John Curry: Names mentioned... Wachtmann... Faber... Budish

From RH Jones, January 3, 2010
Subject: Fw: So....who is behind these articles and what do some of the Pols say?

To all:

To OEA's credit, they warned active and retired teachers that the media was planning this. They sent the message out before the holidays.

RHJones, retired teacher OH STRS member

From John Curry, January 3, 2010
Subject: So....who is behind these articles and what do some of the Pols say?

A look at today's Cinci Enquirer article (at the end) really tells us a lot! Now...we see a listing of those (Wachtmann and Faber) who would like to weaken our public pensions and...at least one Pol (Budish) who is backing our public defined benefit pension.

"Rep. Lynn Wachtmann, a Napoleon Republican who also sits on the panel, dismissed as outdated the argument that government employees deserve better retirement packages than their private-sector peers because they earn less pay."

Mr. Wachtmann, you, as a professional politician, are outdated and need to retire. Educators in Mr. Wachtmann's district please keep his name in mind the next time he runs for public office! Don't forget about Mr. Faber either!

John

http://news.cincinnati.com/print/article/20100103/NEWS0108/1030312/Public-workers-under-fire-for-cost-of-pensions

Status quo a no-go
(1/3/10)

The requests for more money from local governments by the State Teachers Retirement System and the Ohio Police & Fire Pension Fund are expected to go before state lawmakers early this year. But there's already resistance to sacrificing textbooks, police cars and staffing levels today for the long-term security of retirees tomorrow. For some, it's politically unpalatable to benefit government pensions by heaping additional taxes onto people who have seen their own private-sector retirement plans slashed.

"Does the public-sector pension plan meet the expectations of the taxpayers who pay the bills?" asked Sen. Keith Faber, R-Celina, also a member of the Ohio Retirement Study Council. "I think it's very difficult to ask the taxpayers to pay more money to support the systems."

Rep. Lynn Wachtmann, a Napoleon Republican who also sits on the panel, dismissed as outdated the argument that government employees deserve better retirement packages than their private-sector peers because they earn less pay.

"The taxpayers of Ohio who are footing the bill for all of this in the end need to realize how generous the public-pension systems - all of them - are compared to private-sector retirement plans," Wachtmann said. "Most of our private-sector employers would go bankrupt if they had to pay the kind of money into employee retirements that our public-sector employers do."

Wachtmann is one of nine voting members of the Retirement Study council, which is comprised of three state senators, three representatives and three appointees of the governor. It considers changes to the state's five public pension systems and makes recommendations to the legislature.

So far, the panel is not discussing the idea of following the private sector into 401k-type plans. But Tom Ash, lobbyist for the Buckeye Association of School Administrators, said the idea is being floated informally in some circles. He labels it a non-starter.

"Our goal is going to be to preserve the defined-benefit plan because, as a matter of public policy, we think it makes sense," Ash said. "How do we do that is the question."

House Speaker Armond Budish, D-Beachwood, acknowledged that the pension systems have "significant issues" with funding but said the state should strive to protect benefits for retirees.

Dispatch reporter Doug Caruso, (Cleveland) Plain Dealer reporter Patrick O'Donnell, (others) contributed to this story. Dispatch Public Affairs Editor Darrel Rowland performed the data analysis.

jnash@dispatch.com

Additional Facts About this project: This project is the work product of Ohio's eight largest newspapers: The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer, The Cincinnati Enquirer, The Columbus Dispatch, The Dayton Daily News, The Akron Beacon Journal, The Toledo Blade, The Canton Repository and The (Youngstown) Vindicator.

The newspapers have been working together for several years to report on issues important to Ohioans.

After reporting locally about extensive cuts in services in their communities, the editors decided to examine the state's pension policies.

The objective: To explore the impact of state-mandated pensions and retiree health insurance on local communities and whether potential increases can be absorbed.

-------

"Be afraid......be VERY afraid"