Hey, who got some Scott Walker in my Jerry Brown?!?
Gov. Jerry Brown will propose sweeping rollbacks to public employee pension benefits in California, including raising the retirement age to 67 for new employees who are not public safety workers and requiring state and local employees to pay more toward their retirement and health care, according to a draft of the plan obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press.
The governor will also propose Thursday a mandatory “hybrid” system in which future retirees would get their retirement from a guaranteed benefit and a 401(k)-style plan subject to market whims. For employees with at least 30 years of service, retirement benefits would aim to replace about 75 percent of an employee’s salary through retirement funds and Social Security, according to the draft.
The plan, as drafted, also would end so-called pension “spiking” that lets employees boost their payouts by including overtime and other benefits, and end the practice of buying additional service credits.
“It’s time to fix our pension systems so that they are fair and sustainable over a long time horizon,” Brown said in a prepared statement to the AP. “My plan raises the retirement age and bans abusive practices like “spiking” and “air time” while mandating that public employees pay an equal share of pension costs.”
The administration estimates its proposal would save about $900 million annually.
Brown’s plan would require approval from the Legislature, where union-allied Democrats are likely to balk at some of the significant rollbacks, and where Brown failed to win consensus on pensions with Republicans last spring.
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen a bit of Walker sneak into Jerry Brown. Back in June, Gov. Brown vetoed card check legislation that would have given unions in California a major pathway toward increasing their membership. If I didn’t know better, I might start thinking that Jerry Brown is one of those liberals who has gotten mugged by reality.
i’m afraid this is just lip service
i see little chance of this ever getting through the state legislature
but what it does do, though, is momentarily raise j brown above the fray until he passes things like the california dream act that will have immediate and dire consequences on an already lackluster economy
Pay for public employees of all sorts in California has been out of control, possibly for failure of the local “news” agencies to report on those boring, public meetings.
California is a one-party state, and the Democrats at all levels have had no opposition, and no exposure of their bad apples.
This is much less surprising than it seems. Jerry Brown – for all his reputed craziness (some of it justified) – is far brighter than most politicians (I know – damning with faint praise, but still…)
Your comment highlights a long-pondered conundrum of mine. I’m not suggesting at any level that this is the case with you, my favorite commentator in cyberspace, but why do so many individuals have so much trouble distinguishing between intellectual potential (he’s “bright”) and intelligence?
Politics, of course, provides the fountainhead of my conundrum. For example, how does one embrace the unmatched historical failure of Marxism/Socialism/Communism/Progressiveism — pick your favorite synonym from the menu — and retain even a pretext of intelligence? To my way of thinking, when you become a caricature of the most famous definition of “insanity,” repetitive futility, you are neither bright nor intelligent.
We must stop shielding stupidity behind euphemistic “brightness.”
Jerry’s always been a bit of a maverick as a governor (though he was a total hack as State Attorney General). Also, as one of the more intelligent progressives around (and unlike the garden-variety liberal nitwits who dominate out state legislature), he’s probably seen that uncontrolled pension expenses threaten the liberal social programs he so loves. Thus he appears willing to enact some serious reforms.
But… I’ll take a wait and see for the details. This may also be smoke and mirrors designed to make it look like something’s being done, while really having so many exceptions and conditions that it amounts to no more than nibbling around the edges.
Here’s what to look for: if the PEUs don’t scream bloody murder, then it’s just for show.
– as the press lets him pretend to be. Wait and see if this presser is it or if he will campaign for this measure. Bet on the former.