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.
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