Conservative Pension Inconsistencies

Congress is racing to get the Ryan - Murray Budget deal passed before taking some more time off.  (And believe me when I tell you that I for one, have nothing against our national legislature taking time away from their labors on behalf of the People.)   The House already passed it, Senate is poised to do so, and the President seems likely to sign it.  (He can always change things later if it doesn't work out, right?)  Neither side seems particularly pleased with the compromise reached, which not only pleases me, but makes sense when you consider that the two groups are supposed to be fundamentally, diametrically, and ideologically opposed; with the only thing that they can seemingly agree on (amongst themselves, at least) is that things would be better if their party were in complete charge.

The timing on the passage of this bi-partisan spending agreement is curiously compelling this year however, since it comes at the same time of the release of Senator Tom Coburn's annual report on government waste.  In it, the Oklahoma Senator details some $28 billion in 2013 government spending on things he calls "questionable or lower-priority programs".  One that particularly caught my eye however was that on the part of the military to junk a lot of the equipment used in Iraq and Afghanistan. "The military has decided to simply destroy more than $7 billion worth of equipment rather than sell it or ship it back home," Coburn said. 

It did so because one of the most hotly disputed bits included in this week's bi-partisan compromise is a provision to achieve a $6.3 billion reduction in federal spending through a one percent reduction in cost of living benefits for retirees under age 62.  This should of course lead one to question who the budget rocket scientists were who approved an amount for senseless equipment destruction that they refused retirees.  (Personally, I would have thought that we're so loved in that part of the world that we could have sent over a box of sledge hammers and set up a booth to charge locals for the privilege of helping us out with the process.  Maybe we could have even filmed it and turned it into a reality show.) 

Not surprisingly however, this particular spending cut has military and veterans groups up in arms in what's described as an attack on those who have already faithfully served their country.  Draconian budget cutting Conservatives seemed to rise to the attack as well on what could be considered a mere 'cost of living increase' modification on such pensions, which in turn got me thinking ...

Now perhaps it's simple jealousy on my part, that someone has managed to hold down a job with same employer for 20 years and could conceivably retire at the age of 38.  Even someone hanging one for the full 30 could therefore find themselves on the porch by 48.  Don't get me wrong, I respect and honor anyone who makes that choice for themselves; and can grant that those who have faithfully served their country might feel that such a reward is their due. 

As one working in the private sector however, I now see no escape from Congressional reform of the Social Security retirement age that will see it raised from 65 to 70 long before I reach either.  I've long since reconciled myself to passing quietly while sitting in a corner behind an unnoticed desk at some age beyond that (assuming they'll let me work that long) so that I won't be a drain on the nation.  I can't help but wonder over the huge reaction to even a minor modification for retirees as part of a greater discussion of public sector pensions.   

I wonder that many of the Conservatives crying the loudest over the mere proposed of cost of living adjustment to such pensions appear to be the very same ones crying over the crippling costs of police and firefighter pensions for those performing dangerous labors in their municipalities.  Isn't it the concept of making government pensions 'untouchable' that has many of those same Conservatives outraged with the very concept of public sector pensions?  Isn't the mountain of underfunded plans at local levels the major part of debt that has bankrupted Detroit, MI, as it did earlier to Stockton and San Bernadino, CA before?  Aren't both Illinois and California doing little more than bookkeeping tricks to hide their own massive burdens in underfunded state pensions plans?   

Now I'm sure that all of this already has me in trouble with many 'loyal American Conservatives' out there, who see my stance an attack on our gallant troops.  It isn't.  I'm not even saying that I approve of the the COLA adjustment, though I'd love to see House and Senate members who are up for election openly debate its inclusion rather than insert it through a backroom maneuver.  One must recognize however, that no one can hold back the future.  

Lifetime pensions are an endangered species in this country; even the ones long associated with government service like the military.  The courts are now only just beginning to sort out the contractual mess involved with deciding between the rights and obligations of a citizen as a government employee versus the rights and obligations of every other citizen not so employed.  It will take someone far wiser than most of us to reach a 'just' decision as to where these rights lie.  My advice however, before weighing in too heavily on one side of the argument or the other (or spouting out only when it's your ox being gored) is to make sure that you're attempting to judge each situation with the consistency that it deserves. 

The "Stuck On Stupid" Dictionary #40

The normally lazy lexicographers of the 'Stuck on Stupid' Dictionary have, to amazement of most of the staff, produced a second effort within the same month.  Some here at headquarters many are convinced that they felt that they were concerned at being out performed by the Department of Just Blowing Smoke Security: but I'm convinced that this latest effort is a challenge that they could not refuse, since it was a suggestion by Maggie Thurber, to whose inspiration they owe their miserable little positions.  Quite frankly, those in Senior Staff don't really care what the reason is as long as they don't have to continue to make excuses for their lack of control over this normally rogue department.

Such inconsistent production however, means that there may actually be those of you reading this who have somehow managed to miss previous postings on this subject (shame on you, now go back and search all of the postings under the label of  'Dictionary').  For those of you thus unfamiliar, the SOS dictionary is a reference guide to terms which nominally mean something to the rest of the English speaking world, but appears to mean something entirely different when looked at through the jaded eyes and rose colored glasses of the SOS dictionary staff.

Double Dip:
 
1. The achievement of getting a second (and sometimes equal or better) measure from the same source.

2. To earn a salary from the source of one position while collecting a pension from a similar source or especially from having held the same position previously.

3. The circumstance when a city charges taxes of every resident to create a police or fire department, then charges them additionally for the costs involved with using it (voluntarily or not).

4. The situation where utility company charges an individual at a standard rate for a provided service, then charges them additionally if the such usage is considered too much or too little service to make the utility profitable enough.

TFP Column: A Victimless Crime

OK, so I spend too much time watching "NCIS" and "Criminal Minds", what of it?


How else can you explain connecting the dots between Union pension plans in Toledo and Kansas City with crime? Sure we're talking about police officers here, the guys who catch the bad guys (at least when they are using them to negotiate their contracts). We are likewise talking about contract terms that are all but highway robbery of taxpayers (and never a cop around when you need one). Then there's trying to dispel some of the myths about the recent law (SB5) passed in Ohio that restricts the ability of government workers to negotiate contracts with with those in office with whom they live a sick symbiotic relationship. But what has any of that got to do with crime? 


You're going to have to figure it out by reading "A Victimless Crime", already posted on the toledofreepress.com website. I did all of the damage that I could do just by writing this piece connecting information supplied by the Buckeye Institute and in the Kansas City Star (and all without without having Ducky, the other Tim, Abby or Penelope to help).

--------------------------

Without knowing what will be coming up in both the Star and regular Free Press editions, I can tell you that you are going to want to read both. It is after all the Memorial Day Weekend coming up, and no one will be more in the know about what's happening in Toledo and Northwest Ohio than those keeping up in Toledo's larges Sunday circulation newspaper, the Toledo Free Press. (Now if you'll excuse me, NCIS is about to come on ...)

TFP Column: Atlas Shrugs

While listening to an interview on Brian Wilson's show on WSPD with Chris Edwards of the CATO Institute, I emailed Brian with a pithy comment. His reply was that it sounded like something worthy of a column. 


Easily persuaded, I decided to do a little research into the growing burden of the lucrative salary and benefits of government workers on taxpayers. I believe that you will be as shocked as I was to discover what this fastest growing segment of the national workforce is getting, that the rest of us only dream about. The more I read, the more it reminded me of the failure of government portrayed in Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged', hence the homage in the title. 


 Once again however, there is a lot more going on in Toledo that you will only be able to find in the Toledo Free Press. The snow has been falling since Thursday, and it promises to be a cold weekend. I recommend curling up with the TFP and finding out what's going on.