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Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Dwight Evans: Why PA doesn't need more pension reform

State Rep. Dwight Evans, D-Phila., takes issue with my Tuesday column for suggesting the fast-rising subsidy for the Pennsylvania Public School Employees' Retirement System, which is sucking up hundeds of millions more each year from both school district property taxpayers and the cash-strapped state budget, might spark further changes in how future teachers and other school workers help fund, qualify for, and will be paid in retirement.

Evans points out the steep increase ($400 million next year, hundreds of millions more projected in future years) is still less than would have been without HB-2497, the reform act Evans helped pilot through the General Assembly to be signed by Gov. Rendell this fall.

He notes the difficulty, under past Pennsylvania case law, of cutting back public employee benefits. And, Evans told me, he expects the stock and bond markets will recover, pushing investment values higher and reducing the actual need for greater subsidies: "The markets have always come back in the past."

Evans also doubts the Republicans who ousted him and other Democratic leaders from control of the state House, or GOP Gov.-elect Tom Corbett, will go any further to trimming pensions for politically powerful state workers and retirees than the combined parties already have: "This is not New Jersey," where Gov. Chris Christie is pushing further state pension cuts.
Posted by Joseph N. DiStefano @ 11:01 AM  Permalink | 2 comments
Comments   
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 11:56 AM, 12/15/2010
    Past performance is not an indication of future results.
    — spider9
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:45 PM, 12/15/2010
    Is this guy NUTS!! Mr. Evans, please read the book "Intelligent Investor" by Benjamin Grahm. NEVER assume or forecast that the market is ever going to save the pension system let alone your own investments. It is true that the markets do recover from recession levels, but don't think that they can't quickly get back to those same levels if not worse in a short period of time. There are already bubbles forming in the bond and commodity markets that could totally collapse the poorly managed pension system. You're just another democrat who thinks throwing money/debt at the problem that is paid by taxpayers, will fix it. Unless this mindset is changed, we will be looking like Greece. And people wonder why they are out of jobs and incomes are flat.....
    — fafafohi


2 comments
About Joseph N. DiStefano
Joseph N. DiStefano writes this blog to feed his PhillyDeals column in the Philadelphia Inquirer. Joe has been a member of Bloomberg LP’s New York Finance Team, wrote the book “Comcasted,” taught writing at St. Joseph’s University, and studied economics and history at Penn. Reach Joe at 215-854-5194 and JoeD@phillynews.com
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