Quote:
Originally Posted by Solecismic
I can't go up to any public-sector retiree and say, "hey... you don't deserve that pension." That's absurd and mean. But the net weight of these deals has broken the budgeting process - we've spent money that our children and grandchildren need.
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There's smart public pension plans and there's terrible ones. A lot were created in good economic times where that they assumed would continue forever. But many are tied to the economy, not in any financial trouble even in the lean years, and can be a great way to help keep good talent around a little longer from bailing to more lucrative private careers.
Edit: But still, the ultimate loser in the "terrible plan" situation is still the employee themselves - plenty of terrible plans are "remedied" by strong-arming public retirees to accepting just a fraction of their promised retirement benefits - even when they had PAID INTO those plans, just like a 401(k))