Government

The NYPD Has Its Own Scandinavian Welfare State | The Indypendent

The NYPD Has Its Own Scandinavian Welfare State | The Indypendent

"Starting annual pay for an NYPD officer is only $42,000 but it quickly soars to $85,000 after five and a half years on the force. With abundant opportunities for overtime, that can boost annual pay to over $100,000 per year. Higher-ranking members of the force fare even better. Officers also qualify for full medical coverage, full prescription, vision and dental coverage, unlimited sick pay and 26 days of paid vacation per year.
 
But it’s the pension plan that provides the golden handcuffs that bind any would-be rebel to his or her job. NYPD officers can retire after 22 years on the force and receive half their annual pay every year for the rest of their lives. The pension formula is based in part on average pay during the final three or five years on the force when an officer will try to rack up as much
overtime as they can get.
 
Mass protest movements like Occupy and Black Lives Matter annoy the fuck out of cops — the long hours, the disrespect from many demonstrators, their refusal to follow orders or be in awe of authority. But truth be told, mass protest movements are also a windfall for police officers in the final stages of their careers.
 
As Joe Biden would say, here’s the deal. Most NYPD officers retire in their mid-40s. If they live to be 80, they will collect close to $2 million in pension payments on top of the roughly $2 million they earn during their active-duty years. That’s $3.5 to $4 million in lifetime earnings, plus all the non-cash benefits for 22 years of work. For the white-shirted commanders who love to throw protesters around like rag dolls, it’s far more.
 
Would you make the trade-off? Twenty-two of the best years of your life spent as a cop in return for a lifetime of economic security? For many, the terms are irresistible. In 2019, the NYPD had 36,038 active officers on payroll plus another 53,441 retirees and beneficiaries.Think of it as affirmative action for bullies; a Scandanavian-style welfare state for a warrior caste deeply committed to its mission — suppressing the lower classes to keep the city safe and profitable for market-rate real estate and its occupants."

It Can Happen Here

It Can Happen Here

Liberal democracy has enjoyed much better days. Vladimir Putin has entrenched authoritarian rule and is firmly in charge of a resurgent Russia. In global influence, China may have surpassed the United States, and Chinese president Xi Jinping is now empowered to remain in office indefinitely. In light of recent turns toward authoritarianism in Turkey, Poland, Hungary, and the Philippines, there is widespread talk of a “democratic recession.” In the United States, President Donald Trump may not be sufficiently committed to constitutional principles of democratic government.

Will Elmer Fudd and Yosemite Sam No Longer Carry Guns?

Will Elmer Fudd and Yosemite Sam No Longer Carry Guns?

Some good news for Bugs Bunny: Elmer Fudd and Yosemite Sam will lose their rights to bear arms in the updated HBO Max version of the beloved “Looney Tunes” cartoon series, according to a recent New York Times interview with the showrunner.

Reports in the Times and other U.S. news outlets in June 2020 about a ban on “Looney Tunes” characters using guns prompted queries from Snopes readers seeking confirmation whether or not the claim is true. It is.

“Looney Tunes” have found a new home on HBO Max as a series of shorts that will feature much of the same violent shenanigans despite eschewing guns, with Fudd attempting to get that rabbit using other methods. The animated children’s series that originated as a series of short film features in the 1930’s started streaming on the platform on May 27, 2020.

In an interview with the Times, Peter Browngardt, who also serves as the executive producer of “Looney Tunes Cartoons,” said: “We’re not doing guns … But we can do cartoony violence — TNT, the Acme stuff. All that was kind of grandfathered in.”

De-escalation Keeps Protesters And Police Safer. Departments Respond With Force Anyway. | FiveThirtyEight

De-escalation Keeps Protesters And Police Safer. Departments Respond With Force Anyway. | FiveThirtyEight

Instead, it’s become normal in the U.S. for police departments to revert to tactics that amplify tensions and provoke protesters, Maguire said, including wearing intimidating tactical gear before its use would be warranted. Maguire does training for police officers and has tried, for years, to get buy-in on the idea that there could be a different way. “I have good relationships with police and I’ve been working with them for 25 years, and I’ve never experienced pushback like I do on this,” Maguire said.