That line was used by the Orange County Register to describe the California Center for Public Policy’s report on Pensions and Employee Compensation. That’s scary.
Here’s a quote from the Register:
The report says that the state’s tax-paid pensions have made defacto millionaires out of most of California’s employees by the time they reach their late 50s. Meanwhile, public safety and other employees frequently pay less than half or none of their retirement benefits, says the report, “Reforming Public Employee Pensions and Compensation.”
Here’s the conclusion from the Report.
California faces three choices in the coming years to right its government fiscal imbalance at state, school district, county, and city levels–though usually only the first two are considered:
1) reduce services;
2) raise taxes, fees, and charges; or
3) pay public employees fair salaries, benefits, and pensions
The third choice is the preferred alternative to avoid either further and continually diminishing government services, or further and continually increasing taxes, or both. California’s budgetary crises would be resolved with more more public services and lower taxes if public employees were paid fair salaries, benefits, and pensions.
The full report is well worth your time as it succinctly describes the reality not just in California but in most states and locales in the country.
Tags: Pensions