The RAGWUS system for pensions is a sham, and no matter how you try to fix it the underlying problem of over compensation, over benefitted, and over pensioned feeders will always exist until the labyrinth of lies is dismantled. In short, there is no logical way to correct an injustice as ugly as public employee pensions without starting over by riding ourselves of the public unions. Trying to correct this problem within the current morass of lies and deception is futile. 🙂

It’s a blessing, and a curse.

SMD: This is from Brown’s pension reform blueprint in 2011:
1. Equal Sharing of Pension Costs: All Employees and Employers While many public employees make some contribution to their retirement – state employees contribute at least 8 percent of their salaries – some make none. Their employers pay the full amount of the annual cost of their pension benefits. The funding of annual normal pension costs should be shared equally by employees and employers. My plan will require that all new and current employees transition to a contribution level of at least 50 percent of the annual cost of their pension benefits. Given the different levels of employee contributions, the move to a contribution level of at least 50 percent will be phased in at a pace that takes into account current contribution levels, current contracts and the collective bargaining process. Regardless of pacing, this change delivers real near-term savings to public employers, who will see their share of annual employee pension costs decline.

You’re right, Brown didn’t get all that he sought. But it doesn’t change the fact that Brown has set up a system in which public employees pay a closer to even share of pension costs EXCEPT FOR TEACHERS.

Douglas–

PLEASE do not interrupt the orgy of stupidity out here!

Ain’t that special, bob? They knew that they were hoodwinking the American people from the very start. They tossed out the bait and the dummies swallowed it! lol. Not me. I warned everyone from the beginning. I always agreed that our healthcare system (even before ObolaCare) was corrupted and overpriced. ObolaCare made it even worse. It transferred all the cost to the middle class producer. And you ain’t seen nothing yet. Wait until the penalties go up for not having healthcare and watch the premiums start to rise 12% to 15% each year. Now they’re really in a pickle. Look how much money they spent on implementing the ACA law and the process – now there are discussions about going back to the corrupted system we had before. Until the dirty legislators stop giving the medical industry monopoly protections we will continue to spend 20% plus of our GDP on healthcare – which is a travesty and will end up bringing the whole country down in financial flames. But it was trickery from the get-go. What a bunch of corrupted scoundrels. Consent of the governed and ‘of, for and by the people’ my butt!!! 🙁

We’ve been here before.

A. It is abundantly clear that PEPRA requires 50% of the “normal” cost. Not the unfunded liability.

B. “However, the employee contribution may only be increased up to an 8% contribution rate for miscellaneous members, a 12% contribution rate for local police officers, local firefighters, and county peace officers, or an 11% contribution rate for all other local safety members.”

C. it “‘Permits’ public agencies and their employees to agree to share the cost of the employer contribution with or without a change in benefit. These contributions are paid in addition to the member contribution rate.”

D. Bargaining unit 12, for example, raised their employee contribution to 10% (it was 5% previously.) They “agreed” to share more of the employer costs.

Obamacare Architect Explains “Stupidity of American Voter” Needed to Pass ACA

The truth on Obamacare is finally out: The bill was purposely written to trick the CBO (congressional Budget Office) into believing the bill was not a tax. Moreover, the bill also depended on the “Stupidity of the American Voter”.

Many of us knew that long ago. But those are the words of Jonathan Gruber, a numbers wizard at M.I.T., who was courted by the Obama administration, and paid $400,000 for his efforts to see that the bill made its way through Congressional obstacles.

http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2014/11/obamacare-architect-explains-stupidity.html

We never see lots of stuff in the MSM news. It’s become just another arm of the government and Wall Street. No different that what Pravda represented in the old Soviet Union. Hell, I get more insightful and worldly news from Russia Today (RT) than I could ever hope to get from the NY Times or the Washington Post or the LA Times. And I’m dead serious! Who would’ve ever thought back in 1970 that in 2014 Russia would provide more transparent and accurate news reporting than the achors on the 6 o’clock news??? lol. Everytime I see Tom Brokaw or Brian Williams I want to stick my middle finger down my throat and gag. All of them are lapdogs for the ruling class. We spent trillions of dollars to defeat the Soviets and now we’ve morphed into them!!! lol!!! 😀