Unreal. Just as I get done wrapping up some lesson planning, my afternoon was interrupted with a bone-headed communication about public employee pensions from a member of the PA House of Representatives. I'll include full information below, but what has me irked is that this Rep was a former full time college professor ...............in the state pension system.
Here is the text of what Representative Milne passed along today. The information is not yet available from his website, so I won't have a link for you all just yet.
Upon the Legislature’s return to action in Harrisburg in January, I will be initiating efforts to reform how Pennsylvania funds and administers public sector pensions in the state. Given all the ongoing budget challenges, the escalating fiscal weight of pensions threatens to implode the fiscal health of many school districts, local governments and even the state government itself.
My legislation calls for:
• Tracking in a more comprehensive fashion the impact annuities will have on the pension systems as current employees retire.
• Assessing what best practices can be gleaned from other states as to possible alternatives for alleviating the fiscal challenges facing Pennsylvania’s state and local pension systems.
• Identifying policy strategies to transition at least some portion of current employees in Pennsylvania to defined contribution plans.
This should, and would include, legislators themselves as well as their staff.
Although trying to tackle this issue is politically difficult, the fiscal reality, and the greater good demands, that action be undertaken. In my mind, this initiative is about ensuring the solvency of the pension systems for the future, and ensuring prosperity for the future. While doing nothing would be easier politically, doing nothing will serve only to ensure that nothing will remain for anyone.
I remain optimistic that solutions can be arrived at that are fair both to employees as well as the other taxpayers of the state.
Here is what I emailed back to Mr. Milne:
As a fellow educator, it was with great sadness that I read your most recent legislative update. Without belaboring the point, I believe your desire to "transition at least some portion of current employees in Pennsylvania to defined contribution plans" is poor policy. In the words of Ted Erickson, your Republican colleague in the PA Senate:
“One of the reasons people go into teaching is because they know that they have a decent pension at the end of it. And if we go to some other different system with a lesser kind of plan, will that still enable the schools to recruit good people to teach? I don’t know the answer to that.”
He spoke those words in an article appearing in the Delco Times on April 5th of 2010. Those words remain true. I can't fathom that you're so far removed from working as a professor at a SSHE school, that you'd fail to realize that your West Chester University Colleagues would echo the words of Senator Erickson.
One would assume that your vote of "yes" on HB 2497 would have settled the pension issue for quite some time. I can say that my continued contributions of 7.5% of my salary to PSERS leave the issue quite settled in my mind. As a quick refresher on the topic, I'd like to direct you to the following link:
http://www.psea.org/...
Although I am not a member of PSEA, I wholeheartedly endorse their stance on this topic. I would hope that any future legislative work on pensions emanating from you would also internalize the mindset that defined benefit pension plans are vital to the education system and economy of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Here is the link mentioned in the article
Pension Link
..................another day another fight I guess. Small price to pay for not having to worry about my future teaching colleagues begging on the street after they retire.