LA’s Pension War Goes Nuclear

LA’s Pension War Goes Nuclear: "LA WATCHDOG - Mayor Richard Riordan’s proposed ballot measure, the “Fair Share Pension Reform Act of 2013,” is LA’s Prop 32 (Paycheck Protection), only on steroids, as the leadership of the City’s public unions will view this money saving initiative for our cash strapped City as a direct assault on their control of the City’s purse strings. . . .Riordan’s Fair Share Pension Reform plan will also force the candidates for Mayor, Controller, City Attorney, and City Council to pick sides as the union leadership will demand absolute loyalty in return for their campaign contributions. Based on press reports, Riordan’s plan would “move newly hired workers into 401 (k) style plans and freeze retirement benefits for existing workers,” saving the City “hundreds of millions of dollars every year by 2017 and upwards of a billion dollars by 2020. . . Underlying this plan for serious pension reform is the very real concern that our City will become insolvent within the next five years. Our City’s finances are so desperate that senior elected officials have secretly discussed the sale of our Department of Water and Power, the Port of Los Angeles, and/or Los Angeles International Airport. To earn a seat at the table, our public sector unions must develop a detailed plan that addresses how the City will “Live Within its Means.” This would include a Five Year Financial Plan, balanced budgets based on recurring revenues and Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, and, over the next ten years, programs to eliminate the $10 billion unfunded pension liability and to repair our lunar cratered streets, our cracked sidewalks, and the rest of our crumbling infrastructure."

"Live within its means"--what a novel concept!


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