Whoa! 2006 OEA-endorsed candidate now seeks to replace defined benefits retirement of future educators with defined contributions mandate

From John Curry, November 27, 2008
Just "scroll on down" to find an endorsement that bit the hand that fed it - House Bill 645 and Representative Larry Wolpert

Below is a link to OEA endorsements as posted on Kathie Bracy's blog from the off-year Ohio election in 2006. Back then, the OEA endorsed Larry Wolpert (R) of Ohio House District 23. Larry Wolpert is the Columbus area Representative who recently introduced HB 645, a bill designed to eliminate the defined benefits type of retirement to future educators, firemen, policemen, county workers, state workers, and any other worker who would take a job that currently pays into STRS, OPERS, Police and Fire, Ohio Highway Patrol, and State Employees Retirement System and replace it with a defined contributions retirement! Of course, Larry will go on to receive his defined benefits OPERS retirement, won't he?

Looks like this is one representative who bit the hand that fed him! Thank goodness that Larry will be term-limited out (in 2009) after serving four terms in the Ohio House. He sure did leave us with a going-away present, didn't he? Nothing like trying to sneak one in under the wire, is there? Larry is one lame duck that we can do without! Nothing like the old saying, "Do unto others - then split," is there?

At the time of this writing, Larry is listed as the only sponsor of House Bill 645 although a news brief in Wednesday's Lima News indicated that Representative Josh Mandel (R) (Cleveland area) also is sponsoring this bill. Since the Ohio House will have a Democratic majority in 2009, the passage of this bill is -- at least in my mind -- unlikely. The bankers and investment brokers will just have to wait a while before they get their hands on billions of dollars of Ohio's public servants' retirement system deductions to invest, won't they?

http://kathiebracy.blogspot.com/2006/11/oea-fcpe-endorsements.html

John

P.S. I realize that the OEA had no idea that Larry would introduce this bill...sometimes politicians bite the hand that feeds them, don't they? In case you're interested in Larry's bill, here the Ohio Statehouse link to that bill:

http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/BillText127/127_HB_645_I_N.html