Remember that a lot of the pension problems that are being raised are due to the downturn in the economy/stock market; NOT because they are OVERLY generous.
It is very frustrating to constantly defend those working in the public sector and their compensation. With the increase in cost of health care, inflation, the cost of living, etc. wages have all but stagnated in real dollars. The PERA (Public Employees Retirement Association; City/County/State employees pension fund & management) has filed suit against AOL/Time Warner charging that the devaluation of their stock (which PERA has a chunk of) is due in part to their corporate malfeasance. We need to see more pension managers doing this type of thing to penalize companies in which pension money is invested. Not across the board, but penalizing the companies that are found guilty of wrongdoing. Why doesn't the income gap get brought up more? Instead, the easy targets are the folks who work. Maybe unions HAVE inflated wages "beyond skill sets" required. If they hadn't, what would wages look like across the board now? The would be lower overall. Could you imagine MORE jobs at the minimum wage? Corporations have done a much more grievous evil by inflating CEO and upper management compensation beyond what any individual could ever need. The corporate media has done a great job, however, of directing the frustration of the upper middle class at the middle and lower classes rather than at the stratospheric class who are running away with the store. Bob Velez Shingle Creek Ward 4-1 -- Citizen Bob Velez Green Party endorsed candidate for Hennepin County Commissioner, District 1 AFSCME (Local 34) ENDORSED http://www.webspawner.com/users/citizenbobvelez/ > >This is a great union perspective on this problem. We should ignore > >the fact that the city has been unwise in granting pensions that are > >a major liability. We should ignore the fact that work force reductions > >are often a necessary and wise business practice. And, we should > >believe that "growth" (unions can always use new members) is always > >beneficial. > > > >We need to recognize that unions in some professions have > >inflated wages beyond the skill sets held by their workers. > >And, we need to recognize that, in the long run, this is not good thing > >for our country. > > > >Michael Atherton > >Prospect Park _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:mpls@;mnforum.org Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
