I came across an online article from the non-partisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget that talks to reform plans in three States for their public employee retirement plans. it is a start. We need to be thinking realistically about our future as a nation. Retirement should not be a time of high living on the backs of the working taxpayers, but it should also not be a time of poverty and suffering. It should be a time of relaxation and enjoyment and even creativity. Not a time of anxiety. Prudent pension reform will help reduce most everyone's anxiety.
Regards — Cliff
1 comment:
While I agree with the premise, I think it is prudent and correct to point out that the anxiety is not for those who will head into the "golden years" down the road. It is from the folks who are already there and are (correctly I believe) concerned that the government is about to change the rules and pull out the rug from under their feet.
Military "retirement" is a good case in point. For decades military personnel have been told that they would receive a certain percentage of their base pay if they stayed on AD for years after 20. That these "pay scales" were communicated cannot possibly be debated. We were also "led to believe" that retired personnel and their spouses would be eligible for medical care provided by the military on a space available basis. Well...now it is very apparent that the government is going to blithely renege on those "promises" no doubt claiming that what they said wasn't actually what they meant.
Am I concerned? You bet I am concerned. Unlike the General Officers who sell me and my comrades in arms down the river for a political gain, loss of what I earned and was promised hurts. AND....it angers me greatly that I have been lied to....duped by my own government....to work for wages far below that of any civilian counterpart (on duty 24/7, 365 days a year.....27 changes of station....)...and yes...agreed to die willingly if it came to that.
AND...BTW.....I am absolutely sick and tired of having the "holier than thou's" tell me that my retirement pay (which is actually a retainer for inactive reserve status) and my social security payments are "entitlements." NO. I paid for those benefits in kind.....they weren't GIVEN to me for free.
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