“the powers that be probably figured the pittance the retirees received would qualify them for a nice subsidy from the exchange.”
Here in NJ our public employees (active or retired) are our upper middle class; there is no “pittance” involved. A friend retired as a local cop at 46 (he was hired at 21 before any college requirement); he will be costing taxpayers a hefty fee for decades to come. Who else retires at 46? The taxpayers have had enough; companies and taxpayers are fleeing the state, leaving it in the hands of the permanent urban underclass and illegals (neither of whom pay taxes). What happened in the city of Detroit is happening statewide in NJ; we lost an electoral vote recently to bear that out.
My neighbor retired from Chrysler at 45 and he owns two houses. He lives in Florida and his brother lives in the one next door to me.