6 responses to “Friends with Benefits: Prepping for the 2016 Election”

1. Joe

   August 12, 2015

   It looks like Kamala Harris’ Proposition summary statement is deja vu all over again. The SacBee reports
   Backers of a similar pension-altering measure sued Harris last year over her office’s description of that initiative, arguing that the characterization would bias voters against the measure. The court ruled against them, saying there was “nothing false or misleading” about Harris’ description.
   They had similar criticisms for the title and summary issued Tuesday, which state that the measure “eliminates constitutional protections” for current employees and would lead to “significant effects – savings and costs – on state and local governments.”
   “This simple initiative gives voters the ability to stop sweetheart and unsustainable pension deals that politicians concoct behind closed doors with government union bosses,” former San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed and former San Diego City Councilman Carl DeMaio, the measure’s proponents, said in a joint statement.
   Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/the-state-worker/article30794346#storylink=cpy

2. Joe

   October 20, 2015

   Dan Walters at the SacBee has a bit more detail on how CalPERS actions affect local cities:
   Sixteen years after it abetted one of the most irresponsible political acts in state history – a massive increase in public pension benefits – the California Public Employees’ Retirement System may finally be reforming.
   In 1999, CalPERS told the Legislature that the benefit increase state worker unions were seeking could be financed from investment earnings with no effect on taxpayers.
   Much later, it was revealed that CalPERS’ actuaries had provided several scenarios, but its union-dominated board adopted the most optimistic, giving the Legislature and then-Gov. Gray Davis the justification (and political cover) they wanted to boost benefits.
   Most local governments followed suit and, for a while, it all seemed to work. But when the Great Recession struck less than a decade later, CalPERS suffered immense losses because of the high-risk investments it had made to meet its optimistic earnings projections.
   In recent years, CalPERS ramped up mandatory contributions from state and local governments to cover its losses, and then again to deal with the demographic reality that as baby boomers retire in droves, payouts will increase sharply.
   Meanwhile, prospects for hitting the fund’s investment earnings target have declined, leaving it with a substantial unfunded liability, roughly 25 percent of its obligations.
   Ever-higher demands from CalPERS are not a huge issue for the state budget, because it spends relatively little on workers’ salaries. But they are a big burden for local governments, particularly cities, because so much of their spending is on workers’ pay, particularly for police and firefighters who enjoy high salaries and extraordinarily generous pensions.
   Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article40310031#emlnl=Morning_Newsletter#storylink=cpy

3. Joe

   January 18, 2016

   According to today’s SacBee, the ballot initiative is dead for this year:
   For the third time in five years, an effort to put a government pension measure before voters has stalled for lack of money.
   Former San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed and former San Diego Councilman Carl DeMaio announced Monday that they are backing off plans to qualify a proposal for the November ballot. Instead, they said in a joint release, “we have decided to re-file at least one of our pension reform measures later this year for the November 2018 ballot.”
   Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/the-state-worker/article55310175#storylink=cpy

4. Joe

   January 27, 2016

   More debt calculations from the controller:
   California faces a $74.1 billion obligation to cover state retirees’ medical expenses over the next three decades, according to a new report released by state Controller Betty Yee.
   The figure, which captures unfunded retiree health care costs as of mid-2015, grew nearly $2.4 billion from the year before. It does not account for the impact of future inflation.
   Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/the-state-worker/article56844253#emlnl=Todays_Top_Stories#storylink=cpy

5. Joe

   August 11, 2016

   You really have to love our state government. The SacBee is listing bills that are may or may not move out of the “suspense file” and get a vote in this session. Included is this doozy:
   Senate Bill 1234 from Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León, D-Los Angeles, would create a statewide retirement savings plan for private employees.
   The State cannot even come close to running a retirement plan for state employees at near solvency so now they want to EXPAND to private employees??? Unbelievable.

6. Joe

   December 21, 2016

   The move to 7% from 7.5% is in the works. Of course, even 7% is wishful thinking
   __________________________
   The cost of that government pension is about to go up again, for California taxpayers as well as some public employees.
   CalPERS moved to slash its official investment forecast Tuesday, a dramatic step that will translate into billions of dollars in higher annual pension contributions from the state, local governments and school districts.
   Employees hired after January 2013, when a statewide pension reform law took effect, will also have to kick in more money. Older employees could see higher contributions, too, although that would be subject to contract bargaining.
   CalPERS’ Finance and Administration Committee voted 6-1 to lower the forecast from 7.5 percent to 7 percent in phases over three years, starting next July.
   Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/news/business/article122088759#emlnl=Morning_Newsletter#storylink=cpy