A woman described as “as one of Philadelphia’s most influential, politically savvy, and pro-active public officials” is about to prove the description true.
She’s about to play the system and pocket a cool $478,000:
Marion B. Tasco, who has been described as being “politically savvy,” will retire from her sixth term as councilwoman, collect $478,057, and then be sworn in on Monday to serve her seventh term, Catherine Lucy and Chris Brennan of the Philadelphia Daily News.
How does she get away with this?
Tasco, along with many of her fellow Council members, is enrolled in Philadelphia’s Deferred Retirement Option Plan (DROP). DROP allows city workers to collect salary and build up pension money during the last four years of their employment, writes Aaron Kase of Philadelphia Weekly.
Naturally, when DROP was originally introduced, it was touted as being “revenue neutral.” It’s been anything but that. SInce its introduction, Philadelphia’s DROP program has cost the city $258 million in extra pension costs over a decade, according to a 2010 Boston College study.
I love it when politicians describe something as revenue neutral. It’s a great indicator of their arrogance. It tells me they believe they have considered every possible scam millions of criminals could imagine and built in safeguards to prevent them from happening.
What makes it worse is when the criminals are passing the bills…
Hat Tip: Doug Ross
Unfunded public sector pension and salary liabilities are a massive problem for most blue states and cities. When this problem finally comes to a head, it will be far worse than any previous financial crisis.
California alone has almost $1trillion in unfunded public employee pension and healthcare liabilities. As long as this remains a state issue, one can always move to a state without these problems. Unfortunately, Obama and the Dems have been very clever at finding new ways to transfer federal tax dollars to blue states to cover these losses.
Why there will be no recovery from the housing bubble until ALL public sector unions are GONE
lol
it will take a lot more then that. there are now more parasites then producers in the system and the parasite rule the education system the media and government.
And that’s not all. A lot of money that went to those bloated state and local salaries and benefits comes from federal grants of various types. The federal government steals the money from the taxpayers of every state – or borrows it from their children and grandchildren – then gives some part of it back to the politicians and bureaucrats of each state, with all sorts of strings attached.
Where do you think the stimulus money went? Certainly not toward fixing any actual infrastructure. The only “shoveling” was into Democrat coffers.
“Revenue neutral”, I’m sure… I’d love to see the fuzzy math behind that logic. Not that it matters, because they only needed it to appear that way initially. As we all know, once a policy like that gets rolling, it is almost impossible to stop. And they almost invariably end up being anything but “revenue neutral”.
It never ceases to amaze me how brazen officials can be in their never ending quest to enrich themselves. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if their pay was under the control of the people that employ them? But no, they have the luxury of deciding their own wages and raises that are provided by a revenue source backed by the force of law.
It’s good to be King…
A politician will play the system in order to line their own pocket? In other breaking news, the Pacific Ocean is wet.
These shenanigans will go on until there isn’t enough of other people’s money to take at the point of a gun. Look at the cities that have filed bankruptcy in order to get out of pension obligations. Don’t try to tell me Philly is too large to fail.
I don’t believe that the article adequately explains what is going on. The theory is to allow employees to begin collecting their pension now and continue working at the same job. By doing so the government does not have to increase pension benefits in the future or fund for such future benefits. The $478,000 is not the annual pension but the cash out of the Council’s total pension obligation to the councilwoman. If the author did a little research it would be better but less controvercial because the author obviously knows nothing about how pension plans work.
The point is that in most places, serving on the city council is a part-time job (here as well – but paid for full-time work – union feather bedding is strenuous work). Why should elected politicians get any pensions at all?
Strikes me you are forgetting something significant — the City of Philadelphia’s pension plan is broke and owing. By walking off with a boodle now, the councilwoman is making damn sure she gets “hers”, and “the Devil take the hindmost”.
If I were a low-level City worker I would understand what’s going on — she’s taking my money. Too bad you don’t “get it”.
And, of course, I invite you to find a private-sector company that offers such a sweet deal.
Sorry Clay, it still stinks. NO excuses make it better, she’s enriching her own pocket on the taxpayers.
I’m with clay b here. The article does not adequately explain the situation. The head line leads one to assume that the coucil woman is getting 400K plus per year.
Duane Lester should be working for the MSM if that is the news he’s going to, and I use the term laughingly here, “report”.
How odd. The impression I got was it was a lump sum payment, not a annual payment.
“Philly Councilwoman to Retire and Collect $478,000 Pension, Then Start Back To Work On Monday”
This seems to be a factual statement. I don’t see how getting almost 1/2 million payment for retiring from a job she still has is mitigated by it being a lump sum.
“It tells me they believe they have considered every possible scam millions of criminals could imagine and built in safeguards to prevent
them from happeninganyone else from using them.”FTFY.
FYI, “a little less controversial” is still controversial.
She gaming the system to collect her pension while still working. That’s the controversial part.
The woman is corrupted beyond hope and probably doesn’t even think so. Personal gain is why America has been destroyed from within and bankrupted. Where does the money come from to pay such grifters and what other things have been ignored that could’ve used such funds?
Let’s play “Name that Party”
The real question is who voted to reelect this woman. I’m guessing the kind who just look for the “D” after her name.
Some interesting facts on the Philadelphia City Council:
http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/news/2011/02/02/report-ranks-phila-city-council-pay.html
-seventeen members
-average of 15.5 years tenure!
-twelve weeks without meetings in the summer
-average councilor’s salary $121,000
-city-owned car
-total cost per seat: $1.1 million
How is spending more money “revenue neutral?” It’s not even revenue.
In the end, any of us would rather be the poor dumb bastards paying for the swindlers. Money won’t buy integrity, dignity, nor a good night’s sleep. Sleeping with one eye open must really suck.
Hey, Obama made nice noises about a “net spending cut” too….
“Welcome to our show! Today’s game is Guess the Political Party Affiliation!
Okay, players, get your buzzers ready! Here are the clues. This person is: 1. Female; 2. A Philadelphia Council Member; 3. Collected a handsome lump sum pension payment of $478K, AND 4. Will get not only: A. Her outrageous present salary for continuing to work, B. The benefits that go along with the job, but also, C. A lifetime pension when she steps down or gets defeated!
Player 1, You are correct! She’s a Democrat! No penalty for omitting “liberal.”
CLAWBACK ! ! ! – it was good enough for Bernie Madoff
As America begins to realize the monsters they have created in the many unfunded retirement plans all they can do is stop the process from growing and wait for all the political criminals to die off. It didn’t get this way overnight and it won’t go away that soon either.
Politicians that call themselves “Christian” and do these things to those that supported them for many years will have a special awakening when they find their name missing from that “Book of Life” we hear so much about!
This should go for ALL POLITICIANS at every level of government……Even Dog Catchers!!!!
Congressional Reform Act of 2011 _
1. No Tenure / No Pension.
A Congressman/woman collects a salary while in office and receives no
… … Pay when they’re out of office.
2. Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social
Security.
All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the
Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into
The Social Security system, and Congress participates with the
American people. It may not be used for any other purpose.
3. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all
Americans do.
4. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise.
Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.
5. Congress loses their current health care system and
Participates in the same health care system as the American people.
6. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the
American people.
7. All contracts with past and present Congressmen/women are void
Effective 1/1/12. The American people did not make this
Contract with Congressmen/women.
Congressmen/women made all these contracts for themselves. Serving in
Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers
Envisioned citizen legislators, so ours should serve their
Term(s), then go home and back to work.
Its called “Double Dipping” plain & simple. It should be illegal to collect a government pension & a government salary at the same time. The Dumocrats & their Union buddies have been allowing this practice in Milwaukee Wisconsin & have wound up in massive debt. Teachers in Illinois, also retire & move to Wisconsin to teach, while they collect their pension, then collect a 2nd pension when they retire for the 2nd time. Some of them are collecting $200,000.00 per year! Not bad on taxpayer’s dime! When Gov Walker put an end to the madness, teachers were so upset, they are retiring at the ripe old age of 50 & collecting $50-65K per year with 100% free health insurance….(they are also trying to Recall Walker so the corruption can continue!
It is difficult to complain about this issue….if we as a people put this kind of politician in office and they do the same thing every four years, it is our own fault. You cannot expect a politician who lives in luxury to understand a population of people who do not….if they vote to help the poorer people they themselves lose money….you cannot pass laws that will affect your own bottom line…that is how they stay in the positions of power they have….the voters are blind as well as stupid.
I love liberal cities getting screwed over by their council people that, ” work hard for the people of the city.”
I hate to point this out, but Republican councilmen in other places do the same thing. This is a common practice all across the country.
Do you know why she gets such a huge retirement package after just four years? Because all the costs of the office are figured as pay for the purpose of pension amounts.
So, a government provided vehicle costs are part of the salary for pension benefits, but it is not taxed as income. Travel costs, floral arrangements… the list goes on.
They ALL do it. All. Of. Them.
Animal Farm. The hogs are multiplying. Soon the workhorse will be sent to the glue factory. Unless the Horse remembers that he can kick a little hog ass.
Mark you really got it all wrong. She was a six term councilwoman. If a term was 4 years then she was in office for 24 years. The $487,000 is a cashout of the present value of her pension if she had taken what was owed to her was paid out over her lifetime. The pension benefit is based solely on her salary, and does not include any non-cash perks of office.
This is of course why other people who already pay huge tax bills ‘must pay their fair share’. Somebodies got to cough up a half mil.
Memphis pols pulled the same BS for the MPD Chief and other high ranking officers. Then they cut the pay of the rank-and-file, and stopped the deferrment plan. The ex-Chief and staff must have pictures of the former mayor and some goats.
There’s little worry about complaints from her constitcherents; they’re mostly feral judging from the news.
Couldn’t possibly be related in any way…
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20111230_Kill-adelphia__Yet_again__city_tops_list_of_homicide_rates.html?cmpid=125219969
Now we are beginning to find out where the bailout money went.
Thank Allah, Obama was wise enough to fix the problem of cities that were about to go bankrupt and were not going to be able to give all the dems their double dip pensions, free health insurance plus new salaries.
What a SHAME SHAME SHAME to you one percenters that you won’t voluntarily pay more taxes to cover the extortionistic benifits to these poor poor public servants that you may have helped to elect. Heaven forbid you should take such horrible advantage of them.
I also have a bridge in Brooklyn that is going to be a real steal for a very fortunate someone. (Interested parties only. Please go to my web site.)