NJ Teachers Should Refuse To Be The SOLE Solution To the Pension Mess
I'm guessing that New Jersey's pension "reformers" are thinking the same thing: now that Chris Christie's absurd run for the White House is over, they should make their push to screw public employees out of their pensions now, rather than later when we are nearly certain to have a Democratic governor.
Hence the crush of op-eds by folks like Tom Byrne, a member of Christie's pension commission. Byrne is very, very sorry he has to shaft middle-class workers out of the benefits they are owed on a pension plan they were forced to participate in -- but, alas, there just isn't any choice:
Benefit levels are far higher for New Jersey public employees than is common in the private sector. It is the Obama administration, not Republicans, that has said health benefits at the New Jersey level should be subject to a luxury tax.
So there are two paths.
- Ask taxpayers to continue subsidizing a level of health benefits that even the Obama administration says is too rich.
- Put those benefits at or near the highest level specified under Obamacare, and use those savings to fill the hole in the pension funds.
Certain Democrats say "just make the payments." But when the governor asked a joint session of the legislature for a show of hands on who was willing to vote for higher taxes in order to do so, not a hand went up.
It is fair enough to say that neither the governor nor legislative leaders should have signed a 2011 deal that was premised on unrealistic revenue projections. Let's not compound that mistake this time with a constitutional straitjacket and more unrealistic revenue assumptions.
Delay may allow politicians to posture and build alliances. But until they- See more at: http://jerseyjazzman.blogspot.com/2016/02/nj-teachers-should-refuse-to-be-sole.html#sthash.toeXkjFe.dpuf
