Niagara Gazette - GUESTVIEW: The problem with public pensions
By Bob Confer
Niagara Gazette

I know very few people who have or will have pensions and post-retirement benefits. It seems that most people must rely instead on investment accounts, 401(k) plans, insurance plans, and Social Security for their well-beings in their post-career lives.

Likewise, many who were at the time fortunate enough to be granted pensions – like those who are former or current Harrison/Delphi employees — now find themselves suddenly leading stressful lives. It appears they were dealt plenty of broken promises and the future of their finances are a huge unknown due to Delphi’s bankruptcy games and the lack of retirement funding.

With all of these cases it can be assumed that pensions as a whole are too burdensome on businesses. It has been said that pensioned businesses add to the cost of each currently-employed worker the cost to support one maybe even two long-retired workers and their benefits.

These incredible legacy costs can either manifest themselves in higher product prices or lower profits. Due to the demands of customers and their spending habits, the former is, in most cases, not attainable. Hence, most companies, rather than facing financial ruin, have vacated the pension business and have opted for alternative retirement funding — such as 401(k)’s — where both the company and the employee have a vested interest in the future of the employee and essentially the future of the company.

Most every person I know are either on social security or expect social security to be their only income when they retire, yet Tokasz etal retire with pensions and benefits that we can only dream of. I do work for many Seinor citizens that cannot afford to have work done on their own homes, so I do what I can to work within their budgets. They are the ones that suffer from legislators that care only aboyt themselves, their pensions, their party and patronage jobs.

Tokasz getting a pension of $70,000 a year is just anpther example of that type of self serving politician. All public service employees should have a 401 type plan for retirement, the publically funded pension plans have to end. We can no longer afford this type of luxury.