http://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/26/nyregion/26SILV.html I have no idea if people in this forum will care, but this has been a very big deal in NYC for the past year and will have a serious effect on the rebuilding effort downtown. I for one am glad. If Silverstein is now saying that $3.5 billion is not enough to rebuild, then he should have insured the buildings for more. He was looking for a loophole to either pocket a big amount of cash or make up for his own financial myopia.
I always thought most insurance policies said that the insurance is void if destruction comes from "Acts of War". So it would seem to me that, the insurance company shouldn't have to pay out anything.
They do. However, all the insurance companies agreed to honour the policies in spite of the 'Acts of War' clause. Finally some dignity from our insurance industry.
Anyone see the report about the NY firefighters who are "forcing themselves" to retire just to cash in one the added boost from 9/11? Well, since this was the first 9/11 thread I found, here it goes. Retirement is based on you final year's salary, so these guys who worked like some 800 hours of overtime are having to retire today. That makes for example, a $10,000 a year difference for many guys. The problem is that this is nearsighted. How much will they drain the retirement system? How much experience will be lost early? How much, in a real cost to the company, will it cost to train new guys to replace them? It is like the military and their pilots. I read that after you serve your tour as military pilot, the US govt has invested about $1 million. The resigning bonus is to make some return on that investment. Can our heroes from 9/11 be seen as simple money whores?
While as a citizen I may not like this, think about it from their perspective: -- You're never going to make more money in all of your life. -- Your job just got unbelievably more dangerous. -- For the past 13 months you spent as much time planning and attending funerals and memorial services as going to regular work. -- All everyone wants to do is commisserate with you about 9/11 when all you really want to do is get back to some semblance of "normal". What would you do? What I would likely do is take the retirement money and high-tail it out of there. What's the purpose of staying on at that point? My wife and I have a family friend who's a NYC firefighter who had guys in his firehouse die and was not killed because he volunteered to work the NYC mayoral primary that morning. He doesn't want to be there anymore. It's depressing for him to go anywhere where people know him as a firefighter because everyone gives him this hangdog look like they feel sorry for him. We did it the first time we saw him after 9/11, too. He can't escape it. I understand your concern, but I understand their point as well. It's their union-guaranteed deal, and if they take it I can't really fault them for it.
NYC Firefighters make from 35K(rookie)-49K(vet) a year. It might be alot in Walla Walla Washington, but in NYC that is borderline poor. Rent anywhere is no less than 1500 for a decent apartment, if you got kids youre screwed even more. On top of that FIrefighters work alot of hours away from home and are risking their lives everyday. I dont blame them for taking the money and screwing with the system. These guys are not rich by anymeans, and I doubt most are even well off. They are living paycheck to paycheck, and if the wife/husband works then they are lucky but then theres no one to stay at home with the kids. Try to put yourself in someone elses shoes before you go off crtizising, Im sure given the opportunity and situation EVERYONE on here will do the same thing.
One thing republicans have taught us is that money is best however you have to get it, whoever you have to screw, and as much as you can....
Good point. It is not like they are putting up their own money. Then again, isn't that how insurance works? They could have kept the money for more profits. This is the whole issue right here. Being the worst terrorist attack in our history, nobody dares to play politics or use technicalities that can be seen as being against the victims. As much as I dislike these media types who claim to have been keeping the pressure on the various agencies and tooting their own horn, the results are visible. Just think back to other natural disasters. The insurance industry has left people out in the cold. The lack of coverage and public support outside the local area helps them cover their dealings. As far as the FDNY goes, they could offer the guys to stay on and retirement could be based on their "top" year. I never had anything against them, but if they go into a job knowing the pay scale and how retirement is based, then were they really into the job for the "service" aspect...selfless heroes...when they see the money and run? Sadly as pointed out, it has been rather hard to deal with in regards to personal feelings and having to work in the same fire house where many brothers naver came back.
I have alot of friends who are on the FDNY, and I put them on my most important/under appreciated list along with cops and teachers. But I wouldn't say that firemen are living hand to mouth, family or no. First of all, every single fireman I know has another job, or works so much overtime it amounts to the same (one of the perks of only working three days a week.) Most of the boys I know are pulling in around 50-70k, and thats just in the first/second/third year. The health benefits are unbelievable, cheap as hell, especially if you have a family. As for apts, most of these guys arent living in the city, unless theyre young, in which case theyre sharing an apt at somewhat less than $1500/month each. And much less anywhere outside Manhatten/spots like Astoria and downtown Bklyn. Anyone who does have a family usually lives in the burbs. I guess where Im going with all this is that the firemen I know are not paupers scraping to get by. They're decently successful relatively, compared with their peers (outside the Wall St crowd, but who can compare with that). The truth as I see it is that 9/11 scared the hell out of ALOT of them, and where they once took this job for the perks, the security, and mostly, that its a damn great thing to be saving people for a living, now they look at it with somewhat less than noble ideals. They see their brothers gone. They see major cash being parlayed out of what happened. And they see the towers falling in front of them, or worse, around them. And suddenly its not worth it. Like I said, its not noble, but they're human. Im not going to judge them, but its definitely leaving NYC in a bit if a tough spot right now. Its tough to be a hero. Its tougher to stay a hero.