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San Diego City Employees pension fund ailing
This is driving force behind most every profession in our culture. Whether its overpaid sports athletes in "Free Agency" to a guy or gal digging a ditch, to a Wall Street CEO. ================================ JW= PD and FF are not "professions", they are occupations. And why do you always compare yourself to PRO athletes or CEO's???? You're neither, PD, FF are just your basic entry line employees.— February 12, 2009 11:15 a.m.
San Diego City Employees pension fund ailing
You see I can pick and choose too. In reading the paragraph above it sounds like private and public sector compensations are comparable as cited by the author. ============================================= JW-if you read that article and that is what YOU got out of it, may I suggest to put the bong down.— February 12, 2009 11:10 a.m.
Pension Deficit $2 Billion, Funded Ratio 66.3 Percent
But to be fair, 86 high ticket retirees out of how many City retirees altogether? And, while I know you make no excuses for Wall Street either, at the tip top of $165,870 that's what... a Wall Street per diem? ================================== This argument is made all the time from public sector employees, and I always wonder why? First-The very FEW who get this type of oversized pay on Wall Street have no relationship to 99.99999% of the employed population-so why the comparison to them at all? Second- Everyone I know thinks that these Wall Street compensation packages are criminal-so are the public empoloyees saying that because a small % of highly educated Wall Street execs are ripping off shareholders that it is OK for the public sector to rip off taxpayers the same way on a MUCH larger scale? Do two wrongs make a right??? I just don't get this argument by public employees.— February 12, 2009 11:05 a.m.
San Diego City Employees pension fund ailing
BTW-I thought we were killing this thread off at 500 posts, what happened???????? Hey JF, I have a question, does SDFD pay full salary during academy training??????? What about PD?????? If, as you claim, SDFD does not have enough applicants why don't they hire a huge class of recruits, pay them minimum wage to go through academy training and then once they graduate pay at the normal entry level salary? Academy training should be about 3-4 months, plenty of recruits would take minimum wage up front for that period (far shorter than my 4 years at SDSU for my BA which paid zero) knowing there is better pay when you graduate. Plus it is more equitable to taxpayers. Also, why not limit benefits during the first year, just like the private sector does. No job I know of today allows dental benefits until your first year is up. Don't tell me you have to be "competitive", I don't buy that. Especially in this economy. I would also do that for PD.— February 11, 2009 10:25 p.m.
San Diego City Employees pension fund ailing
Here is a GREAT article on public sector compensation-it really hits the nail on the head and completely blows JF and JW in the dust; The reality today is this - a mid level bureaucrat in the public sector probably will make about $65K per year, which with benefits of 58% (on the low side) will normalize to $102K per year. A white collar worker or skilled technician in the private sector, doing work requiring equivalent skills will probably earn $50K per year if they’re lucky, with an overhead benefit of 30%, which equates to $65K per year. >>>>Public employees now make about twice as much as private sector employees make.<<<<<< When one does an in-depth analysis of the real rates of employee compensation in the public sector vs. the private sector, the solution to government deficits is clear. The solution is not “furloughs” or even layoffs. >>>The solution is to cut their pay and their benefits to levels equivalent to what people make in the private sector.<<<<< This step would not only restore equity to the workforce, but would immediately eliminate the structural deficits endured by state and local governments. http://ecoworld.com/blog/2009/02/08/calculating-e…— February 11, 2009 10:13 p.m.
Pension Deficit $2 Billion, Funded Ratio 66.3 Percent
BTW-as bad as the 66% funding number is, I thought it would be lower-possibly as low as 50%. So I am glad it is at 66%, maybe if the market turns at the end of this year things will improve.— February 11, 2009 6:45 p.m.
Pension Deficit $2 Billion, Funded Ratio 66.3 Percent
So what else is new. Here is a good port from the Vallejo mess (I agree 100%); Firefighters are underworked and over paid. Sadly, there is no elegant way of untangling medical emergency response which can be done much less expensively, from firefighting for the simple reason that without paramedics running out of the fire station multiple times of the day there would be practically NOTHING for these folks to do beside wash their cars and occasionally a fire truck. Read the response reports sometime and you'll get the picture. Unfortunately, the big ticket items will not likely be affected by either the ripping up of existing contracts or negotiations that follow. Retirement at age 50 for the folks in blue is criminal and economically untenable. When the police settled recently there were some concessions regarding medical benefits for new hires. The same happened with the confidential employees. But no one is giving anything back with regard to retirement benefits. How in the world can taxpayers be asked to pay for regular employees retiring with full benefits at age 55 and folks in blue at age 50? It isn't so long ago these same employee groups were satisfied to retire and age 60 and age 55. At the same time, Social Security retirement has been pushed back from 65 to 67. http://www.topix.net/forum/source/vallejo-times-h…— February 11, 2009 6:43 p.m.
San Diego City Employees pension fund ailing
Fred with another clever post^^^^^. As for Vallejo-the IAFF (FF union) is going to be taking a major shot in the shorts. They are headed for disaster. I have a feeling the judge may not go along with the deals already cut with the city and the VPOA and the second union that has settled. We will have to wait and see. The BK judge has been in major disagreement with the unions arguments, and that is not a good sign = for the unions.— February 11, 2009 12:44 p.m.
San Diego City Employees pension fund ailing
Fumbler, I have to hand it to you, you're never at a loss for words. Now keep it clean, or I am going to have your cellie wash your mouth out with soap.— February 11, 2009 7:55 a.m.
Here Are the Banks Using Your Tax Money for Pro Sports Naming Rights Scam
As far as I'm concerned, Don Bauder is one of the few honorable and honest journalists who ever worked at the UT. I'm sure grateful he's agreed to continue writing about San Diego. We're lucky to have him. If I ever meet him again in person, I'll shake his hand until it falls off. ====================================== I agree. I have read many MANY business reporters, and Don is better than 99%, and just as good as the other 1%. No one really comes close. I had always wondered why such a sharp guy would write for the UT, not that the UT is bush league or anything, but I always felt Don would have been a much better match at a major magazine or top 5 metro daily. Don reminds me in many ways of investigative reporter David Cay Johnston, always digging in and getting the real scoop on big business, gov, what have you.— February 10, 2009 4:20 p.m.