Experts Expound

“The debate over public pensions is heating up at the state and local levels, including Los Angeles. Should they be scaled back?”

Is there really any alternative?

Yes.  The state had a two-tier system and its time to revisit the past.

I could only answer honestly from deep in the shadows of a subterranean parking lot.  

Attacking their pensions is just another example of using public employees as scapegoats for a failed political leadership, not only in the corner office but in the Legislature, too. Why not eliminate pensions entirely, and we can all go back to the days of the early industrial revolution.

Pensions should ensure dignity and income security after older age lessens productivity.  Our current public pension system allows people to “retire” with a majority of their annual salary while being young enough to start a second career, oftentimes in another public pension system.  Taxpayers are funding overly generous public pension payouts.

They should only be scaled back if we want government to be financially solvent…but since we’re California we’d prefer to think that the rules of basic mathematics don’t apply to us and we can give unions whatever they want forever.

Benefit levels should simply be returned to the levels they were prior to SB 400 (1999/Ortiz).

Big time. When the cargo is sinking the ship, it’s time to jettison the bloated items.

They should be scaled back with the employee contribution and the employer payout being reduced. And “retirees” who take another public agency job should NOT be allowed to collect the retirement and a paycheck for the new gig at the same time. The system is being gamed.

Yes. The non-government-employee public is going to revolt sooner or later when the magnitude of pension obligations becomes clear.

Democrats need to admit the current system is indefensible. They should give ground on pensions for new hires and protect those of existing workers.

What is going on now can’t continue.  When you have pensions that only go up — eventually it is going to crash down.

Andrew Acosta, A.G. Block, Mark Bogetich, Barry Brokaw, Morgan Crinklaw, J Dale Debber, Peter DeMarco, Jim Evans, Kathy Fairbanks, Jeff Fuller, Rex Frazier, Ken Gibson, Evan Goldberg, Deborah Gonzalez, Sandy Harrison, Bob Hertzberg, Jason Kinney, Greg Lucas, Mike Madrid, Nicole Mahrt, Steve Maviglio,  Adam Mendelsohn, Barbara O’Connor, Bill Packer, Kassy Perry, Jack Pitney, Adam Probolsky, Tony Quinn, Matt Rexroad, Matt Ross, Roger Salazar, Dan Schnur, Will Shuck, Ralph Simoni, Sam Sorich, Ray Sotero, Garry South, Kevin Spillane, Angie Wei, Rich Zeiger.