[quote=briansd1]5% of municipal budgets is reasonable to pay for pensions, not 20% or 30%.
Do any of you want to pay taxes and have a huge portion pay retired people who do nothing? Or do we want to pay salaries of employees who provide services that benefit the citizens today.
Remember that retiree pensions are backstopped by cuts to services.
Contracts are made to be broken and renegotiated. That’s the American way.[/quote]
Nonsense. It’s only when contracts are honored and protected that an economy, and civilized society, can thrive.
Pension contributions are not made on behalf of retirees in most cases; they are made on behalf of CURRENT employees. Municipalities who contract with CalPERS, for instance, do not pay for a retiree’s pension benefits once they are retired. CalPERS has enough money to pay benefits for current retirees for years. They require higher contribution rates from CURRENT employees to safeguard the pension system for CURRENT employees.
