There are lots of figures that go into the cost of things. That is the life we have and I am as free to grouch about my medical insurance as you are free to gripe about your issues. Pensions are a line-item on the total budget. I have three grandchildren being put through college by their own parents, UCLA and USC both in that mix, so you aren’t telling me anything I don’t know about the cost of college. I did hear a tidbit from the UC President when I was watching her interview: A student who is accepted to the UC system goes tuition-free if the parents earn less than $80,000.

Total CalPERS Fund
Market Value
Reflects market value, as of market close on 5/1/2015.
$305.3 Billion
———————-
Im proud to say I have ownership in my pension system!!

There is nothing more universally GREEDY than a Public Sector Union/worker.

Why is that unfair? If Gilead wants to charge $1100 for one of its pills for hepatitis C or if Allergan wants to charge $500 for Restasis then there’s no law that says they can’t. That’s no different than our public safety workers demanding exorbitant pensions and arguing that they deserve them because of the services they provide to the public.

I assume you are okay with the probable 25% tuition hike at the University of Calif. to pay for pensions. If your kid wants to go to UCLA you will be paying for those big UC pensions but I’m sure you understand. Or maybe your kid wants to go to USC, where the tuition is $50K a year and pensions are just as generous. Student loan debt is now at $1.3 trillion. Didn’t it pass $1T just a short while ago? Colleges are better at stealing money than public unions.

Scratch my last sentence. I had the wrong Crhis.

Oh, I know, TL. Its always best to have someone who resides in NJ decide what is best for us down here in CA. I do have bills to pay and my out-of-pocket share of the medical insurance premiums for me and my spouse requires 41% of my take-home pension–that is really unfair!

SeeSaw, the typical CalPERS pension IN AND OF ITSELF is so grossly excessive, unnecessary, unfair to Taxpayers, and unaffordable ….. that rightfully, 50% should be considered an unjust “bonus”.

I worked in the public sector. There are some projects that are better completed with private help and others that work better with in-house workers. Sorry, sir, you are stuck with the public sector. If you hate unions so much–something that allows people to have middle class existences, go live in a right-to-work state where wages are low and so is the buying power of the people.. Having large work forces unionized is just efficient!