Pensions | California Policy Center

Democratic Attorneys General are the True Masters of Vote Suppression

California Democrats have in recent years complained bitterly about alleged voter intimidation by Republicans and have even gone as far as opening a “voter intimidation hotline” before the Nov. 4 election. Staffed by attorneys, the hotline would answer legal questions by voters who believed that Donald Trump supporters were trying to squelch their vote. Evidence...

By Steven Greenhut

California Local Government Pension Burdens 2017 Update

CPC’s latest review of pension reports and local government financial documents reveals the following: In Fiscal Year 2017-2018, California local governments will pay about $5.3 billion to CalPERS. We project those CalPERS payments will rise to $9.8 billion in Fiscal 2022-2023 – an increase of 84%. In the coming fiscal year alone, California governments will pay...

By Marc Joffe

$100k Pension Club

Over 50,000 California public employees received pension benefits of $100,000 or more last year. Learn more about these beneficiaries at our $100k pension club web site.

By Marc Joffe

The Biggest Dupes in the History of the World

Last week the California Policy Center released a new study that compared the average full-career government pension to the average annual earnings of a full-time private sector worker. Not surprisingly, at least for anyone paying attention, ex-government workers make 26% more than people make in the private sector who are still working. The average government...

By Edward Ring

A Progressive Take on Public Pensions

While the public pension crisis has been an issue on the right for many years, left-wing thinkers show relatively little interest in the issue. When progressives do opine on pensions, they often reject the alarm expressed by conservatives, seeing it as a smokescreen for unneeded austerity or a way to attack the public sector. In...

By Marc Joffe

Contracting With OC Sheriff Means Buying Into Expensive Union Benefits

Thirteen of Orange County’s 34 cities contract their policing services to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. Contracting out services can save cities the hassles and costs of dealing with their own unionized workforces. But when Orange County cities contract with the County Sheriff, they are absorbing the high cost of OC’s unionized law enforcement. The...

By Marc Joffe

While Retired City Manager Golfs, New Americans in El Monte Struggle to Make Ends Meet

Over a fourth of El Monte’s residents live in poverty, but, among public-sector workers poverty is unlikely. Retired City Manager James Mundessen told the LA Times that he personally receives $216,000 a year in retirement – an amount that finances a lavish lifestyle that includes golfing trips in Scotland. Mundessen is one of eight city officials collecting over $200,000 per year.

By Edmund Pine

Questions for Someone Who Supports Superior Benefits for Government Workers

“Without disputing the figures, Monique Morrissey, an economist with the Economic Policy Institute in Washington, D.C., said the findings are misleading because they do not compare specific classes of employees or account for differences in education levels and total hours worked.” California Is Golden State For Public Employees, by Michael Carroll, AMI Newswire, Jan. 31,...

By Edward Ring

Orange County Fire Authority’s Hefty Overtime Bill a Bad Deal for Irvine Taxpayers

Irvine’s City Council has directed city staff to explore the possibility of leaving the Orange County Fire Authority in 2020. The Council wants to find a more cost effective way to provide fire protection services to city residents. If Irvine can find an alternative that constrains firefighter compensation – especially overtime pay– it may be on the right track....

By Marc Joffe

Convicted or Not, L.A. Sheriff Baca Will Collect a Big Pension

Leroy "Lee" Baca, the man served for 16 years as L.A. County's top cop, has admitted to charges of lying to the FBI in a coverup of inmate abuse at the county jail. But even if convicted, the retired Los Angeles County Sheriff will continue to receive retirement benefits – today valued at more than $342,000 annually. A conviction would put him in a unique position to corner the prison commissary.

By Marc Joffe

Environmentalism Provides Moral Cover for New Taxes to Fund Pensions

There are two intertwined themes that define unionized government in California. First, funding government retiree pensions will soak up every new source of tax revenue they will ever collect. Second, cloaking new taxes and fees – and new agencies – in the virtuous raiment of environmentalism will deflect criticism and demonize critics. Here’s why: Now...

By Edward Ring

Obama Ignores Destructive Influence of Prison Unions in HBO Appearance

Comedian Bill Maher landed an interview with President Barack Obama last week, and the interaction felt like something out of a movie about hobbits – two grown men basking in the warm glow of a be-flagged White House office with a Frederick Remington buffalo sculpture in the background. ANTIBIOTIC: President Obama on Bill Maher’s “Real...

By Will Swaim

Put Public Employees on Secure Choice and Social Security

“The state shall not have any liability for the payment of the retirement savings benefit earned by program participants pursuant to this title.” – California State Senator Kevin De Leon, August 7, 2016, Sacramento Bee This quote from Senator De Leon, one of the main proponents of California’s new “Secure Choice” retirement program for private...

By Edward Ring

“Unsustainable” Pension Costs Are The Driving Force Behind Local Tax Increases

It is no secret that there are a record number of local tax increases on the November 2016 ballot, but the dirty little secret is that the strongest driving force behind these measures is “unsustainable” skyrocketing pension costs. The specifics of each case need to be evaluated on a case by case basis, which I...

By David Kersten