On Target - ONCE THEY WERE HEROES
John J. Cahill
May 17, 2005
If you remain a little amazed at the box sitting before you right now you are probably old enough to remember when boys might yearn to become a policeman or fireman, and girls might hope to be a nurse or teacher. That was some time back and many things have changed, some for the better. Those jobs are no longer gender or race specific, but they are probably not at the top of kid’s lists as professions.
Back in the 50’s children were taught by parents to respect authority, and taught that public servants were there to help them and they deserved respect. But that was before a war and Watergate stole our innocence about government. And before public employees got all uppity, joined unions, and demanded collective bargaining. Imagine, public servants demanding rights. My, my, how things change.
Public employee esteem hit a new low lately as reflected by relentless and aggressive attacks on their pension plans. In California Governor Schwarzenegger has proposed the privatization of pensions for police, fire, teachers, and other public employees. Employee pension contributions, he says, should be managed by the private sector in individual accounts, invested in the markets, and public employees can retire if and when the account is good enough, and hope the market stays good until they kick the bucket. The Governor says he is trying to help his public workers have a better retirement, but police, fire, teachers, public employees don't think so. The Gov has called employee union opposition “special interest groups”.
Corporations supporting privatization of California’s public employee pensions have contributed two million dollars to a group called Citizens to Save California. Contributions of as much as one hundred thousand dollars have been received from individual corporations. These corporations are not called “special interest groups” by the Governor. They are patriotic and practical Californians from the private sector. They are business types who know a bottom line and how to get a job done right. Private sector is sometimes a code name for union-hating moneyed bosses that want government contracts to do the work now performed by public employees. They want to help taxpayers. Like Halliburton is helping us.
In many states where the private sector pushes for changes in public employee pension plans there are real troubles. Some states have chronically under funded their plans, borrowed from them to balance the budget, and refused collective bargaining that could have allowed positive involvement by employees. Some plans rely heavily on active worker contributions to pay existing pensions. But even in states where plans are financially healthy there is a cry for change based on twisted forecasts presenting obscure possibilities that future liabilities on taxpayers might exist. That’s true in my state of Nevada where the Public Employee Retirement System is over 80% self-sufficient now and will reach 100% by 2022. Then no NV PERS pension will rely on contributions of active workers or payments from taxpayers.
Nevada's largest newspaper, a tome for the local and national business community, calls Nevada’s PERS a “Ticking Time Bomb”. If you Google that phrase with public pension you get pages and pages of hits. The loosely coordinated business-driven action against public employees uses the same language across the country.
Not so many kids grow up today dreaming about being Cops, Firemen, Teachers, or Nurses. Our kids are smart. They see who the winners are in the money count. Corporate executives pocket millions and workers might not even get a promised pension. Send the kids to those teachers everyday and call 911 if there is an emergency, but get rid of those pesky public employee pension plans. Let them take their chances in the market.
The private sector will set up public employee private retirement accounts right now, for a fee. Set up fee, annual management fee, pension payout fee. Fees shared by the broker and the investment house. It’s just business. Big business.
Ironically, just this week the private sector that doesn’t like government in the pension business supported United Airlines dumping its four employee pension plans on the under funded and publicly funded Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. When government bails out corporations I guess it’s ok for the government to handle pensions. PBGC can’t say yet what the default might pay United retirees. Maybe 70 cents on the dollar, maybe more, maybe less. Delta is next, say the pundits, and then maybe General Motors.
Many pension problem result from pension plans that were never fully funded and are based on contributions of future workers that no longer exist because the jobs have gone overseas. You know, like Social Securities problems, but far, far more imminent.
If your parents are supported by an airline, auto, or manufacturing industry pension, or planning now to retire on one of those, you might want to get a room ready for them.
(Information on many pensions, Airline, Auto, Steel, Construction, Transportation/Trucking, Longshoremen, can be found at KnowYourPension.org)
Back in the 50’s children were taught by parents to respect authority, and taught that public servants were there to help them and they deserved respect. But that was before a war and Watergate stole our innocence about government. And before public employees got all uppity, joined unions, and demanded collective bargaining. Imagine, public servants demanding rights. My, my, how things change.
Public employee esteem hit a new low lately as reflected by relentless and aggressive attacks on their pension plans. In California Governor Schwarzenegger has proposed the privatization of pensions for police, fire, teachers, and other public employees. Employee pension contributions, he says, should be managed by the private sector in individual accounts, invested in the markets, and public employees can retire if and when the account is good enough, and hope the market stays good until they kick the bucket. The Governor says he is trying to help his public workers have a better retirement, but police, fire, teachers, public employees don't think so. The Gov has called employee union opposition “special interest groups”.
Corporations supporting privatization of California’s public employee pensions have contributed two million dollars to a group called Citizens to Save California. Contributions of as much as one hundred thousand dollars have been received from individual corporations. These corporations are not called “special interest groups” by the Governor. They are patriotic and practical Californians from the private sector. They are business types who know a bottom line and how to get a job done right. Private sector is sometimes a code name for union-hating moneyed bosses that want government contracts to do the work now performed by public employees. They want to help taxpayers. Like Halliburton is helping us.
In many states where the private sector pushes for changes in public employee pension plans there are real troubles. Some states have chronically under funded their plans, borrowed from them to balance the budget, and refused collective bargaining that could have allowed positive involvement by employees. Some plans rely heavily on active worker contributions to pay existing pensions. But even in states where plans are financially healthy there is a cry for change based on twisted forecasts presenting obscure possibilities that future liabilities on taxpayers might exist. That’s true in my state of Nevada where the Public Employee Retirement System is over 80% self-sufficient now and will reach 100% by 2022. Then no NV PERS pension will rely on contributions of active workers or payments from taxpayers.
Nevada's largest newspaper, a tome for the local and national business community, calls Nevada’s PERS a “Ticking Time Bomb”. If you Google that phrase with public pension you get pages and pages of hits. The loosely coordinated business-driven action against public employees uses the same language across the country.
Not so many kids grow up today dreaming about being Cops, Firemen, Teachers, or Nurses. Our kids are smart. They see who the winners are in the money count. Corporate executives pocket millions and workers might not even get a promised pension. Send the kids to those teachers everyday and call 911 if there is an emergency, but get rid of those pesky public employee pension plans. Let them take their chances in the market.
The private sector will set up public employee private retirement accounts right now, for a fee. Set up fee, annual management fee, pension payout fee. Fees shared by the broker and the investment house. It’s just business. Big business.
Ironically, just this week the private sector that doesn’t like government in the pension business supported United Airlines dumping its four employee pension plans on the under funded and publicly funded Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. When government bails out corporations I guess it’s ok for the government to handle pensions. PBGC can’t say yet what the default might pay United retirees. Maybe 70 cents on the dollar, maybe more, maybe less. Delta is next, say the pundits, and then maybe General Motors.
Many pension problem result from pension plans that were never fully funded and are based on contributions of future workers that no longer exist because the jobs have gone overseas. You know, like Social Securities problems, but far, far more imminent.
If your parents are supported by an airline, auto, or manufacturing industry pension, or planning now to retire on one of those, you might want to get a room ready for them.
(Information on many pensions, Airline, Auto, Steel, Construction, Transportation/Trucking, Longshoremen, can be found at KnowYourPension.org)
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