Molly: Keep writing your legislators

From Molly Janczyk, December 20, 2006

Subject: Legislation

Kathie's blog has posted a reminder to write and call Speaker of House Husted and Sen. Harris on their shared appointment for the STRS seat vacated by Meyer. PLEASE keep writing and calling urging them and your area legislators to speak to Husted and Harris on Tom Hall's behalf. Some retirees have secured their legislators' promises and letters to Husted and Harris promoting Prof. Tom Hall for his expertise and experience with investments, market trends, economics, business cycles. Tom is also vested in STRS.

See Kathie's blog: www.kathiebracy.blogspot.com

Also, keep writing your legislators about:

1. HB 700: VOTE NO to alternate pension options which will deplete funds of STRS and cheat actives out of benefits .

2. VOICE your concern regarding ignoring 4 court orders to properly fund education and press your legislators to urge their peers to follow the court orders so funding can be properly designated and allow monies to be redistributed. We need this as Fedor said. Then School Boards may see funding more flexible and approve HC legislation.

3. Ask your legislators how they feel about the HC legislation STRS and HCA have introduced. If they are against it, ask why?

Give valid reasons as to how it will help by attracting quality long term educators who serve children in return for secure retirements with HC.

School Boards tend to support top heavy administrations with dependence on consultants, overspaced buildings and huge salaries. They approve too many cost depleting programs with no real promise of success vs. a presence in schools for free to oversee that educators do their jobs and set up programs of daily reading skills on strategies leveled for each student's instruction success using multiple copies on content areas integrating grade level objectives and vocabulary across the curriculum.

Instead of finding ways to help educators with HC, they simply state dollar numbers of STRS with no real plan as to how those dollars can pay for HC because they cannot. It is a ploy. STRS pays $1.5 million PER DAY for our HC. Misuse of money did not cause this crisis. That is an ethics issue. Not planning for a stream of revenue on a long term basis caused this issue as STRS did not plan for us beyond the market high relying on it instead of securing HC for us long ago with legislation. Legislation is long overdue and we have been stagnant for many years at the same employer contribution. Only recently has the employee contribution increased minimally.

Retirees have been depleted and untenably devastated by 800% increases since 2000 with only a 3% simple COLA based on our first year of retirement never to increase. Actives have increased 0.7% once in many years. Actives continue to get raises based on salaries which rise yearly. 0.5% would take about $50 per ck and produce the only chance they have of securing HC for retirement vs. no HC which robs you of retirement as it is far too costly for us to afford without working in our retirements.

I would happily have paid incrementally as an active to be able to retire now with HC. Not to be as no one warned us and we made irrevocable decisions and now pay the price using savings, selling homes, cutting costs, working if able to pay for HC at $148 for ourselves and $681 for our spouses for premiums monthly, $500 deduc. each and then 20% of medical and up to $125 for each RX for 90 days. The average retiree family has 20 RX's a month. IF ONLY I could pay $50 now per ck to secure HC for life.

Tell your legislators that retirees who cannot afford HC are being treated in the ER and the state pays. With more and more retirees, this will drain state funds. Another reason why HC legislation helps save money for the state. Someone has to pay!

Young potential educators are deciding on other occupations looking towards their future retirement facing no HC. NO EDUCATOR CAN EVER SAVE ENOUGH TO PAY FOR THEIR HC IN RETIREMENT nor can they ever save enough to pay for their retirements which is what HB 700 wants to promote. Once young educators choose alternate plans for retirement if HB 700 passes (Blasdel's bill ), they cannot opt back into STRS. STRS loses their contributions and they lose their state guaranteed pensions. CHOOSE DEFINED BENEFIT FROM STRS and work to pass HC legislation as the only possibility to secure your HC with it.

No one WANTS to pay more. Your decision is to a bit more now or have no HC later unless you can afford unbearable premiums, RX and medical costs.