California Pension Reform

Fate of ballot measures often depends on the wording

admin — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 00:30:51 +0000

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 showing a majority of Californians in support of pension changes. The stage appeared set for a November showdown between fiscal conservatives and public employee unions.

Then, says Pellissier, just as the campaign was gearing up to begin collecting signatures to gain a spot on the ballot, it came to a screeching halt in the office of California Attorney General Kamala Harris. Read the entire article . . .

San Jose’s pension reform ballot measure featured on CBS Evening News

admin — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 23:10:46 +0000

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 in San Jose voted yesterday to put a measure on the ballot that would slash the pensions of its union workers in June. CBS News correspondent Ben Tracy explores the issue:

Attorney General distorts democracy to aid unions

admin — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 18:00:24 +0000

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, that no matter how nasty the coming presidential election becomes, the loser ultimately will cede power after the final count is in. This isn’t a kleptocracy, where the only redress for the losing side is to take to the streets in a violent revolt.

Unfortunately, California Attorney General Kamala Harris’ recent misuse of power to provide a dishonest ballot title and summary for proposed pension-reform initiatives, which she opposes, comes right out of the totalitarian playbook, where those wielding power recognize no rules of decency or fairness. Read the entire column . . .

California Pension Reform suspends campaign

admin — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 21:55:03 +0000

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 makes it nearly impossible to pass. We will continue to push our elected representatives to reform our broken pension system and if they fail we will focus on qualifying an initiative for 2014. California taxpayers face more than $240 billion in pension debts that grow every year, a brutal math problem that requires courageous leadership instead of the special interest politics that is blocking meaningful reform today.”

BACKGROUND:

“..the title and summary of two pension-reform measures aimed at the November ballot could not have been cast more darkly – and, on some key points, deceptively – if they were written by the public-employee unions that oppose them.” (John Diaz, “Attorney General’s Role in the Initiative Process,” San Francisco Chronicle, January 29, 2012)

“The attorney general’s summary fairly well reflected the opponents’ anticipated arguments against pension reform. It did not represent any reasonable interpretation of impartiality. In fact, unlike the office’s title and boosterish summary of the governor’s tax measure, its selective and shaded characterization of pension-reform provisions did not attempt to accentuate any of the public benefits of reining in pension costs. It was, in a word, unfair.” (John Diaz, “Attorney General’s Role in the Initiative Process,” San Francisco Chronicle, January 29, 2012)

“The latest examples, under Democratic Attorney General Kamala Harris, are the very positive description of the Brown-sponsored tax-increase measure that unions support and the negative, and even misleading, way two proposed public pension initiatives that unions despise are described.” (Dan Walters, “California Politicians Use Power to Fix the Ballot Game,” Sacramento Bee, January 30, 2012)

“…the chosen words clearly make Brown’s measure more palatable to voters and the pension-reform measures more onerous.” (Dan Walters, “California Politicians Use Power to Fix the Ballot Game,” Sacramento Bee, January 30, 2012)

“Harris, like attorneys general before her, appears to have put her thumb on the scale, and issued titles and summaries that serve the political purposes of her political allies.” (Joe Mathews, “Who Should Write Ballot Measure Titles? The Voters,” Prop Zero, February 2, 2012)

“The fact that attorneys general follow their political bearings should not be a surprise to anyone. Not only is the attorney general’s office partisan, but also that particular office is seen as a jumping off point for higher office in the political food chain.” (Joel Fox, “Ballot Measure Titles and Summaries Should Not Be Written by Attorneys General,” Fox & Hounds, January 31, 2012)

Clamor grows to rein in California’s public pension benefits

admin — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 14:45:30 +0000

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 it. He would raise the retirement age, require many employees to contribute more toward their benefits and stop allowing workers to buy retirement credit for years they don’t work, among other changes. … But key parts of the plan would apply only to people hired in the future — after the overhaul passed the Legislature and became law. … “The governor’s plan doesn’t go far enough,” said Dan Pellissier, president of California Pension Reform, a group led by former state officials that is proposing a ballot measure to rein in pensions further.
Read the entire news story . . .

A $2.5 billion pension tsunami in San Mateo County

admin — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 14:32:56 +0000

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 that odd, given that this year’s projected tax revenue is flat or even slightly higher than last year.

Same or higher tax revenue, but draconian cuts in the budget. What are we missing?

Missing from Brown’s cuts versus taxes propaganda are pensions for state workers. A pension tsunami is rolling over California taxpayers, destroying all budgets in its path. Years of out of control pension grabs by politicians, unions and complicit managers have left California taxpayers on the hook for close to half a trillion dollars in unfunded state pension liabilities, according to a recent Stanford University study.

State, county and city budgets are also drowning in pension red ink. San Mateo County is one of the worst offenders. According to a study by Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, our county’s taxpayers owe close to $2.5 billion in unfunded pension liabilities for current and future retirees. Read the entire op-ed . . .

Legislative committee holds hearing on pension reform in Sacramento

admin — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 03:15:22 +0000

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:

CalSTRS reports 2.3% earnings in 2011

admin — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 00:30:42 +0000

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 1.1 percent. Read the entire news story . . .

California’s public employee unions are in denial on pension costs

admin — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 19:00:47 +0000

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 that the hundreds of thousands of teachers, firefighters, police officers, clerks, janitors, garbage collectors and other public employees whose futures depend on the systems have the most to lose if they are not reformed. Read the entire column . . .

CalPERS earns 1.1% on investments in 2011

admin — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 18:00:07 +0000

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 performance was well below the estimated average annual return of 7.75% that the fund’s actuaries say is needed to meet current and future obligations to its members. Read the entire news story . . .