Move away from funding pensions

How did the unions and politicians scheme to get its members gold-plated pensions? How have teachers, police and firefighters reached $100,000 annual pensions? How long before these become $200,000 annual pensions? How long before police and fire chiefs, school administrators, school superintendents, college professors, governors and park district superintendents reach $500,000 annual pensions?

Neither Gov. Quinn or the legislature has done anything to lower these massive pensions. They are tweaking retirement age but have made no meaningful reduction in payout. In my mind nobody deserves a pension over $50,000.

I assume most of these government pensions are paid out to liberals. I find it fascinating that they will become pension millionaires but then complain that millionaires don't pay there fare share (class warfare). Gov. Quinn wants to borrow $3.7 billion to shore up the pension systems. This is in addition to the $10 billion that Blagojevich borrowed. Seems they will have to borrow $5 billion to $10 billion every year to pay these lavish pensions.

Public pensions are a shakedown of the Illinois taxpayer and must be stopped. One way to solve the problem is for the government to quit funding the pensions, let them go broke and force the funds to reduce annual pensions that are less lavish. Or perhaps this doesn't bother the average taxpayer that will someday witness $1 million annual pension payouts. How did you vote in November?

Gerald K. Thomas

Arlington Heights