like a responsible parent for once, finally saying "No!" to the demanding and demeaning public sector union lobby.
Cuomo and the New York legislature have significantly trimmed the excessive and outrageous pension costs harming their state. The Big Apple still has some shine, and now will have some bites left for every voter in the state, and public unions will no longer get to gorge on Albany's core.
Perhaps Governor Cuomo could come and pay a visit to Sacramento, California where like-minded but weak-willed governor Jerry Brown has just acquiesced to legislative peer pressure and the public union lobby. He had a bold 12-point plan to curb public pension costs, including the reasonable demand that workers must work until 67 (as opposed to 55!) before they retire. Unfortunately, Brown is already stepping away from doing the inevitable, attempting to tax the rich instead of disciplining state employees. If East Coast Governor Cuomo could cut public outlays in spite of nasty union rhetoric, then he definitely could teach the West Coast Brown a few tricks to get some agreement and save the Golden State from bankruptcy.