Re: Pennsylvania needs to end the credit-card approach to pension reform
Why don’t you do an in depth article on how generous the teachers and state employee pension plans are?
Mr. Yudichak talks about the employees doing their fair share. The majority of school and state employees are still covered by the terms that were improved during the Ridge administration. They contribute 6% of their pay and earn 4% interest on their contributions (Try doing that at any savings institution today)
When they retire they can receive ALL of that money back in a lump sum if they so desire.
Any overtime worked is included in their pension calculation (you won’t find that happening in private pension plans).
The pension formula is so generous that you can walk out the door after 35 years (no matter what your age) and receive a pension that is very close to what you made before you retired. Then we have some school districts that actually give retirement bonuses to teachers and administrators when they retire.
I could go on but, the simple fact is that borrowing money to fund a deficit is only increasing the cost. Unless changes are made, the system will eventually collapse when the taxpayer revolts against ever increasing taxes to support teachers and state employees that think they are somehow special and ENTITLED to better benefits than the people who pay their salary.
Politicians that are controlled by the unions need to be removed from office. There needs to be an honest conversation with employees and the union to find a solution to this problem that is workable and doesn’t continue to kick the can down the road.
