Gov. Jerry's Pension 'Reform' Joke

John Seiler:

Just over 100 days old, we’re getting to see how the Brown administration has one guiding principle: of the unions, by the unions, for the unions.

Last month, Gov. Jerry proposed a pathetic pension “reform” that my colleague Steven Greenhut analyzed as, “This is about little more than public relations — a chance for the governor to shame the GOP while championing the reform mantle.”

Now this, from the L.A. Times:

Deep in the 200-page contract that Gov. Jerry Brown recently approved for state prison guards is a provision that could generate a cash windfall to the officers when they retire.

The guards, who are among Brown’s largest political benefactors, would be able to save an unlimited number of vacation days under their new deal. When they leave state service, those days could be exchanged for cash at their final pay rate, which would probably be higher than when they earned the time off.

The governor is extending this benefit only to members of the California Correctional Peace Officers Assn., a union that spent nearly $2 million to help him win election last year.

Removing the decades-old limit on accrued vacation — now 80 days for most state employees — would be a “huge liability” for taxpayers, said Nick Schroeder of the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office.

So, under Gov. Jerry, we’re actually going backward on pension reform.