ANOTHER BIG LIE TO HURT THE MIDDLEMAN

Why employee pensions aren't bankrupting states

Kevin G. Hall | McClatchy Newspapers

last updated: March 06, 2011 07:46:46 PM

WASHINGTON — From state legislatures to Congress to tea party rallies, a vocal backlash is rising against what are perceived as too-generous retirement benefits for state and local government workers. However, that widespread perception doesn't match reality.
A close look at state and local pension plans across the nation, and a comparison of them to those in the private sector, reveals a more complicated story. However, the short answer is that there's simply no evidence that state pensions are the current burden to public finances that their critics claim.
Pension contributions from state and local employers aren't blowing up budgets. They amount to just 2.9 percent of state spending, on average, according to the National Association of State Retirement Administrators. The Center for Retirement Research at Boston College puts the figure a bit higher at 3.8 percent.
Though there's no direct comparison, state and local pension contributions approximate the burden shouldered by private companies. The nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute estimates that retirement funding for private employers amounts to about 3.5 percent of employee compensation.
Nor are state and local government pension funds broke. They're underfunded, in large measure because — like the investments held in 401(k) plans by American private-sector employees — they sunk along with the entire stock market during the Great Recession of 2007-2009. And like 401(k) plans, the investments made by public-sector pension plans are increasingly on firmer footing as the rising tide on Wall Street lifts all boats.
Boston College researchers project that if the assets in state and local pension plans were frozen tomorrow and there was no more growth in investment returns, there'd still be enough money in most state plans to pay benefits for years to come.
"On average, with the assets on hand today, plans are able to pay annual benefits at their current level for another 13 years. This assumes, pessimistically, that plans make no future pension contributions and there is no growth in assets," said Jean-Pierre Aubry, a researcher specializing in state and local pensions for the nonpartisan Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.
In 2006, when the economy was humming before the financial crisis began, the value of assets in state and local pension funds covered promised benefits for a period of just over 19 years.
At the bottom of Aubry's list is Kentucky, which would have enough assets to cover 4.7 years. Other states do much better: North Carolina local government pensions are funded to cover 19 years of promised benefits; Florida's state plan could cover 17 years; and California's plans about 15 years.
"On the whole, the pension system isn't bankrupting every state in the country," Aubry said.

States having the biggest problems with pension obligations tend to be struggling with overall fiscal woes — New Jersey and Illinois in particular. Many states are now wrestling with underfunding because they didn't contribute enough during boom years.
Most state and local employees government across the nation have defined-benefit plans that promise employees either a percentage of their final salary during retirement or some fixed amount. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that 91 percent of full-time state and local government workers have access to defined-benefit plans.
Several states_ including Florida, Georgia, Ohio, Colorado and Washington_ have adopted competing defined-contribution plans, or a hybrid plan that provides government employees both a partial defined benefit in retirement and a supplementary defined-contribution plan.
Defined-contribution 401(k) plans divert on a tax-deferred basis a portion of pay, generally partially matched by the employer, into an account that invests in stocks and bonds. In 1980, 84 percent of workers at medium and large companies in the U.S. had a defined-benefit plan like those still predominate in the public sector. By last year, just 30 percent of workers in these larger companies were covered under such plans.

Defenders of the public pension system say anti-government, anti-union elected officials and interest groups have exaggerated the problem to score political points, and that as the economy heals, public pension plans will gain value and prove critics wrong.
"There's a window that's closing as market conditions improve and interest rates rise, the funding of these plans is going to look better than depicted by some," insisted Keith Brainard, the director of research for the National Association of State Retirement Administrators in Georgetown, Texas.

Critics of public sector pensions paint the problem with a broad brush.
"Unionized government workers have tremendous leverage to negotiate their own wages and benefits. They funnel tens of millions of dollars to elect candidates who will sit across from them at the negotiating table," said Thomas Donohue, the chief executive of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, in a Feb. 24 blog post. "This self-dealing has resulted in ever-increasing wage and benefit packages for unionized government workers that often far outstrip those for comparable private-sector workers."
In a Feb. 23 radio interview, Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., called federal stimulus efforts to rescue the economy "essentially a federal bailout of public employee unions." Nunes described money owed to state pensioners as a crisis "about ready to happen."
Except that two out of every three public-sector workers aren't union members.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in January that 31.1 percent of state public-sector workers were unionized in 2010, compared with 26.8 percent of federal government employees. The highest percentage of unionization, 43.3 percent, was found in local government, where police officers and firefighters work. Teachers can fall into either state systems or local government.

Ironically, in Wisconsin, where Republican Gov. Scott Walker is trying to weaken public-sector unions and reduce pension benefits, he's exempted police and firefighters, who are among the most unionized public employees. And Wisconsin's public-sector pension plan still has enough assets today to cover more than 18 years of benefits.

The most recent Public Fund Survey by the National Association of State Retirement Administrators showed that, on average, state and local pensions were 78.9 percent funded, with about $688 billion in unfunded promises to pensioners. Critics suggest that the real number is at least $1 trillion or higher, using less-optimistic market assumptions.
The unfunded liabilities would be a problem if all state and local retirees went into retirement at once, but they won't. Nor will state governments go out of business and hand underfunded pension plans over to a federal regulator, as happens in the private sector. State and local governments are ongoing enterprises.
The flow of employees into retirement matches up with population trends in states, with Northeastern states with declining populations, particularly Rhode Island, seeing more stress on their pension systems than Southern and Western states, where there's been vibrant population growth.

Another misperception tied to the pension debate is that while the private sector has shed jobs during the economic crisis, state and local government employment has grown — and pensions along with it.
Since September 2008_ when state and local government employees numbered 19,385,000 and the economic crisis turned severe — the governments' payrolls shrunk by 407,000, to 18,978,000 this January, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
When calculating from December 2007_ the month that the National Bureau of Economic Research determined was the start of the Great Recession_ state and local government employment has fallen by 703,000 jobs amid a downturn that cost the nation more than 8 million jobs overall.
"The down economy has had an effect, and the loss of employment outside the public sector has created a contrast" said Brainard, of the National Association of State Retirement Administrators.
Also fueling backlash is the perception that state and local workers don't contribute to their own retirement funds the way private sector workers do.
Four states have non-contribution public pension plans_ Florida, Utah, Oregon and Connecticut. Missouri until recently had a non-contribution policy for state workers, as did Michigan until 1997. Michigan workers hired before 1997 still don't pay toward their pensions, and some teachers in Arkansas don't have to contribute toward theirs. Tennessee doesn't require contributions from most workers and employees in the state higher education system.
Those notable exceptions aside, most states require employee contributions. The midpoint for these contributions for all states and the District of Columbia is 5 percent of pay, according to academic and state-level research. That contribution rate climbs to 8 percent for the handful of states whose workers or teachers are prohibited from paying into the federal Social Security program.
By comparison, private-sector workers shoulder a bit more of the burden.
In its data for 2010, Fidelity Investments, the largest administrator of private-sector 401(k) retirement plans, showed employee contribution rates in its plans averaged 8.2 percent of pre-tax pay.
Separately, the Employee Benefits Research Institution estimates that most private-sector employers match up to 50 percent of employee contributions up to the first 6 percent of salary.
The utility or burden of either type of retirement plan depends on whether the plan is measured by what it delivers to an individual, or by how much it delivers to all workers receiving retirement benefits from their employer.
"It really comes down to what you are attempting to do," said Dallas Salisbury, the president of the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute.

Viewed through the lens of an employee, defined-benefit plans are more cost-effective at providing a pre-determined level of benefits to an employee. But the shortcoming of these plans is that they reward seniority. For workers with a shorter tenure, they're far less generous in retirement.
This fairness issue is one reason why 401(k) plans have grown steadily in prominence since the mid-1980s. From the payroll perspective of an employer, these defined-contribution plans produce at least some retirement income for the greatest number of employees, and the plans can move with employees who change jobs.

FOR JUSTICE WITH EQUITY GO WITH PARACLETE FOUNDATION

Seeking Justice with Equity

*Paraclete: Advocate, comforter; intercessor, helper. (Biblical: Holy Spirit)

American Patriot

Dear Reader:

Personal Liberty and Civil Rights are ours by Nature’s Law—by God. They are not a gift of any Constitution of Act of a legislative body. The Constitution guarantees these rights, or is supposed to. So, when you see it written or hear it spoken that “the Constitution gives us” these rights, be reminded of a profound truth: these are our rights by birth and we should not to be asked to think otherwise.

The Executive Branch of our Government generally, the Department of Justice specifically, is charged with the duty of guarantying that these rights are not abridged or in any way violated. They are supposed to enforce the “guarantee.” That is their duty.

Over the years we have witnessed steady erosion of our Rights. We have seen the “enforcers” or “guarantors” become the major violators of the principles so clearly and soundly stated in our Constitution and addressed in the Bill of Rights. Whether this is through ignorance, indifference, expediency or misplaced political power which the offenders are eager to expand, it is hard to say. We intuitively know that something is wrong. When there is a time that gross assaults are made upon our Rights, or efforts to minimize them are draped in the flag, we must be wary. When our opposition to these efforts brings upon us insults and doubts about our patriotism, we must remember the admonition: Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel.

We must fight back.

There are many areas where we can act to halt the erosion of our Rights. We have chosen to work in an area where there is an obvious attack, The Criminal Justice System. We know we can make a difference to ease the Financial Burden and Human Suffering evident in the System. We can help to refocus upon our Rights and how they should be “guaranteed.” In doing so we hope to be able to save literally hundreds of millions of dollars a year, lighten the burden of families—Children—and communities. At the same time, we want punishment to be applied where it is justly called for without favoritism and unnecessary. We want punishment to be acceptably swift, balanced and fair. Incarceration must involve a meaningful effective rehabilitation program.

It is proven that long sentences do not reduce recidivism. Compounding laws only create jobs for lawyers and cost more money. We want any suspicion removed that we have “the best justice system that money can buy”. We are called upon to remove from Law the vagueness of conspiracy and make sure that sentences are based upon charges that are provable and without hearsay and suspicion only. We must remove the propensity to make everything a crime—to criminalize every error or every option from the “norm.” Our Country deserves our best efforts.

We need your help and urge you to study our presentation, visit our web site and contribute as you can to help.

Lloyd Winburn

Seeking Justice with Equity

*Paraclete: Advocate, comforter; intercessor, helper. (Biblical: Holy Spirit)

TODAY THERE ARE 3,033,321 INDIVIDUALS IN PRISONS IN THE UNITED STATES

One out of every 75 American Males, Men and Boys, is in prison.

There are countless others who are on probation--- for a total approaching 7,000,000. The number is growing. This is a tremendous financial drain on our economy. With an annual cost approaching $90,000,000,000, things have to be turned around. We are applying the punishment and ignoring the causes of our problems. As much as, $45,000,000,000, can be directed to other needs annually.

To be able to focus on these numbers, consider that we are spending now about $5,000 per student per year on education while we spend more than $30,000 per year on individual prisoners in the system.

The Criminal Justice System is in a shambles. For too long we have taken the quick fix approach, abandoned the idea of rehabilitation and discarded the Constitutional mandate with regard to fairness and equity in justice. Balance is gone from the system. Prosecutors wield inordinate power while judges are hampered in their jobs.

Politicians disregard the beneficial potential of change and cringe at any suggestion that we are being “soft on crime.” Wrapped in the cloak of patriotism, in un-warranted fear and weak faith in our democratic system, we have abandoned justice with equity. We have adopted unconstitutional approaches to indictments, trials, sentencing and incarceration. More importantly, there is a well organized force out there that would have everyone--you and me--act and function within the limited confines of their own narrow ideal of freedom, individuality and civic duty. Laws are written by “nit-pickers” who feel justified to prescribe morality of their own standards at the cost of our individual freedom.

All is not lost. There are good solutions. We can save our system and bring it back into line with the Founding Fathers’ original plans for us. There is hope. The Paraclete Foundation is working to build a major force for good while, creating a nation-wide network of knowledgeable, concerned activists. We concentrate upon educating the public in general and policy makers specifically of the problems. We are deeply concerned with the problems that plague our judicial system, especially as they pertain to the sentencing and incarceration of offenders. There is needles waste and unnecessary suffering. We are striving to relieve some of the suffering of the children, wives/husbands, families and friends of those serving time in prison. For lack of funds or due to their ignorance of the Law, many are suffering unjust terms. It is inconceivable for the uninitiated to understand how many children are affected by the cruel deliberate indifference in what is happening today. We can and do help. We help with clarifying the law, making known the conditions of prisons, and point out the inequity involved in sentencing practices. We track laws and regulations in an effort to eliminate unfair and unjust practices. Our extensive educational program is carried by our associates to the far corners of the country-- into public assemblies, civic clubs, into homes, churches and lodges, at colleges and in schools at PTA meetings and school board gatherings. We present alternative measures to political leaders on a personal basis in each Congressional District, each Senatorial Office.

By direct efforts, we help file appeals, separate fact from fiction of sentencing, screen sentencing decisions for abuses, errors or oversight. We have the assistance of lawyers, paralegals, priests and parsons… citizens from all strata of life.

Ours is not a partisan enterprise. Republican or Democrat, an informed citizen will want to join with us. At stake are the lives of many children, many spouses and other members of families affected by incarceration. Unfortunately some offenders must be incarcerated for the public’s good. We work diligently to assure sentences meet certain principal objectives:

• Provide assistance to those who have been unfairly victimized by the system in any way.
• Assure the safety and security of persons and personal property;
• Strive to prepare convicted individuals for release back into society;
• Accomplish equity and fairness in all sentences;
• Repair or revise the justice system to unfair, over-zealous prosecution, disproportionate sentencing, and cruel and unacceptable treatment of the incarcerated.

Increasing the prison population will not solve the problem. It serves only part of the need. More of our resources can be freed for addressing effective preventative measures. You can help us to realize our goals to make our Country safer, kinder, gentler and financially stronger. We all know of the many things right about America, but feel we can be better. This is a way to assure constant strengthening of our moral fiber. Our efforts, yours and ours, can put a stop to the erosion of our Constitutional Rights. We can and must return to a society whose values reflect the philosophy of our Founding Fathers of equality, justice, balance and fairness. FAMM... look them up.

Education, Information, Commitment, Action, Community Service---this is what we strive for. We are convinced that dedication to these key elements of our life will put us back on the path of our heritage. Please help us.  contribution today.

ILL AND NOT LOVING IT

I went to NC to be with my kids and grand kids for Thanksgiving and enjoyed it immensely.

On Monday after Thanksgiving, I took the bus from Jenny's home to downtown Chapel Hill and walked from Franklin Street to the UNC Med Center emergency room. It was a walk of about one mile and was easy enough. I explained that I was periodically dizzy, had some headache and difficulty walking. I was placed in wheel chair and checked in while the emergency people found that my blood pressure was up or high.

In an hour I was set with IV connection and a slew of monitoring connections and questions. I was amazed that the first question was not “Do you have insurance?” When I showed that I was covered or every eventuality, they never brought up the subject again.

Following another blood pressure review which showed that it was back down to a 'low' and other bells went off. There was an EKG taken and it showed nothing out of the normal. The problem was that I was an 83 year old and they could find nothing wrong with me.

I knew something was wrong and explained about the times I had trouble staying on my feet, went walking and hugged trees and fence posts and leaned against building to get back home. A well known neurologist came in followed by a covey of interns eager to look into my mysterious complaints. The determination was made that they should have an MRI done in full living color to at least eliminate the possibility that there was something wrong in my cranium. They found a pocket of sinus fluid, one of air and a small little lump judged to be nothing of consequence.

In all the questioning they found that I take one pill a day for Gastric Reflux and was examined recently with the gastric-intestinal prodding, if that is the way to say it. I had been found to have an infection situation in my stomach giving me a little problem which, the doctor casually said, would probably require treatment for the rest of my life.

Craig, Jennifer and Mark went to the internet and came up with the diagnosis: Sleep Apnea complicated by gastric reflux.

The neurologist dropped me, defaulting to the Internal Medicine Section where I was promptly moved and fed. It was about 9 in the evening. I had begun my stay with the registration about 10:00 AM. The parade of interns continued through the night and my 'vitals' were checked every hour on the hour through the night.

I was having a hell of a time walking... getting out of the bed and going to the bathroom. I had a special colored ban on my left arm that signaled one and all that I was not to be left alone. The monitor beeped steadily and I asked that it be turned off. “I will call you if I die or you will know I am dead by the foul smell emanating from my hind side,” I told them. They turned off the monitor, or the sound of it. The thing still was sending multicolored lines across the screen and a red light blinked silently.

There was still a headache; I was damn tired and really unconcerned that anything really bad was wrong with me.

During the following day, the hourly reviews of my 'vitals' continued; breakfast and lunch were horrible. The interns continued to parade through my room. Each had me breath while they studiously held a stethoscope against my chest, back, neck, throat, and stomach; they took my pulse and temperature and asked questions.

There was no answer as to why my walking was difficult, there was periodic dizziness and headaches.

My hearing was unimpaired: I could hear the cash register going off.

From somewhere there came the suggestion I should be sent to physical therapy where they could teach me how to walk. A cane was suggested and a walker brought in with the suggestion I should buy one and take it home with me.

When the Neurologist came in with her covey of medical students who all circled my bed and look at me as if this was the most exciting thing in their life. They were a beautiful pack of young men and women who might have been hoping they came up with the answer so they could add to their educational resume how observant, perceptive and knowledgeable they were. I am sure the famous neurologist would have cut them down with a hard look if they got too close to the truth.

Any way, I never saw an internist (that I remember) and turned down the trip to the physical therapy department.

I brought up the thought about the sleep apnea diagnosis put together by my two sons and daughter.. “OOOO, My, that is an idea, a possibility,” was the response. “There are certainly enough symptoms to support such a possibility.” That was it. The Doctor explained, “You can go home now and they will start processing you. Here is a copy of the MRI report and a prescription for physical therapy if you want it. We recommend it. If your Dr back in Arizona wants to have copies of all the other parts or your chart, he can ask for them and you will have to sign the request approving the release. By the way, have you had your flu shots, pneumonia shot?”

It took three hours to be checked out.

I shortened my stay in North Carolina and got back to Tempe. On Friday I saw the doctor I use here. And he understood the sleep apnea thing and suggested a test ASAP. He was puzzled that the NCMed people never did a chest x-ray to view the longs and showed some concern especially in the presence of coughing. He got out a fax request for the chart.

Meanwhile I walk and suffer my discomfort. I sleep 5 hours in the night and take a nap of about an hour in the afternoon with perhaps some short nap in the morning. My concentration is hampered; I make many mistakes in my work and speech and suffer CRS (cannot remember shit). My grandkids and I found a sapling down on the road through the woods that was cut and trimmed for a walking stick. I think sincerely that I can get some help to control the breathing and belching. The farting and bad breath will just have to wait. Meanwhile I have lost a good 5 pounds which pleases me and I have set up my eating routine for small amounts spread out through the day.

All I need is TLC and am getting a lot of that from my kids and grand kids and a pack of great friends who are running up their phone bills calling me... I love it! Buy Mexican telephone stock. That Ahole Carlos Slim is getting richer.

Lloyd

OUR OBJECTIVES

RESPONSIBLE GLOBALISM
Lloyd Winburn
          We acknowledge and take great comfort in those things that are Right With America. There are so many good things about our country that we would not even try to enumerate all of them.  We believe, however, that there is one glaring “wrong.” The wrong we address deals with the justice system.
          There is no way we can foster democracy around the world and adopt the practices of our adversaries.  Being the country in the world with the largest prison population cannot or should not be a source of pride for us.  Being the last major hold-out favoring the death penalty cannot speak much for our “Judean-Christian” heritage.
          Abandoning all hope for diplomatic and economic solutions, we have come to the place were we try to solve all the World’s problems with arms and armaments… Power and arrogance; bravado and the feeling that we know everything and everything we do is right.  We lack humility and charity.
          We cannot do what our enemy does and call it right.  The degree of harm done to our reputation and heritage in Iraq and Afghanistan by mistreating prisoners will take years to wash away. We must look at what has happened far back into our system of justice here at home and abroad.  We must be consistent with our mercy, understanding and faith.
         It is only a matter of a few degrees from what has happened in that infamous prison in Iraq and what happens here in the jails and prisons.  We arrest people by profiling and incarcerate them through error and “rush to judgment.”
          Citizens and foreigners are damaged financially, by besmirched reputations, false imprisonment… all in the simple claim of some supposed harm to our national security, our pride or our property.  We execute mentally retarded individuals.  We try teenagers as adults. We have lost the ability to forgive while not forgetting crimes against us.
         There are practices in prison facilities of the lowest classification of security that are in place only at the whim of wardens or associate wardens or lesser jail-keepers. While discipline and security are important, rehabilitation release are the prime objective of the prison system. The judge does the punishment when he removes the offender from society and puts him in the care of the Bureau of Prisons.  Any other punishment should come as a result of the offender not being a model inmate and proving it by overt violations of the rules in place.  There are many examples of acts by officials, enough to warrant a review of the practices with a view to making corrections.
          Inconsistencies in policy, varying by measurable degrees prison to prison should be standardized.
          We hope to be able to show up some of these consistencies along with errors of judgments by officials with a view to having them corrected.

THIS IS NEITHER THE BEST OF TIMES NOR THE WORST OF TIMES

BRUCE BARTLETT'S ASTUTE ARTICLE IN THE CURRENT FORBES MAGAZINE
puts us straight, with a clear and proper article.

Look at the article:
It is a long and well written article every layman can understand.  (Cut and paste in your browser....)
http://www.forbes.com/2010/03/04/consumer-debt-deficit-budget-opinions-columnists-bruce-bartlett.html?partner=weekly_newsletter"


If that does not work for you, go to FORBES.COM WEEKLY NEWSLETTER MARCH 08, 2010

A few well planned tax shifts and adjustments will clear the air.

Lloyd Winburn

WRITER'S BLOCK

IT SEEMS THE REPUBLICANS HAVE
WRITER'S BLOCK

On the day of the D.C. Conference on Health Care Reform
I was able to catch most of the presentation.
It lasted over 6 hours with no new ideas born;
But, being the Political Junkie and History Buff I am,
I could not get enough of the stuff.

It was easy to project and to understand.
The players had their positions staked out well.
The President was looking for facts
And was hopeful that some suggestions
Would come forth and stalemate attached.

One Party expressed themselves
In a large tome
They had developed over many hours
Of work, debate, give and take.
In pieces, all of it had gone before
Committees and was argued on the floor of each Chamber.

Everyone agreed: Something has to be done.
The other Party wanted to dump that work
And start anew.
Opponents who said that, were not a few.
It seemed to me that something was missing;
As to what it was, at the moment I had not a clue.

Now, as I understand it, the Lower House must
Generate all the money bills;
The upper house exists to 'Advise and Consent.”
That seemed to be lost in the day's milieu.
But both House's minority crew
Faced before a blank sheet but failed to offer anything new.

Throughout the day
There was a tendency to stray
And not to pay proper attention
To the issue at hand,
The question to attend:
Where can we agree? Where have we been?

It was a genteel group
With everyone on his or her best behavior
But the writer's block caused the day
To be just one more display
Of ambition run amok and
Opportunity set aside and Hell to pay.

Lloyd
2/26/2010

BLACKWATER HITS US AGAIN

IF THESE ARE FRIENDS, MAYBE WE SHOULD BE SLEEPING WITH OUR ENEMIES.

Lloyd Winburn

READ THIS STORY (Control CLICK)

Draw your own conclusion.... The Blackwater thieves are not our friends. The are mercenaries of the worse sort. We should not be using mercenaries to fight our wars.

Become involved. Go for change away from the right wing extremists' disruptive practices and careless opposition to proposals with good intentions.