More Than Good Enough for Government Work

More Than Good Enough for Government Work: "State lawmakers face an uphill battle in trying to bring their governments' pension costs under control, largely due to opposition from government employee unions. According to Northwestern University finance professor Joshua Rauh, public pensions nationwide are underfunded by a total of $4.4 trillion, despite efforts by many state governments to reform pension programs, says Ivan Osorio, the editorial director and a labor policy analyst at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. . . . four crucial areas for reform. . . Pension payouts based on final year pay. . . .Collective bargaining and binding arbitration. The practice allows public employees to ratchet up benefits by controlling both sides of the negotiating table. Elected officials often receive enormous amounts of funding and support from well-funded and organized unions, and this creates hazardous conflicts of interest . . . Politicized pension fund boards. . . Faulty accounting standards. . . ." 

Source: Ivan Osorio, "More Than Good Enough for Government Work," The American, April 25, 2012. For text:
http://www.american.com/archive/2012/april/more-than-good-enough-for-government-work

For more on Tax and Spending Issues:
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