We can demonize teachers and teacher unions for pension expenses but that would be like having sour grapes over a neighbor’s new car deal that we didn’t get. Michigan’s legislature and governor created and agreed to the terms of the Michigan teachers pension system. They alone are to blame for agreeing and enabling a BAD deal. Donald Trump speaks to similar government stupidity per our stupid trade deals. We shouldn’t be cursing Mexico for agreeing to NAFTA. We should be blaming our stupid U.S. trade deal negotiators and politicians who agreed to harmful trade deal terms and conditions.
What is never mentioned in these articles is the fact that for 20 years the Managers of that fund who was appointed by the Governor used inflated interest expectations on the fund to give the Governor a justification from funding it the way the Constitution says they were supposed to. The legislature goes along with it because the “savings” to the State gets doled out elsewhere like State Development Authority that buys jobs at 500,000 each...
Had the State done what they should have there would have been plenty of funds instead of what it is now. They were even so craven with their interest expectations they Gave out an extra Check (13 instead of 12) for a few years to the retirees.
The biggest check that is cut a month out of this retirement fund is Former Governor John Engler and former Lt. Governor Cherry.
Imagine that! The same two that played games with it’s funding ...