Jim N. Reed: Letter to House Speaker Budish

From Jim Reed, June 9, 2009
Subject: Support for HB 177

Dear Honorable Armond Budish,

I am requesting your serious consideration of continued support for HB 177.

I am among the nearly 450,000 stakeholders and beneficiaries of the once-proud STRS Ohio.

The sparkling image of this traditionally respected, trusted and successful retirement system has been muddied over the past decade by unreliable, and often out-of-touch, executive directors and boards.

STRS-literate retirees have for nearly a decade petitioned the policy makers and administration at STRS to reconsider the entitlement philosophy that has pervaded the system.

This has led to considerable waste management. As we are all aware, the recent loss of over 40% of our assets has caused a sense of anxiety among pensioners, present and prospective, whose financial security is at stake.

As our appeals for reform have frequently fallen on insensitive ears within STRS the only means of redress seemed to be through legislative action in the General Assembly.

As a 45-year member of STRS I and hundreds of thousands of dependent retirees and current educators need to feel some hope that the decision-makers in our retirement system are complying with ORC 3307.15.

New legislative action in the form of HB 177 will provide the system with the tools to reshape out-of-control expenditures and reinstate sensibility and confidence in STRS Ohio.

I request your leadership to keep this legislation on track for full consideration.

Thank you.

Jim N. Reed