Posted on 06/29/2022 9:36:26 AM PDT by RomanSoldier19
Public employee pension payouts should be in line with Social Security payouts for proper legal equality
The way my pension works is I receive all of my contributions first. If I die before I receive all of my money, my heir gets it. After my money is gone, I receive the money my district paid into the system, like SS employer matches employee dollar for dollar. If I outlive that pile of cash, I then draw on the system itself for the rest of my life—as long as it remains solvent, of course.
Before getting into teaching, I held jobs that required me to ‘contribute’ to Social Security, but because I’m drawing from a public pension, Social Security only sends me about 50% I should receive from them. No ‘double dipping’ for me!
Of course there are problems with public pension systems since they are somewhat controlled by politicians. In Illinois there was a school union official who got a teacher’s pension after a total of one day in the classroom as a substitute teacher, since they counted his many years as a union official for figuring his retirement and I don’t know if he contributed a penny to system.
California state government has housed sone of the most corrupt and inept bureaus and commissions for decades. Whether it’s the EDD (unemployment fund), public Utilities Commission (so many billions $ it’s uncountable), Strs (teacher pensions fund), unemployment insurance fund, almost anywhere dealing with lots and lots of money — watch out!
Letting the California PERS pension scheme borrow to invest is like giving a card shark gambler or embezzler a line of credit at the treasury.
Especially since that huge fund has been in financial troubles many time sleazy without trying to bet on borrowed money
I didn't know any better when I started suckling on the government teat. But I make more in retirement than I did when I was working.
Well, you could throw their own kind of political solution at it. If you think there's too much of something and too much money involved in it, TAX IT! Preferably "Progressively©!" Don't hit to hard the low level union workers they can pretend are average joes, but tax the second homes and other luxuries away from the managerial class, making much more than we are, whom we can blame for their follies.
>pass laws that outlaw unions for government jobs
They used to be illegal. Became allowed, at least at the federal level, via an executive order from JFK. Based on I don't know what source of authority. Probably too much to ask, 60 years later, that it could be undone by just another executive order. Trump finally had put through a plan which could have greatly shrunk the federal workforce and converted many federal workers into firerable work classifications. But it didn't take effect until 1/19/22 and Biden cancelled it within a couple days. Trump needs to put that back in his first tranche of executive orders if he get back AND work to get it into legislation. It included asking each Fed organization to calculate how much of their work force would be covered by it. The only one that finished the calculation was the CBO who calculated 88% of their staff would become fireable.
The biggest problem is in the City/State pension plans for the firemen and policemen.
Jobs that have short career spans.
If the career length is 20 years, it can be possible to be paying four people for one job. Three of the four are retired but receiving, in some cases, 90% of their final pay.
The last one hired will be retired in 20 years.
Those that cheat the system (padding overtime hours) could be taking home more than that last hired guy!
Now, I know that some jobs require youth and strength but we shouldn’t have four people being paid for one job position.
“Your logic could also be applied to the promises (conrtactural terms and conditions) that apply to mortgages, bank loans….”
It could be, but only by a stupid person. Banks can be held to contractual terms. Politicians can not.
L
The moral of the story is to not promise workers more than the taxpayer can afford.
All cities and states plus military have promised too much to those who will, eventually, retire and break the system.
They are pushing the vax for young kids now. Obviously they are not just trying to kill off old people if that is the aim of the vax.
Personally I think it was a cluster of corruption and idiocy on a world wide scale. I have always been a supporter of the pharmaceutical companies but they have been lying exploiters who have robbed the world of billions at this point. Complicit with world leaders both official and unofficial.
I believe you're conflating 'politician' and 'government'.
Just as workers have recourse in the private sector, there are legal mechanicisms in place, including the courts, to address breaches in a union worker agreement. We may not like this fact but it is the law.
#6 In California the taxpayer has to come up with the difference. The taxpayer cannot save enough to retire but still has to pay someone who is a gov’t employee.
#59 Los Angeles Barbara Ferrer is one of those that decided what business’s stayed opened or closed. She still advocates wearing a mask. She makes about $600,000 and never lost a dime. He husband also works for the city at a high salary. Their combined pension will be over $1 million a year
In many states getting the contract to manage state controlled pension funds requires periodic bribes to public officials.
There have been a bunch of scandals where everybody gets caught and goes to jail—and many more where they have gotten away with it.
Trumps fault!
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