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Dec

18

Fat Govt Employee Pensions Hang Taxpayers With Costs

December 18, 2006 |

We’ve talked about the mess before: Fat government unions trade votes and contributions for pensions and other benefits that are far more generous than anything the private sector can afford to offer, and stick the hapless taxpayers with the costs.

Says the Post Gazette,

“The average pension in the two systems for those at normal retirement age is approaching $20,000 a year. That is nearly three times the typical private pension benefit and about a third higher than the national average for a government pension, according to the Congressional Research Service.”

For a long time — surprise, surprise — politicians made rules that allowed government to not disclose the pension and benefit costs that were building, accounting only for immediate distributions as obligations. After all, those other payments were to be paid in the future, not today, right? (Let some other politicians and the taxpayers flail under the weight of those springing costs. Live for today! Today’s work (and election) is too important to worry about such things!) But new accounting rules will soon require full disclosure of the net present value of future obligations, just like any normal business must. As such, voters will finally have access to the real obligations. The real hit will come not just from pensions, but from very generous medical benefits.

If you think your taxes are high now, just wait until you see how much it really costs so that already overpaid (vs. private sector) government workers can comfortably retire at age 55 on your backs! While the GM”s of the world pay privately for the erring of their ways — for bad business decisions and overly generous benefit and wage structures, citizens are not forced to pick up the tab. Not so for government cushy largess to its own.

Still love big government? You just wait!

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