- Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013
* 11:58 am - House Speaker Michael Madigan has filed a pension reform proposal. I’m still going through it, but I’m sure our pension experts out there can help figure out what’s in it. Click here to read the amendment (which was tacked onto Senate President Cullerton’s SB1) and make sure to comment below.
* 12:17 pm - I was given a quick briefing on the bill. Here are some of the highlights, but overall it’s somewhat pretty close to the Nekritz/Cross bill…
That doesn't bode well for things. We started to read the Amendment and the Preamble is an amazing admission of how poorly Springfield has been addressing issues and bankrupting the State of Illinois. Here's the intro:
- "Section 1. Statement and Findings.
At the time of passage of this amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly, Illinois possesses a lower credit rating than each of the other 49 states. This is a consequence both of atypically large debts and of structural imbalances that will, unless addressed by the General Assembly, lead to rapidly growing debts. The debts include a backlog of bills exceeding one-fourth of the State's annual general revenue, substantial unfunded liabilities associated with health insurance for employees and retirees, and approximately $100 billion in unfunded pension liabilities. The structural imbalances result from projected growth in non-discretionary and formula-driven expenses that significantly outpace projected revenue growth. Of the factors that drive this phenomenon, the most substantialby far is the rapid growth of the annual pension payment, which increased nearly $1 billion between Fiscal Year 2012 and Fiscal Year 2013, and will again increase nearly $1 billion between Fiscal Year 2013 and Fiscal Year 2014, at which time it will consume approximately one-fifth of anticipated general revenue.
The depth of this financial crisis became clear in 2008, and since that time, the State has taken significant action to ameliorate the State's fiscal troubles. In 2011, the State increased the income tax by sixty-seven percent in Public Act 96-1496. Recognizing that increased revenue alone would not solve the problem, the State has enacted a series of budgets that included deep cuts to nearly every discretionary program, including areas of the budget that are essential in order to provide for the health, safety, welfare, and educational development of the people of Illinois, such as public
elementary, secondary, and higher education, human services, and public safety.
It goes on like that for 7 pages, all excuses and inconsequential steps the Legislature has taken kicking the can down the road. It's most likely written with a Court challenge in mind. If this doesn't raise your blood pressure, you aren't paying attention.
We also noticed that Pam Zekman emerged from under her bridge where she's been scaring billy goats and launched a new anti-pension screed. She cherry-picks the most egregious instances and spins a yarn out of it:
We also noticed that Pam Zekman emerged from under her bridge where she's been scaring billy goats and launched a new anti-pension screed. She cherry-picks the most egregious instances and spins a yarn out of it:
- Retire at 50 and collect more than $100,000 a year – that’s the plan for a special group of state workers. Some members of the Illinois State Police can end up collecting millions of dollars, according to a study by Taxpayers United of America.
- A state trooper with 25 years on the job can retire at 50 and get 80 percent of his pay. Add overtime and yearly cost-of-living-adjustments, and some end up making more in retirement than they did while they worked.
We're confused - overtime? For what? They aren't working. If we're confused, you can imagine the low-information voters watching Channel 2 are bewildered.
This is SCC's opinion and SCC's opinion only. You don't like it, fine. Go put one on your blog. But if you're making more from your primary job per year when you're retired than when you were actually drawing a salary, there's a problem. We aren't talking about retirees who get another job or form a new company or stuff like that. We're talking about you retire making $85,000 and you're drawing a pension worth $110,000 or more. And that goes for politicians and school principals, who are by far the worst offenders.
It's an unsustainable system and the media and politicos are painting us all with this brush. The people fighting this might want to open another avenue in the current battle. A simple, direct, intelligent approach, because at some point, some asshole like Madigan might actually get something through the gridlock and then we're all eating cat food.
This is SCC's opinion and SCC's opinion only. You don't like it, fine. Go put one on your blog. But if you're making more from your primary job per year when you're retired than when you were actually drawing a salary, there's a problem. We aren't talking about retirees who get another job or form a new company or stuff like that. We're talking about you retire making $85,000 and you're drawing a pension worth $110,000 or more. And that goes for politicians and school principals, who are by far the worst offenders.
It's an unsustainable system and the media and politicos are painting us all with this brush. The people fighting this might want to open another avenue in the current battle. A simple, direct, intelligent approach, because at some point, some asshole like Madigan might actually get something through the gridlock and then we're all eating cat food.
0 Comments