Info on pu blic pensions is not secret; it’s private

Info on pu blic pensions is not secret; it’s private

Once again, Bertram de Souza has published a column in The Vindicator, “Public Pensions Secrecy,” about Ohio’s pensions, which was sprinkled with pension-envy sensationalism, yet devoid of proper research.

When a nonpublic employee receives a paycheck, the employer pays the salary minus income, Social Security and Medicare taxes. The employer also pays a matching Social Security 6.2 percent and Medicare 1.45 percent tax on the worker’s behalf. In addition, most companies, with more than 500 employees, also pay a matching 5 percent maximum of any employee donation into a 401(k)-type of retirement product.

Public employees pay the Medicare tax, plus 10 percent of their income into their retirement accounts. Their public employer pays 14 percent of salaries to the pension system; however, that entire amount does not accrue to the employee. Some 1.5 percent goes toward funding the state worker disability program, and 4.7 percent goes toward unfunded liabilities.

The employee only receives 6.2 percent, which is equal to an employer Social Security percentage, and a 1.6 percent matching contribution, which is far less than the 5 percent that a large employer would pay, and a 3.4 percent savings for Ohio taxpayers.

When a public employee receives his or her pay, including the employer’s contribution, it is no longer the state’s (taxpayers’) money, but the employee’s. What an employee earns on retirement investments, and the pension amounts is private business and not that of any taxpayer. Why? Because no longer is any taxpayer money involved.

Just because the Ohio General Assembly retains the oversight of the pension systems’ operations, for the protection of the contributors, does not open the doors to the public’s curiosity about a member’s personal financial information. It is not secret, just private.

William I. Winegarner, Columbus

William I. Winegarner is executive director of Protect Ohio Pensions, Inc.

Steel still threatened 39 years after YS&T closed

Fall has arrived, and Youngstown is once again reminded of Black Monday. On Sept. 19, 1977, Youngstown Sheet & Tube, among the largest steel producers in the nation, abruptly closed its Campbell Works and furloughed 5,000 steel workers.

Youngstown was a thriving industrial city in the early 1970s. As a result of industry success, Youngstown had a vibrant middle class and truly provided opportunities for families to make a better life in America. While steel mills didn’t employ everyone, the success of the industry increased opportunities for all. Some of my family put in their time at the Campbell Works; others, like my grandparents, relied on the industry indirectly: its workers supported their family-owned dry cleaning shop and bar that were nearby.

Despite Youngstown’s appearance at the time though, the steel industry was in serious trouble.

For years, the industry had been producing more steel than the markets demanded, creating a huge economic bubble. It wasn’t long before the market was so inundated with steel that manufacturers were forced to sell their product at prices below the cost to produce it. And so, the steel mills shuttered, jobs vanished, and communities were destroyed. Black Monday was the culmination of years of inaction and policies failing to address the overproduction of steel. It tore the heart and soul out of one of America’s proudest cities.

As I look at the steel industry today, I see many of the same issues as then. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development estimates nearly 700 million metric tons of excess steel capacity globally today. Much of it comes from China: the American Iron and Steel Institute estimates China produces 425 million metric tons of the world’s overcapacity.

Just to put those numbers in perspective, the U.S. produces only 100 million metric tons of steel annually.

This overcapacity is already having an impact on U.S. manufacturers. In 2015, 12,000 American steel workers lost their jobs, as overproduction had caused the price of steel to plummet once again below the cost of manufacturing it.

In the 1970s, we didn’t see the warning signs that led to thousands of American steel workers losing their jobs, as overproduction caused the price of steel to plummet once again below the cost of manufacturing it.

In the 1970s, we didn’t see the warning signs that led to the steel crises. Forty years later, Youngstown is still dealing with the fallout. Today we see these same warning signs, but this time we can act to prevent another economic catastrophe.

Youngstown is just beginning to climb back after 40 years of decline. It has taken decades to get to a point where once proud brands such as Youngstown Sheet and Tube can be revitalized, as something new emerges from the ashes. It’s time our leaders act to protect the U.S. steel industry from the steel dumping foreign manufacturers are currently engaged in. Acting now could be the difference between a return to prosperity and a return to recession for not only Ohio, but for all of America.

R. Justin Mistovich, M.D. Cleveland Heights

Dr. Justin Mistovich, who grew up in Youngstown, is president of The Youngstown Sheet and Tube Co. He is assistant professor of Pediatric Orthopaedic Surgery at Case Western Reserve University.