One huge problem with this debate is that people are conflating (what I would call) the abuse of public pensions and honest DB retirement plans in the public sector.
I don’t think anyone here would defend pension spiking, abuse of disability benefits, etc. We need to separate the debate about abuse (because there is no debate there…it is wrong) from the debate about public sector compensation and benefits.
Also, you need to do more research on the DROP program. Most public employers use it because it **saves** them money. The arguments against it are more envy-based than rational, OR people are against it because they don’t actually understand how it works or why it exists.[/quote]
These are very insightful observations. They are supportive of my kind of evolving theory on how people formulate political opinions. Some people look at the whole, and others base opinions on exceptions. It seems to apply to a pretty broad spectrum of topics in the political landscape.
DB pension plans are bad because some people game the system.
Unemployment benefits and welfare benefits are bad because some people don’t really want to work.
Abortion is bad because it is sometimes used purely as a method of birth control.
Mortgage principle writedowns are bad because some people entered into mortgage contracts based on false information and/or with full knowledge that they could never make the payments.
Of course all of these assertions are true, yet all of them probably represent minority exceptions. Some people will formulate their opinions based on these minority exceptions, others based on the issues taken as a whole.
Just to clarify, I’m not arguing that these exceptions in public pension schemes are the only factor used to formulate opinions, just that it is representative of this evolving theory of opinions based on exceptions.
Specifically related to the various public DROP programs, I think your observation that opposition may be envy-based is spot on. I’m not sure there’s any way to prove that it is so. Yet I strongly suspect it’s true.
