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Recent Posts
- Public employee unions push back with lawsuits over pension reforms
- CalPERS Nets 0.14% Return on Investments for FYE 2011-2012
- Fate of ballot measures often depends on the wording
- San Jose’s pension reform ballot measure featured on CBS Evening News
- Attorney General distorts democracy to aid unions
- California Pension Reform suspends campaign
- Clamor grows to rein in California’s public pension benefits
- A $2.5 billion pension tsunami in San Mateo County
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Public employee unions push back with lawsuits over pension reforms
California unions, accustomed to getting their way in the Capitol, lost some ground last year when Gov. Jerry Brown pushed through the Legislature a series of public-pension cuts that affect their members. Now several labor groups have gone to court … Continue reading
Posted in News
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CalPERS Nets 0.14% Return on Investments for FYE 2011-2012
By Morgan Cook | Orange County Register – The giant investment fund that feeds the state’s public employee retirement system contributed far less than expected to the pension kitty last year, fueling a long-standing debate over how much the system … Continue reading
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Fate of ballot measures often depends on the wording
By Josh Goodman | Stateline.org — Just a couple of months ago, Dan Pellissier was leading an effort to ask California voters to overhaul the state’s public retirement system. The ballot initiative campaign looked like it had momentum, with polls … Continue reading
Posted in Analysis
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San Jose’s pension reform ballot measure featured on CBS Evening News
CBS News | The economy is slowly improving, but many cities in California and across the nation are struggling under a mountain of debt, much of it in pension obligations to public employees like policemen and firemen. The city council … Continue reading
Posted in TV News / Video
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Attorney General distorts democracy to aid unions
By Steven Greenhut | Orange County Register — We expect all sides in politics to fight hard, given the stakes involved, but our system rests on the broad acceptance of a set of fairly applied rules. We know, for instance, … Continue reading
Posted in Column
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California Pension Reform suspends campaign
The following is a statement from Dan Pellissier, president of California Pension Reform: “California Pension Reform is suspending its effort to qualify an initiative for the 2012 ballot after determining that the Attorney General’s false and misleading title and summary … Continue reading
Posted in News, Press Release
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Clamor grows to rein in California’s public pension benefits
By Patrick McGreevy | Los Angeles Times — Gov. Jerry Brown came to office promising to reduce the state’s burgeoning pension costs … Saying the system is not financially sustainable, the governor has laid out a 12-point plan to change … Continue reading
Posted in News
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A $2.5 billion pension tsunami in San Mateo County
By Chuck McDougald | Daily Journal — Gov. Jerry Brown is proposing deep cuts in health and welfare programs and warning of cuts to schools, universities and courts if voters refuse to pass tax hikes in November. Taxpayers might find … Continue reading
Posted in Op-Ed
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Legislative committee holds hearing on pension reform in Sacramento
Under increasing public and budget pressure to change retirement benefits for state and local government workers, the Legislature is finally holding hearings on a hybrid plan, which combines a 401(k)-type plan with public pensions. Nannette Miranda reports on KABC-TV:
Posted in TV News / Video
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CalSTRS reports 2.3% earnings in 2011
By Dale Kasler | The Sacramento Bee — CalSTRS said today it earned 2.3 percent on its investments in 2011, “a year of extreme market volatility.” The announcement came a day after CalPERS reported its 2011 results, a gain of … Continue reading
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California’s public employee unions are in denial on pension costs
By Dan Walters | The Sacramento Bee — Whenever someone suggests that California’s public employee pension systems need reform, civil service unions react dismissively, often with attacks on the credentials or even the morals of critics. … The irony is … Continue reading
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CalPERS earns 1.1% on investments in 2011
By Marc Lifsher | Los Angeles Times — The nation’s largest public pension fund, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, posted a 1.1% return on its investment portfolio in 2011, Chief Investment Officer Joseph Dear told his board. The 2011 … Continue reading
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California Pension Reform applauds Gov. Brown’s challenge to the Legislature
SACRAMENTO — Dan Pellissier, president of California Pension Reform (CPR), today responded to Governor Jerry Brown’s challenge to the Legislature to take action on pension reform: “We applaud Governor Brown for continuing to challenge the Legislature to act on pension … Continue reading
Posted in Press Release
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Legislative Analyst’s Office fails to give California Pension Reform’s proposals a fair reading
By Mike Genest | The Sacramento Bee — During my four years as director of the state Department of Finance I signed off on the Legislative Analyst’s Office analyses of hundreds of initiative proposals – and I almost always agreed … Continue reading
Posted in Op-Ed
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A resolution for 2012: Fixing California’s public pension problems
By Dan Pellissier | Capitol Weekly — As many Californians fill up gyms, bike trails and jogging paths to act on their New Year’s resolutions to improve their personal health and fitness, this year California voters will fill voting booths … Continue reading
Posted in Op-Ed
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Can California voters recoup excessive pay, benefits and pensions from current public employees?
By John Eastman | Fox & Hounds — California is broke. Every year we spend about $20 billion more than we take in, despite a constitutional requirement of balanced budgets. Our elected officials have tried every trick in the books … Continue reading
Posted in Op-Ed
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California Pension Reform responds to Attorney General’s title and summary of initiatives
SACRAMENTO – Dan Pellissier, President of California Pension Reform (CPR), today responded to the Attorney General’s title and summary of CPR’s initiative proposals. “Californians know our public pension system is broken and voters overwhelmingly support pension reform. Our measures are … Continue reading
Posted in Press Release
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Public Pension Puffery: 12 half-truths that deserve to be debunked in 2012
By Girard Miller | Governing Magazine — One of my pet peeves in the ongoing debates over public pension reform is the way partisans on each side try to pitch half-truths and myths to support their arguments. The other side … Continue reading
Posted in Analysis
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State finance officials should face the truth on pension promises
By David G. Crane | The Sacramento Bee — In the 17th century the Catholic Church attacked Galileo for advocating Copernicus’ view of the universe. Three centuries later, Pope John Paul II apologized for that persecution. Hopefully it won’t take … Continue reading
Posted in Op-Ed
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Berkeley’s city manager is not unique retiring with a bigger pension than his final salary
By Daniel Borenstein | Contra Costa Times — In November, Berkeley City Manager Phil Kamlarz traded his $250,000-a-year job for retirement with a starting pension of about $266,000 annually. The deal highlights the city’s generous pension program, which is one … Continue reading
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