In an address to the Boston Chamber of Commerce yesterday, Speaker DeLeo covered a number of important areas, making a commitment to move on municipal health care reform and a commitment to control legislative recommendations on jobs.
Government Reform
children and families, election laws, ethics rules, insider jobs, pensions & benefits, structure and operations, transparency
Changing state employee benefits
Disclaimer: I am a state employee who works in Higher Education. Will, I understand that state employees get a lot of bad press. I understand that a lot of people are angry when they hear about all of the people who get jobs through connections, and get raises beyond what private employees get, etc. But, …
Two more articles on the unions/pay/pensions issue
Today, NYT: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/02/business/02leonhardt.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=leonhardt&st=cse . Summary: it’s not the pay, it’s the pension and disability benefits. And the work rules. Recently, Fortune/CNN: http://management.fortune.cnn.com/2011/02/28/are-public-unions-our-convenient-economic-scapegoats/?section=magazines_fortune . Summary: the unions are (generally) not the cause. Neither article supports the current moves to strip unions of the right to strike and/or engage in collective bargaining.
Transparency — Overview
Posts on MBTA pension transparency End the Secrecy of the MBTA Pension System Senate Transportation Plan includes Transparency Enhancement Posts on financial transparency in the legislative process July 2012 Senate Transparency and Financial Management Reforms Progress on Controlling Special Interest Tax Breaks Transparency Improvements Implemented Transparency Rule Changes Passed Transparency Improvements Passed Transparency and the …
what are reasonable assumptions about long term returns of pension plans?
“…the current [pension] shortfall is attributable to the recent stock market plunge…” Hmm…first of all, the S&P 500 has doubled from its March 2009 low and is now within 40 points of its all time high (1,565 on Oct. 9, 2007). So we are past the plunge. Second, the problem of poor returns now stretches …
Continue reading “what are reasonable assumptions about long term returns of pension plans?”
Public Benefit Issue
I appreciate the fact that you have been so involved in this issue as it is one of the largest fiscal issues facing Massachusetts and the rest of the Country. Any reforms in this area however cannot simply be stopping the continued growth of pay and benefits in the public sector but actually reversing them. …