patrick.net

marcus says

You could have committed decades of your life to a government job if you thought it was such a sweet deal.

The lavish pensions in California didn't really start until 2000 when Gray Davis retroactively went an increased the formulas for State workers.

I was already working for the private sector and still remember the day back in 2000 when one of my clients that works for San Diego Water Utilities was crowing in a meeting about how he was going to now be able to retire in his 50's.

Government unions never consider that cost of their pensions is astronomical.

WookieMan says

This is why I have an enormous amount of cynicism for ANY type of government. IL has scarred me for life.

I was born in Chicago and have lived in Kommie Kalifornia for about 25 years working in the water business watching our infrastructure crumble as much needed taxpayer funds diverted to pensions and stupid shit like high speed rail.

Needless to say, I have gotten more Libertarian and Conservative and skeptical of government the longer I have been exposed to it.

WookieMan says

The problem is EVERYONE in this state has to take some sort of a bath in this mess.

Yep. Just amazes me how some can argue that the vast government bureaucracy shouldn't have any skin in the game and only the tax payers should suffer to keep these gold plated pensions in place. People are really suffering and going to such extremes of moving out of the State because they can't afford the taxes and dysfunctional government services.

WookieMan says

And like I said, I'm okay paying some more in taxes if it rights the ship. What government entity has ever cut though? I'm not talking about cuts when revenues are down, because they have to cut. I know it's happened, so I'm being a bit hyperbolic, but REAL cuts are the exception, not the norm.

This always amazes me too. How come technology can make about every industry in the private sector more efficient where we are producing much more for much less - but we rarely see the same efficiencies flow through in the public sector?

Can we never ask our government for better services with our tax money? Why is the Democrat argument only about raising taxes higher and making government even bigger?

socal2 says

Yep. Just amazes me how some can argue that the vast government bureaucracy shouldn't have any skin in the game and only the tax payers should suffer to keep these gold plated pensions in place. People are really suffering and going to such extremes of moving out of the State because they can't afford the taxes and dysfunctional government services.

Government workers are taxpayers too. It's seems like the above is arguing that they should have MORE skin in the game.

The problem is how do you legally change the terms of their contract without going through bankruptcy?

HappyGilmore says

The problem is how do you legally change the terms of their contract without going through bankruptcy?

With the current rules in places like California and Illinois, even when a City goes bankrupt - they still can't renegotiate the pension "contract". Everyone else suffers with higher taxes, reduced services and bond holders getting shafted - but not the government workers.

How is that fair? Where is the "contract" for tax payers to not let their cities implode with junk bond status while the politicians and the government bureaucracy to pad their nests using our tax dollars?

All we are asking is for the government workers and their unions to compromise a bit too.

socal2 says

HappyGilmore says

The problem is how do you legally change the terms of their contract without going through bankruptcy?

With the current rules in places like California and Illinois, even when a City goes bankrupt - they still can't renegotiate the pension "contract". Everyone else suffers with higher taxes, reduced services and bond holders getting shafted - but not the government workers.

How is that fair? Where is the "contract" for tax payers to not let their cities implode with junk bond status while the politicians and the government bureaucracy to pad their nests using our tax dollars?

All we are asking is for the government workers and their unions to compromise a bit too.

Correct. Well put. Guaranteed pension appreciation should be illegal.

mell says

Correct. Well put. Guaranteed pension appreciation should be illegal

Yup and also salaries. I posted this before-but these village/city managers in IL make more than every GOvernor in this nation-how did they give themeslves these salaries and I am pretty sure the salaries of those downstream will also be above amrket.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/adamandrzejewski/2016/03/28/the-big-dogs-of-illinois-municipal-government-2016/#34c754775c5b

These are pensionable salaries too-I mean you want to raise income taxes on top of the highest property tax rates-cut their salaries in half and problem solved-but hey you can't -public unions.