Governor Christie's Pension Task force is a waste of time & resources. Here is why.

   

Governor Christie said "it's time to think out of the box" when he recently appointed nine people to serve on the bipartisan commission that will evaluate how New Jersey "can create an affordable and sustainable retirement and health benefits system" for taxpayers, current employees, and retirees.  He is sounding like an visionary; someone who is thinking of new and untested methods to conduct a "study" that has already taken place.  Let's be clear about one thing.  He is not thinking out of the box.  In fact, he is doing what many politicians have done in the past. Copy & paste.  He is NOT reinventing the wheel.  He is simply making it SEEM like he is.

     In 2005, Acting Governor Richard Codey created the "benefits review task force" that had ten members.  Actually, it was probably nine, like the current one, since the tenth member was a "Counselor to the Governor," who was there as an "Advisor to the Benefits Review Task Force".  So let's go with nine; the same as the current one.  These members weren't just anyone.  They were people who were professionals in a multitude of fields ranging from a retired Phillip D. Murphy, a Wall St. executive, David Alai, a Vice President Corporate Human Resources, Thomas A. Meyers, Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer from NJM Insurance Group, Richard D. Quinn Managing Director – Human Resources,
Public Service Enterprise Group, William M. Rodgers, III Professor and Chief Economist, John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy,
Rutgers University, and Paula B. Voos Professor of Labor Studies and Employment Relations, School of Management and Labor Relations, Rutgers University.  The task force also included Thomas D. Carver Commissioner, Department of Labor and Workforce Development, John E. McCormac State Treasurer, and A. J. Sabath Commissioner, Department of Labor and Workforce Development.  These were powerhouse people to have on this task force; People who were respected in their fields.

   The task force was charged with the following:

• Examining the current laws, regulations, procedures and agreements governing the provision of employee benefits to State and local government workers; 
• analyzing the current and future costs of the benefits; 
• comparing the level of benefits provided to government employees in this State to the benefits provided to other workers; 
• recommending changes to the laws, regulations, procedures,  and agreements designed to control the costs of such benefits to the State's taxpayers, while ensuring the State's public employees a fair and equitable benefit system.

This task force was Chaired by Phillip Murphy, and so the report was known by many as the Murphy Report.

     Without getting into all the boring details, they gave a final report.  Let's look at a few of their recommendations.  This is a quote from the report:

     "Government Must Meet Its Obligation
No More Pension Holidays — State and local government must meet their full obligation to make
annual payments to the pension plans.
No More Actuarial and Valuation Gimmicks — State government must use consistent and generally
accepted actuarial standards.
No more pension bonding.
The $12.1 billion unfunded deficiency must be immediately addressed." (remember, this was 2005)

     Sound familiar?  This was from 2005!  Nine years ago.  These recommendations were given to the State Government almost a decade ago, and we're still going round and round as if the Murphy Report never happened.  The report clearly states "Government must meets its obligation" (they didn't listen to this one), "no more pension holidays" (we know they didn't listen to this one either).

After making their recommendations, the Task Force went into a detailed review of the "history of pension and healthcare benefits". In this review, they talk about how "sound funding principles over the years allowed New Jersey’s plans to grow into one of the largest and well-funded pension plans in the country", and then goes on to say "this growth and stability has attracted administrations to use the Pension Fund Systems as a tool to balance the State budget. The funds were used to offset tax reductions and some were to maintain or expand current programs".  

     In 1999 and 2000, the pension funds rate of return was an +14%.  From 2001 through 2005 (the year of this study), it averaged negative 9.1%.  The report claimed that "the combination of enhancements, reduced contributions and lower rates of return have resulted in a $12.1 billion unfunded accrued liability that must be addressed."  It wasn't addressed.

     If anyone is interested in reading the complete Murphy Report, feel free to click here.  It's long and boring, but it contains some very current gripes, problems, complaints, issues, etc.  I can GUARANTEE you that the "Pension Task Force" will come up with the exact same problems, and the exact same recommendations.  This is nothing more than smoke and mirrors designed to make the general public think he is doing something about a problem that was already addressed by his predecessor.  Governor Christie, if you want your study, here it is.  Maybe you should read it.

My pension does not belong to politicians

   
 My pension should not be a political pawn.  Say it again:  My pension should not be a political pawn.  Okay, now that we've gotten that out of the way, lets get back to reality.  Right now, Governor Chris Christie is taking the national political stage, and he needs something meaty to bring to the table (insert food joke here). Unfortunately for countless government workers who are not making the big bucks unlike the political power-brokers, our pension is the meat; and the table is the national stage.  Governor Christie has been targeting the broken system (that he helped break) as the reason for all of the State's problems.  Fix the pension "problem", and all is well, right?  Uh, no.  Is the pension issue really a problem?  Maybe.  Maybe not.  As I've written previously, I don't see the pension as a crisis.  I see it as a scandal; a scandal that needs to be investigated by non-partisans as if this was a potential criminal act committed by our political leaders.

     When I started my public worker career years ago, my salary was relatively low compared with the private sector.  I accepted this in part due to the benefit package that came with the job.  One of the parts of the benefits package included a pension.  Not a free handout, but one that required me to pay a nominal part of my pay into the pension system that would afford me the "luxury" of a guaranteed income after I do my time. This is similar to Social Security, which by the way I never paid into and will never get.  For all you in the private sector, please read that last sentence.  I will never get a penny from Social Security because my employer did not take this from my check. Instead, they took a higher percentage of my salary (as compared to the 6.2% I would have paid as required according to Social Security Administration).  The last few years I paid 10% of my salary into my pension.  Before that I paid 8.5%.  Did you see that little two letter word two sentences back?  Who's pension did I say it was?  Mine.  I did not pay  into the Governments pension, I paid it into MY pension.  It was mine when I began my career, but lately it seems that Governor Christie wants the public to believe it's his to do with as he pleases.  Don't get me started (again) about how every governor since Christie Todd Whitman stole BILLIONS from MY pension, or how Governor Christie failed to make the required pension payments even though every foot soldier of a cop/firefighter/teacher made every payment without even a chance of skipping one.

   According to the Department of Treasure, the average firefighter & police pension benefit from this state is just under $58,000, while teachers get about $40,000.  Right now, there is no C.O.L.A. (cost of living increase), so the number you get is the number you get.  Forever.  Take into account that the average police officer dies within five years after retirement and reportedly has a life expectancy of twelve years less than that of civilians. (according to the national criminal justice reference service https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/pr/109485.pdf)

     Why is New Jersey's pension issue such a hot topic?  Because politicians made it so.  Not only did they create the problem, but once they realized just how bad it got from their mismanagement, they shouted from the highest mountain telling everyone else how bad it was and now it needs to be fixed.  What makes New Jersey different than other states?  Why aren't other states' pensions in such disarray too?  Mainly because their Governors didn't raid it like their personal cookie jars like our Governors did for decades.

     The words of Mark Webber from NJSpotlight.com,  ring true here.  He stated "These states have proved that a sustainable pension system is not a fantasy; all it requires is honesty, discipline, and an ethical code that asserts that debts must be paid. If I run up my credit cards, I don’t get to walk away from my debts just because I don’t want to make sacrifices. States are no different: New Jersey can’t abandon its obligations just because tax hikes would get in the way of Chris Christie’s presidential ambitions".

     That is what this is all about.  The political ambitions of one Chris Christie.  The man who currently makes $175,000 a year (according to data universe), was also the U.S. Attorney for the district of New Jersey (can you say "federal pension"?).  This is also the same person who was elected as a Republican to the Board of Chosen Freeholders for Morris County in 1994 (can you say another pension?).  And lets not forget that in 1993, he was made a partner for the law firm of Dughi, Hewit & Palatucci of Cranford, NJ (can you say "cha-ching!!!").  So this is not a man that cares about the little guys.  He's a shark and we are bait fish.  He'll make sure we don't grow any bigger by eating us en mass.  He's doing this little by little every time he "reforms" the pension system.  But he's not reforming it, he's destroying it.

     If the government kept its nose out of my pension, maybe I'd support someone like Christie.  Remember the letter?  You know which one I'm talking about.  I wrote about it in my first blog post on this site.  Let me remind you about "the letter" in which he described the "sacred trust" and that he would never change our pension.  He did this for our votes, which he got, and almost immediately afterwards, reversed course telling the public that the pension needs to be fixed.

Click to Enlarge

     Governor Christie, do not politicize my pension.  It is the contractual compensation I have earned for work done.  I paid for it without skipping a beat, while you have paid when it was convenient for you.  It is not yours to play politics with.  It is mine to live my life with.

Pension Update from State PBA President Colligan

Just passing on info posted by Colligan....

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Pension Update from State President Colligan

I wanted share some good news about our pensions. The State Investment Council met this week and disclosed that our pension investments are earning double what managers expected. Four years ago the pension fund balance was $66 billion. In the last four years it has grown by $35 billion despite the State failing to pay its obligation. This increase took place while a record numbers of officers retired. Experts told the investment council that if the current rate of return on investments continued, we would have no pension debt at all.

While the Investment Council’s report is good news it just highlights our arguments about the current political debate about pensions. The Governor missed a golden opportunity to strengthen our pension even further by simply paying the State’s obligation. The pension problem exists because politicians have repeatedly failed to pay into the pensions. The Governor can spin all he wants but this report highlights his failures.

The report should reassure our members that our pensions are generating a good return. Our pensions are on solid ground. This report will not make the Governor restore COLA or stop his latest campaign against law enforcement officers. It will make people take note that employee contributions have kept the system afloat even when the State failed to meet its obligations. 

Pension payment cut approved by Judge, 2% cap law signed - but these aren't the real problems.

(Tony Kurdzuk/The Star-Ledger)

So it finally happened, and I'm not surprised. On Wednesday June 25th, Superior Court Judge Mary Jacobson said that Christie's action "was reasonable and necessary under the circumstances of this budget shortfall of over $1 billion...and gave painfully few options with the two months left in this fiscal year".  I saw this coming, and even called this in my previous blog.  Once again, Judge Mary Jacobson took the easy way out.  Now he can save his budget, after blaming others for his financial mismanagement. Now he can have his krispy kreame doughnut and eat it too.  

Christie also recently signed the 2% cap law, which really is the least of the states problems. I can go into detail about this one too, but think most of the readers here realize that very very few municipalities actually go to arbitration.  This law is more hype than anything else.  "Oh my gosh, lets stop expensive arbitration awards", when the truth is that they are few and far between, and usually due to years of zero percent raises.

The police and fire pensions are not the cause of the drain on the state finances.  We are not wasting tax dollars.

But wait...our tax dollars ARE being wasted.  By whom you ask?  You mean all that money isn't going to the police and fire unions?  But according to the Governor, the Police & Fire unions, as well as the teachers unions are the reason we are in this mess.  Did he lie?  How could he mislead us.

Lets take a look at just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to wasted tax dollars by Governor Christie:

$65 million dollars in "emergency" Hurricane Sandy funds were spent on tourism television ads. "Instead of rushing aid  to the people who need it most, state-level officials in New York and New Jersey spent the money on tourism-related TV advertisements," the report states.

Abbot districts.  One of the biggest wastes of your tax dollars.  There are thirty-one districts that fall under this program. If you don't know what they are, here is the Wikipedia definition.  I can't even begin to tell you how much money is poured into this failed program.  
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abbott_district

$1.5 million in "ambiguous and non-transparent dealings" from bridge tolls: 
http://blogs.wsj.com/metropolis/2012/03/29/report-finds-toll-money-wasted-at-Delaware-river-port-authority/

$23.8 million dollars - the total cost for the primary and special elextion to fill the seat of US Senator Frank Lautenberg in October 2013, rather than waiting one month until the general election.

$150 Million - The amount AshBritt secured in NO-BID CONTRACTS from 53 NJ municipalities after the Christie administration secured their contract.

$390,000+  The amount the Governor and Lt. Governor cost the taxpayers using NJSP helicopters.

$1.2 Million paid to "politically connected" lobbying law firm Patton Boggs for fighting demands from the federal government to return the $271,000,000 spent on "Access to the Region's core project"

$279 Million - Loss to NJ taxpayers as a result of Gov. Christie cancelling the ARC tunnel project.

In Christie's first three years in office, he doled out over $2 Billion in tax credits and subsidies to 171 various projects.

He gave out $2.3 Billion in tax breaks for corporations in just one budget alone. (Times of Trenton 3/4/2013)

$261 Million was given in State tax credits to the Revel casino, which we all know is now bankrupt. (Philadelphia Inquirer 2/21/13)

$200 Million - cost of tax breaks Christie promised to the foreign company that took over the development of the Meadowlands Xanadue project (NorthJersey.com 5/3/2011).

$800 Million+ Money paid skimmed from the state's Clean Energy Program, paid by NJ residents, to make up for lost revenue under Gov. Christie's administration (NJ spotlight 4/24/2013)

$400 Million - Education funding lost because Gov. Christie refused to compromise and work with teachers' union on application for funding (Star Ledger 10/10/2010).

$3 Billion - Federal grant lost when Christie killed the Access to the Region's Core Tunnel Project (APP 12/27/2010)

$145 Million - Amount owned to the federal gov't for Medicare mismanagement (Star Ledger 1/12/12)

$171 Million- Expected losses from 2012-2018 as a consequence of Christie pulling NJ out of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (Environment NJ 2/15/2012)
http://www.onenewjersey.org/christie-by-the-numbers/


Giving the Philadelphia 76ers a grant worth at least $82 Million dollars so they can have a practice facility in Camden NJ
http://blog.northjersey.com/meadowlandsmatters/8707/philadelphia-76ers-getting-closer-to-moving-practice-site-to-camden-via-82m-grant/


Like I said, this is just the tip of the iceberg.  This state is hemorrhaging money, but police, fire, and teachers unions have been doing more with less for years.  The smoke and mirrors tactics by Governor Christie have pulled the wool over the public's eyes for too long.  It's time everyone saw Governor Christie for what he really is, which is a lying, sneaky slime-ball who can't balance a checkbook.  He can't keep blaming the unions for his poor financial management and decisions.

Fix it or forget it - the NJ pension issues

I'm not a fan of the Trentonian newspaper.  I think its better served as a blotter at the bottom of my bird cage than anything else.  Except for an occasional page 6 girl, there's not much worth reading in what many have called the "Trashtonian".  There are two columnists that are regular's for the Trentonian, L.A. Parker and Jeff Edelstein.  I've read their columns in the past, and I'm not really fans of either one of them.

Sometimes they spice things up and make things interesting.  On June 11, 2014, they did just that, but in an unusual way.  They each published opposing thoughts on the New Jersey pension problems on the same page.  The headline read "Split Decision: Should New Jersey's pension program be blown up?" Parker was in favor of keeping it, blaming the problems on the government, while Edelstein didn't blame anyone but whined about why we should scrap it and start from scratch, calling it "unsustainable".

Parker and Edelstein traded spars, but in my opinion, the winner by a knockout was L.A. Parker.  Please don't take this as a show of support for him; I've read lots of garbage in his columns in the past.  Today he shined just a little.  Case in point: Parker points out that Edelstein is a staunch Christie supporter.  I agree. Read his columns and you will too.  Parker also adds the fact that the most recent problems are the result of the Governor "miscalculated or misrepresented" revenue projections.  I again agree.  Christie tried blaming Dr. Rosen, the Chief Budget Officer for the states office of legislative service for the miscalculation.  What many don't know is that this same Dr. Rosen warned Governor Christie about this impending crisis, but the Governor brushed him off.  Later, when Governor Christie was called out on this miscalculation, he said Dr. Rosen "just got it wrong".  Actually Governor, he was right, and you ignored him.  Had you listened to the man who had a reputation for being right, you may not be in this predicament right now.

Governor Christie blamed the pension problems on past Governors, ignoring the fact that he participated in the same activities as his predecessors.  He reached deep down into the pension cookie jar, removed several large handfuls, handed them out to his friends at the playground, and didn't put the cookies back as promised.  To help "fix" the problem he help create, Christie raised the retirement age to 65, burdened public workers with higher costs and payments, and eliminated the cost of living increases.  L.A. Parker points out that "our leaders need to put all potential problem solving issues on the table including hiring practices, payments made for years of unused vacation and sick time, and practices that allow a double-dipping of pensions."  Again, I agree.  Multiple fixes should be on the table for this one, not just one.

Edelstein, on the other hand, gave little in the way of facts. In fact, he even got some things wrong.  For example, he states "None of this getting the average of your three highest salaries for life.  What a crock!  Really.  Get a 401(k) like the rest of us."  Lets talk facts here.  Nobody in in the Police & Fire pension, or the teachers pensions gets the average of your three highest years averaged out for the rest of their lives.  The reality is that it is a percentage of that number based upon the number of years in the pension system.  Spend 25 years in the Police & Fire pension system and you are eligible for 65% of that, not 100% as he makes it seem.  Spend 20 years in Police & Fire, and you get 50%.  Edelstein also remarks about how unsustainable the pension is now based upon the average life expectancy compared to when it was first put into place in the 50's.  What he completely failed to mention is the reason it it is "unsustainable" is because of the BILLIONS of dollars removed by the Governors, as well as the BILLIONS in missed payments due to "payment holidays" the municipalities were given by the Governor.  Yes, the pension is funded at about 65% (or less), but fifteen years ago it was over 100% funded!  This decrease was not due to payments to retirees or from current workers not making their bi-weekly pension payments.  This decrease is because of both Republican and Democratic Governors grabbing money from the public pension trough, using it for their own pet projects, and never repaying it.   PERIOD!  Jeff, you missed this.

L.A.Parker - 1   Jeff Edelstein - 0

P.S.  I wrote this blog very slow, so just in case you are reading it Governor Christie, you'll be able to keep up.

Our pension is in the hands of Judge Mary Jacobson - Oh no!

Fourteen unions are suing Governor Christie over the pension scandal.  The unions think the laws support a successful lawsuit, and the billions that were slated to be diverted will be put back in its rightful place.  I really do wish this were the case. This case is being heard by Mercer County Superior Court Judge Mary Jacobson, so don't hold your breath.  I really hope I'm wrong, but lets be real. This is politics at its core.

This is the very same judge that supported Governor Christie as recently as April 9th, 2014 by ruling that Bridget Kelly, his former Deputy Chief of Staff, and Bill Stepien, his former campaign manager, didn't have to turn over documents that were subpoenaed by the New Jersey Legislature.  Why?  One reason is that she felt the committee itself had the authority to enforce its subpoenas.  In essence, she distanced herself from enforcing subpoenas that could potentially negatively affect the Governor.  She decided not to make a decision.  She clearly knows who butters her bread, and didn't want to bite the hand that feeds her.
http://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/gwblaneclosure/Stepien+Kelly%20Opinion.pdf.  

Judge Jacobson is listed in "RobeProbe", a website that rates judges based upon notable decisions, published opinions, knowledge of law, control, work ethic, and absence of racial bias.  While this blog you are reading now has nothing to do with that website (robeprobe.com), it is worth noting that her overall rating on that site is listed as "very bad".  http://www.robeprobe.com/find_judges_result2.php?judge_id=1091.

June 25th will be the true test of Judge Jacobson's opinion, knowledge of law, ethics, and bias.  Lets hope she doesn't play politics.

Pension cuts head to court

On June 25th, oral arguments will be heard by Mercer County Superior Court Judge Mary Jacobson for a lawsuit brought by the NJSP union.  Judge Jacobson said she would decide whether Christie's plan violates the 2010 pension law that Governor Christie himself passed.  This will be a major challenge to Governor Christies plan to skip a huge pension payment for both this and next fiscal years.  Governor Christie said he needs to use the money to solve a budget crisis.

The Governor is planning on taking $900 million through an executive order he signed last month, and an additional $1.5 billion for the next financial year (which begins in 3 weeks).  Christie said the state constitution requires a balanced budget every year, and this money is needed to prevent huge cuts to hospitals or schools, or major tax hikes.  However, his failure to make the pension payments violates a law he created during his first term.  It also violates a section of the NJ state constitution that states, in part, "the Legislature shall not pass any bill...impairing the obligations of contracts".

The Governor has stated that failure to make these payments is fiscally irresponsible and taking the pension money was a "regrettable move", but the state can't afford to keep paying public workers the benefits they currently get. Lets not forget that this is the same Governor that just gave many of his own staff raises as high at 23%, while at the same time he requires others to stay under the 2% cap.  How can he call one thing fiscally irresponsible, but give huge raises at the same time? 

New Jerseys Moody's credit rating has been downgraded several times since Christie has been in office.  Fee's in New Jersey have skyrocketed.  The cost to register as a corporation fifteen years ago was $50 per year.  Today it is $500 per year; a 10-fold increase.  Motor vehicle fees have quadrupled in the past fifteen years.  These are not considered "taxes", so there is not much in the way of public outcry.  Is there really a difference between a state fee and a tax?  No.  When there is a shortage of money, you would think the Governor would created a solid tax base from businesses that are seeking to come to New Jersey, but he does the exact opposite.  Since 2010, the state has doled out over 2 billion dollars in incentives to corporations and developers.  Compare that number with the $1.5 billion given out in incentives during the prior 10 years. That money could have been used to our benefit, not to the benefit of corporations and developers.

Never in the history of our state has our leadership been so poor.  Lies, deceptions, double-speak, willfully not following the law, and so on and so on...

Judge Mary Jacobson, please make the right decision, and put our pension fund money where it was meant to be.







.

Bridge-gate versus Pension-gate. Pension is a scandal, not a crisis.

Bridge-gate has taken on a life of its own.  The scandal surrounding the lane closures to the GW bridge has lead to firings, subpoenas, hearings, news headlines, drops in the Governor's popularity poll, and possibly (and hopefully) a severely diminished chance of the fat man becoming our next President.  And over what?  Lane closures and lies.  Mainly lies, since that is where the investigation seems to be surrounding.  Lies.  Did the Governor lie or not? 

I can answer that succulently.  Yes he did lie.  Did he lie about the bridge scandal?  That one I can't answer for sure, but I can answer for sure that he did lie about the New Jersey pension scandal.  Did I say scandal?  Odd, nobody else did.  It's called a "crisis" instead of a scandal.  But really it is a scandal.  If the Governor lying about his knowledge of the lane closures is considered a scandal, then the pension "crisis" is surely a scandal.  The Governor lied to the police and fire unions, putting words in writing, and then did the opposite.  Can you call this anything other than a lie?  Sure.  How about a "fabrication", or he was "just kidding" when he promised in writing not to change the pension of current or retired police and fire union members.

If there is so much fuss about the Governor possibly lying to the public about his part in the lane closures on the GW bridge, where we don't know for sure if he lied, then why is there no fuss about the fact that he clearly lied about the pension?  Why is there no Assembly committee hearings and subpoenas about this like there are for the lane closures?   

The bridge scandal, or "bridge-gate" as it is known as, began August 13, 2013 with an email exchange.  On September 9th, two of three access lanes are shut for a "traffic study" that never was.  We all know the story from there.  But do you know the story of the pension scandal?  You probably know some, since the Governor has been shoving it down the publics throats for years.  The only thing is, you are only hearing what he is saying, which may or may not be the truth.  Personally, I say it is not the truth. 

The lane closures took about four hours from beginning to end.  People were inconvenienced; some a little and some much more.  But it only lasted four hours.  The pension scandal, which I call "pension-gate", has been happening for decades, ever since Governor Whitman put her grubby little paws into the well funded police & fire pension fund, removed billions of dollars, and used this money for her own agenda.  The money was never put back, and each and every Governor since her has done the same.  Now the pension system is having major problems.

Pension-gate has affected thousands upon thousands, and cost people countless dollars.  It has forced current officers to pay more into their pension, eliminated the cost of living increases for retired officers, and forced current officers to also pay for a portion of their medical insurance, when for decades the good benefits were the trade off for lower pay.  I know some of you reading this might think "so what?  I pay for my medical insurance, why shouldn't they?"  Primarily because its a change of the rules mid-stream to fix a problem they didn't create.  I have no problem if someone takes a job knowing what the rules are; knowing they will be paying a portion of their medical insurance.  But changing the rules for current employees to fix a problem created by someone else is unjust.  The police and fire unions did not cause this problem, even if the media wants you to believe they did.  The union members are not "greedy and evil", but have paid their dues without so much as a hiccup.  The government has not.  Billions in missed pension payments were not the fault of the unions, but were the fault of the Governor.  Lets not forget the 2% cap the Governor put on pay increases, while at the same time he gave many of his staff raises of up to 23% (http://www.northjersey.com/news/christie-staffers-get-hefty-pay-increases-as-other-areas-face-cuts-1.1025934).

The NJEA is taking some action.  Take just a minute to read this link: http://www.njea.org/news/2014-05-22/take-action-to-protect-your-pension.  Click the appropriate box for the type of pension you are in and submit as required.  It only takes a minute.  I have nothing to do with this, but felt it was a step in the right direction. 

More action will be needed.  More attention needs to be put on the fact that this is a scandal, not a crisis. 

Thoughts?  Comments?

More bad news for the pension system - and more double speak by our Governor

New Jersey can't seem to keep out of the news lately.  I guess its because we have a Governor that has his sights set on a national stage.  Governor Christie is weeks away from announcing his proposal to overhaul our states pension and retiree health benefits plan.  The rumor mill is swirling that it might be some type of "hybrid" model that would reduce the defined benefit payout, as well as something like a 401k plan.  He keeps saying that the current system can't be sustained.  The reason he believes this is because he allowed towns to skip their required pension matching payments, and he also failed to make the states full pension contribution.  Although three years ago, Governor Christie himself passed a law requiring the pension payment, he decided to ignore it in order to use the money to balance the states budget.  This is just another example of his ability to talk from both sides of his mouth.  He touted this law when it was being proposed in order to (again) gain support of the police and fire unions.  "Hey, look at me, I'm fixing your problem.  I'm your friend".  Once again he lied.  He did not fix the problem.  His own law that he pushed through was ignored. 

New Jersey has already eliminated the "COLA" (Cost of Living Increases); a savings of $74 billion over 30 years according to our Governor.  He also touted another savings of $48 billion by requiring employees to pay more toward their pensions, reducing pensions for those taking early retirement, and raising the retirement age from 62 to 65.  A total savings of $112 Billion!  What's next?  Reducing all officers pay to minimum wage?  Eliminating health benefits entirely?  Health benefits is one main reason many officers joined the ranks of police and fire, or became public school teachers.

Here is a little history lesson for the uninformed. As recently as the 1980's, police officer and firefighters were relatively paid poorly compared to the private industry.  They were considered blue collar and non-professional.  In order to induce people to join the ranks of police and fire with low pay, the carrot that was dangled in front of the was good benefits.  Seemed like a fair trade off at the time.  The "problem" is that over the years, contracts regularly gave pay increases of 3-5% per year, and sometimes more.  Over time, those poor paying jobs became good paying jobs, and eventually they became very good paying jobs.  The benefits were still good, so now you have officers making good money and getting good benefits.  Along with the higher pay and benefits came the increased professionalism.  Being a police officer changed from being a "job" to being a "career".  With professionalism came better educated officers.  No longer were high school diploma's the minimum requirement.  College degrees became the norm; if not for hiring at least for promotions.  College degrees included Masters degrees and even higher over time.  It was not uncommon for a majority of officers on a department to hold college degree of one type or another.  Criminal Justice majors became more common.  Twenty-five years later, the person entering law enforcement in New Jersey was college educated who's goal it was to become a professional police officer.  Good pay and good benefits brought good candidates, who became good police officers.  Now, both the pay and benefits are good.

Unfortunately, the COST of these benefits have skyrocketed.  The insurance companies have substantially increased the cost the governments pay in order to keep the benefits as required by contracts.  Why is the government not targeting the insurance companies and asking why they have tripled the cost for the same benefits?  Good question.  I'd love to know that answer.  I can surmise that one reason is that the insurance lobby is strong.  Very strong.  Much stronger than any police and fire or teachers union in New Jersey.  They are national companies with deep pockets in Washington.  Who is an easier target?   The police, fire and teachers.  Now Governor Christie has made us look like the bad guys.  We are the reason for all this mess. "Look at those greedy public servants" he can say, and the public listens.  Governor Christie isn't stupid.  He's been voted into office twice and knows a thing or two about word play.

Word play.  Governor Christie loves this.  A perfect example was recently brought to light that makes this perfectly clear.   A perfect example of the governors double speak is when he was pushing for a tax cut in 2012.  The Governor said the state could afford the tax cut because of positive economic growth.  Dr. David Rosen, the Chief Budget officer for the States office of legislative service disagreed.  The Governor responded by lambasting Dr. Rosen and calling him "the Dr. Kevorkian of the numbers".  The Governor said the numbers were good enough for a tax cut, and said "Why would anybody with a functioning brain believe this guy?" about Dr. Rosen, who by the way has a reputation for being right more than being wrong.  Later, when questioned by our states terrible financial crisis, Christie blames Dr. Rosen, saying that he "just got it wrong".

Recap: Christie ignores his Chief Budget Officer in 2012, calling him "the Dr. Kevorkian of the numbers" and "why would anybody with a functioning brain believe this guy".  When questioned by a reporter about our states terrible financial crisis, he blames this same person that he ignored two years earlier.

Another example of his word play and talking out of both sides of his mouth.  While facing an unexpected $2.75 billion budget gap over the next 13 months, which Christie is trying to close by delaying payments to the state’s pension fund, many on his staff have received raises of 23%!  Yes, you read that right, twenty-three percent (http://nj1015.com/some-christie-staff-members-get-large-pay-raises/).

According to NorthJersey.com, the raises come as Christie is withholding more than $2.4 billion in payments to the state pension fund because of revenue shortfalls. And Christie has delayed a property-tax relief program that averages about $500 for seniors and some families.  And the raises to the governor’s staff appear to have happened around the same time Christie vetoed the minutes of the commission that oversees the Pinelands after its members voted to increase the budget for its staff by 5 percent. Christie castigated the commissioners and said the decision was a “conscious disregard of the fiscal realities".

I'm sorry, I think I went a bit off topic there, but every time I think about how the Governor screwed the people who protect and educate the public, while being a two-faced politician, I get angrier and angrier.  Bottom line?  As time goes by, the Governor is going to continue to lie and continue to blame the unions for problems created and perpetuated by our elected officials. 

Comments?  Thoughts?  Ideas?

Pension-Gate: The lies behind Governor Christie

The New Jersey Police & Fire pension problems are making the headlines again, this time with Governor Christie using the pension fund payment he promised to make being used instead to cover an $807 million state budget shortfall.  Of course this is nothing new to current and retired members in the Police & Fire pension system.  This is just one more time that the Governor has made these members seem like the reason the state is in such a financial mess.   Once again, Governor Christie has deflected blame from the real reason for the pension mess. 

For the non-government workers reading this, imaging if you would that you had a 401k program where you worked.  You made payments into this retirement fund, and your employer made matching payments.  This money is for your retirement, and you spent your career relying on it to support yourself and family once you retire.  Years go by, and your 401k plan is looking good; really good.  Now imagine if you would that your employer decided that they wanted to pay for a totally unrelated program or project, and decided, without telling you, that they used your 401k to pay for it.  When you do take note of the “withdrawal”, you are told “don’t worry, we will put it back”, but they never do.  In fact, not only to they not put it back, but they stop making the matching payments.  And to top it off, they blame YOU, and tell you that you need to put in more money.  Sounds idiotic, doesn’t it?  This is what your government has been doing for years. 

Remember the Enron scandal?  When discrepancies were first discovered, the CEO Jeffrey Skilling verbally attacked the Wall Street analyst who questioned “unusual accounting practices” in an attempt to distract from the fact that Skilling knew exactly what was going on.  Governor Christie, our CEO, is verbally attacking the Police & Fire pension union and members in an attempt to distract the public from the fact that he and his predecessors are to blame.  This should be called “Pension-gate” to go along with bridge-gate.

I was a police officer for 25 years, and always made my pension payments; first paying 8.5% of my yearly salary into the pension system, and then later, when the governor changed the amount, I paid 10% into the pension system.  All the while, the state and municipalities were supposed to be making the same payments.  We all know these matching payments were not paid as required by law.

To see where this pension fund disaster began, we need a short history lesson.  Governor Christie did not start this mess, but he continues to perpetuate the revolving door of politicians who systematiclally raid our pension fund to pay for other shortfalls.  I place the blame squarely on the shoulders of Governor Whitman for starting this fiasco.  When she was elected to lead our state, the pension fund was well funded with over 100 billion dollars.  Yes, billion; with a B.  This was our money, and not funds allocated for any other resource.  Governor Whitman began taking money from this pension fund without so much as asking.  She simply took it to pay for various items, including balancing the state budget.  The pension fund was so well funded that she permitted the state and municipalities to stop making their required matching pension payments, but she did not permit the members; the men and women it was meant to help, to stop making their payments.  Billions of dollars were not paid into the pension system by the governments, but like good little soldiers, we kept making our 8.5% payments without missing a beat.  The government payments which were “deferred” were supposed to be made up later.  Smart towns realized this and put money away in something like an escrow account, to be used to make the payments later.  Most towns did nothing except to use that money for other purposes, leaving themselves open for future problems when they had to repay the money.  Who do you think the government blamed when they were eventually told to make their payments?  They blamed the pension fund and the members of the unions of course.

Governor Whitman was not the only one to raid the pension fund.  Each and every Governor has followed suit, including Governor Christie.  The pension raids were done routinely, causing the fund to dwindle.  Governor Corzine was the one who told the towns it was time to put back the deferred payments.  The towns that did not prepare for this day were in for sticker shock.  They now had to make up the missed payments to the tune of billions of dollars collectively.  Towns couldn’t afford to make the payments if they failed to sock the money away, so the only way to raise the money was to raise taxes. Who did they blame for this?  They blamed the pension system; the evil and despicable police and fire union members who diligently made their payments while the municipalities were given a temporary reprieve.

Governor Christie, you are a bold faced liar.  When you first ran for office, you made a promise to the Police & Fire union IN WRITING because you wanted our vote. The unions backed you after you published this letter:

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Let me quote Governor Christie.  “It is a sacred trust.  Nothing will change for the pension of current officers, future officers or retirees in a Christine Administration”.  Governor Christie put this in writing and published it for the world to see.  He did this to gain the support of a block of voters, and it worked.  We believed in him and supported him based upon a lie. He lied to us then and he is lying to you now.