Mayor Chuck is a California dem who’s just passed policy tidal wave will soon be felt across America: “Mayors across the country are very interested. We’re at the leading edge but we’re not alone.” As much as the news media followers have done to hide this, they cannot stop the effects. We waited on this story to see how it would play out, little was mentioned after the results yet it’s bigger than Wisconsin. Much bigger.
San Diego State professor: “The message is that if elected officials and public employee unions do not responsibly deal with this issue, voters will take things into their own hands.”
It a blue county, inside a blue state, voting to fix the problem which must be confronted before going over the cliff. The problem is not political but real and it affects everyone.
AP: “In San Diego, two-thirds of voters favored the pension reduction plan. And the landslide was even greater in San Jose, where 70 percent were in favor…
The plans are unusual because they address pensions for current employees — not just new hires.
San Diego’s imposes a six-year freeze on pay levels used to determine pension benefits unless a two-thirds majority of the City Council votes to override it. It also puts new hires, except for police officers, into 401(k)-style plans.
Under San Jose’s measure, current workers have to pay up to 16 percent of their salaries to keep their retirement plan or accept more modest benefits. New hires would get less generous benefits.”
In a February 2011 WSJ interview Mayor Reed said: “Basically, we’re going to have to do whatever it takes, and that will include extending the retirement age for existing employees, eliminating automatic increases in payments to our existing retirees, eliminating bonus payments to our existing retirees, increasing the rate of accrual of benefits for our existing work force, using average salaries instead of the highest 12 months to calculate benefits. … But our problems are being driven by the costs for existing employees and existing retirees.”
Following what I could Tuesday, like Walker, Reed created a larger early lead. The difference, it’s California!
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Posted on June 7, 2012
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