The Marin Independent-Journal reported earlier this month that "The soaring cost of Marin
County's pension program is driven in large part by plump benefits for a
few hundred retirees at the top, a new study indicates. Some 30
percent of the Marin County Employee Retirement Association's pension
payroll goes to just 9 percent of retirees who get checks of more than
$80,000 a year -- including ranking officials, safety officers and others
who retired at top pay after long tenures."
That's crazy. It also offers a "divide and conquer" strategy for pension reformers. When I discuss the problems with the current system with public employees, they don't typically seem to care. Arguments about depleted public services and pension liabilities rarely resonate with these well-pensioned folks, who usually just accuse me of being jealous of them. But show them that other public employees will receive far more than they will receive, and that gets their interest. The public sector unions have exploited envy. Perhaps we can exploit it, too.
That's crazy. It also offers a "divide and conquer" strategy for pension reformers. When I discuss the problems with the current system with public employees, they don't typically seem to care. Arguments about depleted public services and pension liabilities rarely resonate with these well-pensioned folks, who usually just accuse me of being jealous of them. But show them that other public employees will receive far more than they will receive, and that gets their interest. The public sector unions have exploited envy. Perhaps we can exploit it, too.
I've tried to make this very point. If I were a municipal worker making scant wages, I doubt I'd be willing to close ranks with the public safety employees who vacuum all of the money out of the system.
Amazing blog mate