Beware of wolves in suits

Boston Globe ^ | 4/1/09 | Jeff Jacoby

[MartinaMisc]

THE SPECIAL COMMISSION on Pension Reform, which convened for the first time yesterday - specified under Massachusetts law - comprises nine public employees, one retired public employee, three officials from the public-employee retirement systems, and two economists from private universities. By my reckoning, that makes 13 commission members from the public sector and two from the private sector, which calls to mind the old jape about democracy being two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner. It's an amusing quip, assuming you're not a sheep.

The special commission is only the latest group to cast a critical gaze at the state's woeful public-employee pension system. In February, the House Special Committee on Pensions issued its report and recommendations - not to be confused with the earlier report and recommendations of the Blue Ribbon Panel on the Massachusetts Pension Classification System, or with the White Paper on Public Pensions prepared by the Pioneer Institute in 2006.

On Monday, meanwhile, Senate President Therese Murray put forth her own package of suggested pension reforms. That was about a week after Governor Deval Patrick had outlined his plan. For the layman, keeping up with this parade of public-pension panels and proposals can be a challenge.

It can be even more challenging - it is certainly more maddening - to keep up with the seemingly endless train of public-pension abuses.

The latest outrage, exposed by Sean Murphy in Sunday's Globe, comes from Revere, where most members of the City Council have figured out a way to collect full pensions while continuing to take a city paycheck.

[Global2010]

Let all the creeps wear rough animal shirts for 43 days with out a shower.

Then perhaps they will listen a bit. /yah sarc

[jamaksin]

And Taxachusetts, the Kennedy Republic of Taxachusetts, wonders why its population is dropping at an accelerating rate.