Mayor Bloomberg Puts the NYC Pension Problem into Perspective

In Mayor Bloomberg's long-winded State of the City address, he discussed the pension crisis the city faces:

This year, we will spend $7 billion on pension costs, up from $1.5 billion in 2001. That means this year, the average New York City tax filer will be paying $2,400 more to cover pension costs than they did back then. And next year, we'll be paying even more.

If all consumer prices had gone up at the same rate as the price of our pensions, the subway fare [currently $2.50] would be $7.05 this year and $8.39 next year for the same service we're getting now. New Yorkers can't afford those subway fares, and we certainly can't afford pension costs on that level either.

And Bloomberg is only talking about the next two years, the real pension problems for the city don't kick in until a few more year's down the road.