Turns out they aren't.
Given a choice between half and none, I'd opt for half.
To break zero, break the unions first.
A: A haircut.
B: A beheading.
The union folks voted for B...so be it.
Tip of the iceberg...
Let this be a warning to all Municipal workers!
In my suburban town, on our street is a retired Contra Costa County Sheriff, retired San Francisco cop, four active Alameda & Contra Costa firemen, two retired firemen, a retired Oakland cop and a disabled city employee.
Someone works for the Water Dept. and someone else works for a defense contractor (DOD civilian employee).
All have new cars
Remodeled homes
Pools, hot tubs
Almost all have boats
All have campers, RV’s and/or fifth-wheel type rigs
90% of highest year’s pay + COLA + lifetime Kaiser Permanente for $1.99/person per year.
I will give you an example of a California State worker (a relative) who worked at a Cal-State campus for 5 years...this is how the pension works:
She worked there 5 years, putting in $200/month or $2,400/annually; CalPERS matches that with $2,400 (100% match), so she puts in $12,000 over 5 years and the State of CA puts in $12,000 ($24,000 total) Including returns on investments, call the balance $28,000 ($27,849 at at 5% return, year-over-year).
She quit the first day she could quit and receive a pension, literally month 61.
She collects $550.00 per month and has for the last 5 years, it has increased via COLA up from $500/month, typically a $10/monthly increase per year.
So, assume the average is $525 a month x 60 months or $31,500, she has already exhausted what she “put in” including the State’s 100% match of what she contributed, which was also, taxpayer money.
Her health insurance would be $750/month now, which is not included, so, assuming health insurance being $650/month on average for 5 years, the payout for free State-covered Kaiser would have been $39,000 over the past 5 years, she paid $10 for her healthcare, with no (0) deductable, if she stays in network (HMO).
She made $60K her last year, so the pay was probably 10-20% over-market for her position, while she worked for Cal State.
Let’s review...$12,000 in deducted pay for 5 years = $70,500 in cash and healthcare benefits. Not to mention the regular salary she earned while working.
Can anyone see why the nation is completely broke?
Coming soon to a California city near you. (Probably not for the state itself, though: States, unlike municipalities, are not eligible to be debtors under US bankruptcy code.)