Pension plan hurts wrong people
The "pension reform" rushed through the legislature is a drastic solution that punishes the blameless for a problem created by government mismanagement.
The only reason the pension systems are in trouble now is because the state has purposefully underfunded them for years, and has used the money paid into the plans by the workers as a piggy bank, diverting those funds to other projects.
Now the politicians are trying to whip up the taxpayers to blame the workers who were promised the pensions, and implying they aren't deserved.
Among the many public-sector employees affected, teachers are certainly the most visible. For a long time teachers have been the target of opportunity for politicians and some citizens to point fingers at whenever taxes and spending are discussed.
Requiring teachers to continue in the classroom until age 67 will have dramatic impacts on our education system. Imagine teachers in their 60s trying to hold the attention of 25 or 30 students, 7 hours a day, 5 days a week. Consider what will happen to local district budgets with the added burden of an additional 12 years of top salary paid per teacher as well as health plans for geriatrics.
Where will young adults coming out of college with education degrees get jobs with workers staying in their positions for 40 years or more?
Shouldn't the people we entrust our children to, who will shape their lives as much, if not more than their parents, be the best and brightest?
It is disingenuous to demand great expectations from teachers, but then try to hire them on the cheap.
Speaker Madigan claims this new plan for public sector pensions is "still a good deal in today's economy." But in the next breath the planners point out the effects won't be felt for decades.
Who knows what the economic landscape will look like in 2050? All this legislation does is move the problem down the road for someone else to worry about.
But isn't that what the politicians have always done? Before Gov. Quinn rushes to ink the deal, perhaps a look to the future is in order.
Ken Heerdegen
Grayslake