Then you obviously have no sympathy for anyone else who receives a pension.I suppose that includes the military.
Why not just say you feel no one should get a pension.
Public employees are no different from any other employees who bargain for pay raises and pensions.
Feeling bitter because someone else has a pension and you have none is not a good argument. You picked the wrong career.
I am not going to let you get away with this outrageous remark
Pray tell me what is outrageous about this remark? Isn’t that exactly what happened? The employees retired with a promise from this town of certain benefits. They trusted their town ,took it at it’s word.In fact more than it’s word, it;s written contract. The town defaulted.
Perhaps if they had known what was coming they could have made other plans. Instead of paying into their retirement, they could have used their money in some other way. Now they lost their investment and get nothing. Yes Public employees do pay into retirement., It isn’t free.
Perhaps had they known what was coming they would have stayed at work,
No. They trusted their town and they got the shaft.
I am certain if you have no sympathy for Public employees getting the shaft then you are violently opposed to the extension of unemployment benefits, Social Security, and Welfare.
You are correct. I want to abolish defined benefit pensions for everyone including the military. I also want to radically reform all government transfer programs. We cannot afford them. The federal government pensions are the worst because the pensions are entirely unfunded. There is no portfolio to pay pension benefits for federal government retirees. State and local pension plans are in bad shape also although at least there are portfolios to fund some level of benefits.
I want uniform pensions for everyone, public and private sector. Everyone receives a contribution from their employer. The employee should have the option of a cash balance plan (similar to a fixed annuity) or variable plan with the employee directiong contributions to investment choices. Taxpayers cannot bear the risks of defined benefit pension plans. Pension plan accounting is crooked. Pension agencies have a vested interest in dishonest accounting. Politicians are ignorant of enormous risk in these plans. Public employee groups lobby vociferously for generous pension benefits, providing enormous political contributions for politicians (mostly Democrats).
Employee groups bribed and lobbied for these outrageous benefits. Employee groups are not some innocent bystander. They are principal players in the problem. I realize that you personally did not lobby but public employee groups across the country lobbied for the benefits.
Governments are broke. All kinds of promises will not be met including entitlement programs. I am sorry to say the public employee pensions will not be spared from the coming pain. I will be shafted on my entitlement benefits also.
It is not true that anyone is stealing from public employee groups. It is just the opposite. Public employee groups are demanding that taxpayers bail out their failed pensions. No one is touching the pension portfolios. Are you aware that New York state is now contributing over 30 percent for incredibly bloated pensions? Honest discounting would require governments at all levels to contribute 30 to 50 percent. Even then, there would be no guarantee that taxpayers would not have to pay even more.
I have studied public employee pensions very carefully with data unavailable to everyone but pension agencies. I have seen incredible abuses. Public employee pensions are a rape of the taxpayer.