Stop the excuses, pay pension fund
Some facts about the “lavish” pensions those evil public workers receive: In Illinois, I, along with all contractual employees, contributed up to 9 percent of my salary to my pension. We, AFSCME members, agreed to contractual requirements that the state also agreed to: Both parties would fund the pension.
We, AFSCME members, gave up raises and other benefits to assist the state to pay their part to the pension, to ensure that we would have a decent retirement. And did they? No. We also have pensioners that do not receive social security, only the pension (they pay for Medicare separately). Although there is an “average” pension of $20,000 annually, there are many who live on less than $12,000 — without social security. If states default on their obligation, where do you think those seniors are going to end up? You take away their security and dignity and they end up on welfare, seniors over 70 will find jobs that keep them out of poverty.
The problem with government pensions isn't retirees, it's the antiquated tax system in Illinois (we still has lower taxes than Indiana, Wisconsin, Iowa and Missouri) and the state ignored the bill for many years ... and now looked at it with surprise and exclaimed, “Oh, but that;'s too much; we can't pay that.”
I wish I was able to do that, but no, if I don't pay my bills when they're due, something gets turned off — it's time to turn off the excuses and pay the pension fund.
Kim Johnson
President, AFSCME Subchapter 68
Downers Grove