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Pennsylvania’s legislators up to no good on pensions
Lawmakers in Pennsylvania will feel the sting of taxpayers’ anger if they approve a multi-billion-dollar bill that would increase pension benefits for some 250,000 retired state workers and teachers.
At a time of national high anxiety over the economy’s downturn, and fiscal challenges confronting governments in old industrial states like Pennsylvania, enriching individuals whose average pension is $21,000 (they also receive full medical coverage) is unconscionable.
Little wonder that private-sector taxpayers continue to revolt at the ballot box.
Indeed, it is particularly galling that the Pennsylvania Legislature would consider this odious pension-padding bill after the controversy in 2005 over proposed pay increases for state government employees.
The only bright spot is that 55 legislators were defeated or retired in the wake of the public uprising. On the other hand, former Senate President Pro Tempore Robert Jubelirer, R-Altoona, was rewarded with a $90,000 yearly pension, while former House Minority Whip Mike Veon, a Democrat who represented Beaver County, received a $50,000 pension, according to a story in the Pittsburgh Tribune -Review.
That 155 legislators had the temerity to sign on as co-sponsors of the measure to boost the pensions of retired state employees and teachers clearly shows the disconnect between the public and private sectors.
The State Government Committee has voted unanimously to send to the floor of the House the bill that grants increases of between 2.7 percent for the most recently retired to 25 percent for those who retired before July 1990.
Pension bump
It is noteworthy that in 2002, legislators bumped their own pensions by 50 percent after adding a 25 percent increase for most other state and school employees, according to the Tribune-Review.
It is also significant that the Pennsylvania School Boards Association opposes the bill. In warning of its cost, Tim Allwein, assistant director, said, “The question really isn’t whether or not it’s affordable. The question is whether or not it’s going to raise taxes, and it certainly has the likelihood of doing that.”
About one-third of the cost of the proposed raise would be borne by school districts, which depend on property taxes for their operating revenues.
One backer of the measure, Rep. Matt Baker, a Republican from Tioga, contends that he and his colleagues are responding to retirees, who point out that the last cost-of-living increase was in 2002.
“The cost of living over six years has gone up tremendously for a lot of those retirees living on fixed incomes,” Baker said.
Really? We wonder whether Baker has given as much thought to what private sector retirees have gone through in the past six years.
Indeed, he might want to pay close attention to what is taking place in the private sector today, with wage freezes and even concessions being the norm.
It is the height of arrogance for any public official to even consider enriching the retirees who are doing comparatively well when the overall economy continues to founder.
Responsible governance is demanded in Harrisburg.