And, remind your neighbor that the maximum SS benefit being paid right now is $46,740 per year. Now, if we measured government employee pension plans to Social Security by comparing the max public pension being paid to the max SS benefit, then maybe you can see some discrepancies in favor of the government retirees.
Last time I voted, a worker at the polling place asked if I wanted a "I voted" sticker. I told him to keep the sticker and next time spend it on fixing the roads in town. He replied that so much goes into the pension system for local government that there is little money left to provide historical services. If only government retirees would only drop dead after 2 or 3 years on pension, maybe we could afford those pensions they get.
“New Jersey’s General Assembly and Senate approved a $46.4 billion budget for the fiscal year starting July 1, including just over $6.9 billion for the state’s pension system.”
https://www.pionline.com/legislation/new-jersey-pension-plan-get-69-billion-under-budget-bill
*** If you worked most of your adult life, then the first 7 years or so is just getting back what was actually paid into the system on your behalf. Then the next few years are getting back the earnings you could have made on the money taken from your paycheck IF you invested it prudently and let it accrue non-taxable profits. After that, you start collecting more than you paid in.***
Yes, my husband and I discussed this very thing last night after my friend dropped me off from our outing. He said after 10 years, most people are getting what they didn’t (forcibly) contribute. So I surmised that this could be one of the reasons that the Democrats (and many Republicans) are happy with the CCP virus being distributed. It helps the government balance their books. Then they pretend to care that people are dying, when in fact, they are relieved. It’s just another useless eater that they don’t have to send $ to or give rationed “health care” to.