S10.E06: Glass Houses

[wknt3]

Quote

Frank is conflicted about how to deal with former cop Rick Austin's gripe about his pension. Also, Jamie helps a friend, Connor O'Brien, deal with illicit pictures of his daughter on the Internet; Danny hunts down a killer who shot his online prison pen-pal; and Anthony confronts the realization that his foster son, Sam, might not be suited for police work.

[mojito]

🦗🦗🦗

[mtlchick]

The only thing that was remotely compelling was Sparky (his nick name and the truth behind his accident.) but i was thinking, if he’s retired from the police force, why were they willing to still overlook him using his uniform for speaking tour? 
 

4 storylines is too much for this show.

[AnnA]

39 minutes ago, mtlchick said:

The only thing that was remotely compelling was Sparky (his nick name and the truth behind his accident.) but i was thinking, if he’s retired from the police force, why were they willing to still overlook him using his uniform for speaking tour? 
 

4 storylines is too much for this show.

I agree with you about the four stories.   There's just not enough time to do any of them justice.  Speaking of stories........Did Anthony discover that his foster child can't read?   I'm really confused about that one.   How do you live with someone and not know they can't read?

You're right about Sparky.   He'd never be allowed to wear an NYPD uniform on his speaking tour. 

ETA:.  I was thrilled that Nicki wasn't at Sunday dinner.   Does anyone know if she left the show? (Fingers crossed)

Edited November 2, 2019 by AnnA

[preeya]

2 hours ago, AnnA said:

I agree with you about the four stories.   There's just not enough time to do any of them justice.  Speaking of stories........Did Anthony discover that his foster child can't read?   I'm really confused about that one.   How do you live with someone and not know they can't read?

You're right about Sparky.   He'd never be allowed to wear an NYPD uniform on his speaking tour. 

ETA:.  I was thrilled that Nicki wasn't at Sunday dinner.   Does anyone know if she left the show? (Fingers crossed)

I agree on 4 stories being too much.

Re: Anthony & The Kid, I think he may be dyslexic.

Nicki is in San Francisco saving the planet. What's the over/under until she returns?

Re: Sparky (leaving the uniform thing aside)  If a cop gets a tax free disability pension, why can't he earn money from another endeavor and not have that jeopardize the pension money?  I didn't get the IRS threat to offset one against the other. I'm sure there are a gazillion cops/city workers collecting disability pensions that have other jobs.  Anyone know from experience how this works in the real world?

Edited November 2, 2019 by preeya

[Ebau]

I have watched every single episode of Blue Bloods since it premiered, but I have no recollection of Anthony acquiring a foster child. When did this happen? And is this a sign of my escalating ennui regarding this show? I have the same affliction with NCIS. I must be getting old.

[Katy M]

1 hour ago, preeya said:

If a cop gets a tax free disability pension, why can't he earn money from another endeavor and not have that jeopardize the pension money?  I didn't get the IRS threat to offset one against the other. I'm sure there are a gazillion cops/city workers collecting disability pensions that have other jobs.  Anyone know from experience how this works in the real world?

I looked this up:

Quote

To be eligible for Ordinary Disability Retirement, a member must be in active service and have at least five years of credited service, but not yet be eligible for a Normal Service Retirement benefit. To retire for ODR a member must also be eligible to receive primary Social Security disability benefits.

In order to get SS disability you have to earn more than $1170/month. Which actually almost a full-time job at minimum wage (but not quite, that would be more like $1,270).

16 minutes ago, Ebau said:

I have watched every single episode of Blue Bloods since it premiered, but I have no recollection of Anthony acquiring a foster child. When did this happen? And is this a sign of my escalating ennui regarding this show? I have the same affliction with NCIS. I must be getting old.

I think it was last season or the season before.  The kid was a foster child and his foster mother had murdered one of her other kids.  He lied and gave her an alibi because she was a good foster mother (you know, besides the murder thing).  He ended up in a different home where the mother wouldn't give him a key and so he would get locked out in the snow until she came home.  Erin tried to talk him out of becoming his foster father (never figured out why really), but he decided to do it anyway.

Edited November 3, 2019 by Katy M

[preeya]

2 hours ago, Katy M said:

I think it was last season or the season before.  The kid was a foster child and his foster mother had murdered one of her other kids.  He lied and gave her an alibi because she was a good foster mother (you know, besides the murder thing).  He ended up in a different home where the mother wouldn't give him a key and so he would get locked out in the snow until she came home.  Erin tried to talk him out of becoming his foster father (never figured out why really), but he decided to do it anyway.

I believe Anthony started the foster kid thing in S09.E18: Rectify

[Magnumfangirl]

8 hours ago, AnnA said:

Did Anthony discover that his foster child can't read?

I kind of thought that too, but that doesn't make sense because the kid wrote the note informing Anthony he was leaving.  If one can't read, one can't write either, plus the note was totally legible.

As for the disability story, it didn't make a whole lot of sense.  The guy was getting NYPD disability (i.e. union) not social security disability.  I find it hard to believe that other income would have any affect on his claim.  

[Sarah 103]

6 hours ago, preeya said:

If a cop gets a tax free disability pension, why can't he earn money from another endeavor and not have that jeopardize the pension money?  I didn't get the IRS threat to offset one against the other. I'm sure there are a gazillion cops/city workers collecting disability pensions that have other jobs.  Anyone know from experience how this works in the real world?

1 hour ago, Magnumfangirl said:

As for the disability story, it didn't make a whole lot of sense.  The guy was getting NYPD disability (i.e. union) not social security disability.  I find it hard to believe that other income would have any affect on his claim.  

This makes me feel so much better. I was super confused by this storyline and it made me feel stupid that I did not understand it. The fact that other people were confused by this means I am not stupid and this plotline was poorly written. 

The only thing I can think of is that the disability pension was supposed to exist because he could not find/be hired for other work, but if he could find other work and make large sums of money, then there was no need for the disability pension.

If anyone else can properly explain it that would be greatly apperciated.  

Also, four storylines per episode is way too many storylines. I find the Danny storyline is the one that suffers the most. Going back to three storylines would be a massive improvement. 

[Katy M]

6 hours ago, Sarah 103 said:

The only thing I can think of is that the disability pension was supposed to exist because he could not find/be hired for other work, but if he could find other work and make large sums of money, then there was no need for the disability pension.

If anyone else can properly explain it that would be greatly apperciated.  

The thing I posted in my earlier post that I googled info is referencing was specifically about the NYPD disability pension, and how in order to collect it you need to be eligible for SSD.  Sorry if I didn't make that clear.

[JayDub]

Well that's more or less an hour of my life I will never get back.

Four story lines that were lame even my favorite Anthony.

I now watch this show out of habit even though I don't enjoy it. Time to end the charade and end this show.

[JayDub]

I don't know if the NYPD official stance on this is correct but if an officer was disabled on the job, hence does get a pension (non taxable) and the NYPD has some BS stance he has to claim it against income earned which is taxable IMHO the NYPD are assholes.

I'm a Vietnam vet who receives a small disability check for exposure to Agent Orange and the US government nor the VA puts any stipulation on this non taxable income.

Just my two cents worth.

[rhys]

Yep the disability $$ was weird. He was making $30 k in disability benefits which didn't seem like a lot. Frank & crew seemed aghast that Rick was also pulling in 6 figures for speaking engagements. Well that could just be $100,000 a year in NYC which isn't a crazy amount of money. 

I agree with the person above who said the whole thing was poorly written.

[Magnumfangirl]

4 hours ago, JayDub said:

I don't know if the NYPD official stance on this is correct but if an officer was disabled on the job, hence does get a pension (non taxable) and the NYPD has some BS stance he has to claim it against income earned which is taxable IMHO the NYPD are assholes.

I'm a Vietnam vet who receives a small disability check for exposure to Agent Orange and the US government nor the VA puts any stipulation on this non taxable income.

Just my two cents worth.

I agree.  It's crazy to think a young guy who wouldn't have been in the workforce long enough to have a nest egg saved could live on 30 grand a year in the NYC area.  His wife probably works, but he should be allowed to do something to earn some money.  

I doubt Nikki's gone for good.  I think they would have given her a bigger send off if she was.  The actress probably has something else to film and will return later.

Edited November 3, 2019 by Magnumfangirl

[AnnA]

6 hours ago, JayDub said:

Well that's more or less an hour of my life I will never get back.

Four story lines that were lame even my favorite Anthony.

I now watch this show out of habit even though I don't enjoy it. Time to end the charade and end this show.

I think this may turn out to be the last season anyway.   Tom Selleck wanted two but only got a one year renewal on his contract.

[AnnA]

32 minutes ago, Magnumfangirl said:

I doubt Nikki's gone for good.  I think they would have given her a bigger send off it she was.  The actress probably has something else to film and will return later.

Unfortunately, Blue Bloods isn't known for giving cast members a big send off.  Remember what they did to Linda.

[Brian Cronin]

You wouldn't lose the disability pension out of hand, you would only lose the pension if the combination of your disability pension and the new income would amount to more than you would have made if you had stayed on the job and made it to the next rank (including overtime and various other extra pay). That was the point of noting that he was making six figures, as that would be a level where he would effectively have to give up the pension. 

Essentially, the argument is "If you're making more money than you would have made had you stayed on the job, then you don't get to have disability." 

EDITED TO ADD: And do note that that's only the actual INCOME from the disability pension. As they noted in the episode, he can keep the pension and just set it off against the additional income, so he would get to keep his police health benefits, etc., just not the actual income. 

Edited November 5, 2019 by Brian Cronin

[Brian Cronin]

By the way, "revenge porn, but the girl faked it" a week after "cop uses lethal force and is unfairly blamed for it by the media" a week after "rape victim fakes rape to take advantage of hapless man." 

Hmmmm....

[Rambler]

Typical lazy writing. Set up a situation where the commissioner has to make a tough choice. Now it seemed pretty trivial to me, like something Garrett and the H.R. department should have been able to handle, but I guess it was very important since there was much Frank sighing and he had to talk the problem over with Pops. Then it turns out that the cop conveniently faked the cause of his injury. So instead of having to make a hard decision and face the consequences of that decision, Frank is let off the hook and all that agonizing that went on before became a complete waste of time for the audience.

So the only suspect Danny zeroes in on is the guy that the lawyer freed from a life in prison. Brilliant detective work! At least Baez got to call him an idiot (in so many words).

[iwasish]

The disabled cop was also making a lot of money trashing the NYPD in his lecture tour while wearing the uniform.  

I worked in County government and it wasn’t real difficult for a cop to claim a injury on the job that require he take a disability pension. One thing they learned early in their careers... write an incident report for even the most insignificant injury. Personnel/Payroll used to laugh every time a cop would get arrested for a drug/alcohol related incident, domestic violence, or become a “problem employee “, and face termination... the first thing they’d do is file for disability pension based on some on the job minor incident from years ago and claim they can’t work. In most cases management was so glad to get rid of a problem that they didn’t challenge it. Off these guys would go with 66% of 100K or more tax free for life plus free health benefits. Plus a cost of living adjustment yearly ( up to recently). Lots of times these guys were only in their early 30s. 
They’re supposed to have a physical exam every so many years but I have no idea if they do. Many move out of state and work other professions or in”security” . Once in a great while one will get  caught carrying bags of concrete or other heavy lifting and get his pension cut off.  

[ctlady]

Officer 'Sparky' was an absolute dooosh.  Frank was more than generous agreeing to keep quiet.  His injury was a product of his own stupidity, regardless of the fact he was 'on the job'

[mythoughtis]

I don’t know the ins and out of police officers disability pensions.... but ordinary people do not get private employer disability or social security disability if they are capable of working at any job.   Sometimes they can’t get it even if they aren’t capable of working.  That’s the point of disability.  I know the military has % disability where you can work but it’s recognized that you won’t be able to work to time full potential.  
I know the railroad offers occupational disability where you can get it if you aren’t capable of performing your specific job. You might be able to get it and work at some other job, but you have to report the income and you could lose your railroad disability if you make too much money.  Because obviously you aren’t all that disabled if you earn a lot,