Been away too long.

I started this blog a few years ago, then life intervened. A new job, a new home, surgery and an unexpected bout of a rare neurological disease called Transverse Myelitis kept me from giving this topic the attention it certainly deserves. I firmly believe pensions are where you will find the seeds of the next GREAT RECESSION in America. Now I'm back, and a few things have changed in the public pension realm. I may have been MIA on this blog, but I have been paying close attention to the state of the public pension systems in the US and to some degree, Europe as well. Not only am I am truly alarmed at the increased rate of the death spiral, but am truly alarmed at how little has been done by governments in the past four years to address that death spiral. There was much talk of pension reform a few years ago, but those reforms have turned out to be band aids, and flimsy ones at that. "Fluff and stuff," "smoke and mirrors," "sleight of hand" or "let's pretend to do something to get re-elected by the public without pissing off the unions who actually get us elected." No matter what you call it, the  seeds of the next Great Recession have sprouted in my absence, and are now saplings, soon to be full grown trees.  Trees are probably a bad analogy. Trees take a very long time to mature. The pension crisis is not like a tree, it grows exponentially, and boy is it is on a roll. It's like the Blob from the old sci-fi movie, oozing through every orifice of the taxpayer's life, getting bigger and bigger, suffocating everything in its path, except of course, for the public servants' salaries, benefits and pensions.

In future posts, I will attempt to shed light on some of these issues, and you WILL be amazed, incredulous, angry and yes, you will feel like the sucker you are, working hard to get ahead in the private sector, wondering why you're not really getting ahead, while Joe Public Worker has been picking your pocket the whole time, right under your nose, with you blissfully unaware. I will show you how the unions have been marketing a carefully crafted message for years, shaping the image of the public "servant" who "sacrifices" for the public good, because they have a "calling" for public "service," or the "educator" (not merely a teacher anymore because a teacher doesn't deserve a salary as enormous as an Educator) who gave up a lucrative career in the private sector (one of many myths to be dispelled) because teaching, like all public service is a "calling." Well, it ain't "all for the kids' as I will expose. I guess we are supposed to believe the uniformed sanitation worker in NYC felt the calling too. Who the hell says "I want to give up a good job in the private sector (myth) to smell rotten food and dirty diapers for 20 years because I have a calling which compels me to keep my city clean for the public good"? Buy that line and I really do have an oceanfront condo in Arizona to sell you.

More to come, and this time I promise!

So sorry I've been away from this for awhile. I've been spending most of my time sparring with public union mouthpieces on comment boards whenever there are articles of interest, usually citing pension abuses of one form or another. I promise to continue on with this shortly. In the meantime, check out my Facebook page: Facebook.com/stoprunawaypublicpensions. I post articles of interest and cartoons all the time. And look for my comments, mainly on Newsday.com fending off offensive comments of public sector union trolls. See ya!

Today's homework is about "Pension Pickups"

Today's homework lesson: "Pension Pickups"


"So it can serve to make teachers' compensation appear smaller than it actually is."


http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/zorn/ct-teachers-pension-pickup-cps-perspec-0515-20150514-column.html

The Pension Sweeteners in Albany Continues Unabated!

Check this out!
http://cbcny.org/http%3A/%252Fwww.cbcny.org/cbc-blogs/blogs/big-decisions-albany-do-not-deter-sweeteners

Here's a tidbit if you don't have time to read the entire article. But you need to make time!!

UPDATE - June 22, 2015

Since our last update, four bills featured in CBC’s Benefits Sweetener Scorecard 2015 are just a signature away from becoming New York State law. One bill, A. 6771/S. 4907, passed the legislature last year, but was ultimately vetoed by the governor. If Governor Cuomo chooses to sign these benefits sweeteners, State and local costs will increase.

The bills that passed both houses are:

• A. 7490/S. 3010 would enhance retirement plans for certain State and local police and firefighters, increasing employer costs by 3.2 percent to 6.8 percent of salaries.
• A. 6771A/S. 4907 would enhance retirement plans of uniformed court or peace officers at a cost of $1.8 million.
• A. 5327C/S. 3948B would allow deputy sheriffs in Nassau and Suffolk with police officer training to receive the retirement service credit awarded to police officers without proving at least 50 percent of activities were for criminal law enforcement.
• A. 7547/S. 5785 would allow members of the MTA police retirement system to transfer membership to NYS and local police and fire retirement systems.

In addition to the above, six bills on the CBC Benefits Sweetener Scorecard passed one house before the end of session.

Here's your homework for today. Look up the "13th Check" or "Variable Supplement Fund" as it is sometimes known and be prepared to bust a gut. Here's one article to get you started! Have fun.

http://thephiladelphiacitizen.com/2015/02/phillys-13th-check/


Okay, here's another. Couldn't resist. NYC police, fire & sanitation get a $12,000 a year bonus. (Yes, those sly sanitation workers glommed on to this because, well after all, they are in uniform too!)

http://www.cbcny.org/cbc-blogs/blogs/christmas-bonuses-uniformed-retirees-weaken-city’s-pension-funds

From "Thechiefleader.com:"

Strike Back At ‘Empire’Fire Unions: Members Earned Their Pensions

Posted: Monday, June 22, 2015 5:00 pm | Updated: 5:02 pm, Mon Jun 22, 2015.

By SARAH DORSEY | 0 comments

Uniformed Fire Officers Association President James Lemonda last week heartily defended the pensions of his retired members after the amounts—which averaged more than $100,000 a year for those who retired in 2014—were published online by the non-profit Empire Center for Public Policy.

The fiscally-conservative watchdog group was granted access to the data by a State Supreme Court Justice in April after a four-year tussle with the UFOA, which sued to keep it private. The union claimed the release would violate members’ privacy.

Great Letter that tells it like it is!

This is a terrific letter about the greed of public sector unions. I couldn't have said it better myself!
http://www.thedailyjournal.com/story/opinion/readers/2015/04/27/letter-public-workers-driven-greed/26462281/