Republicans sneak attack on the Wisconsin Retirement System

[Scuba]

First, this isn't a poorly performing pension system. It's actually the best in the nation...

http://watchdog.org/182817/pension-wisconsin-liabilities/

... the Badger State once again has the most well-funded public pension system in the nation, according to a study released this week by State Budget Solutions, a fiscally conservative think tank based in Virginia.

The Wisconsin Retirement System also has the lowest percentage of unfunded liability as it pertains to the 2013 gross state product and the second lowest cost per capita, only behind Tennessee, the report says.

Now, in my email, from Kathleen Marsh of MoveOn ...

Urgent! WRS Under Serious Attack

Hello,
I wondered when the next assault on the best pension system in the world would begin. Well, it has! You need to know this and take action today! The Wisconsin Joint Finance Committee has inserted an anonymous #999 stealth provision (27a p. 9) into the Wisconsin State Budget that drastically changes the way in which our Wisconsin Retirement System is governed. It was slipped into the budget over the holiday weekend in the same way that the very short-lived no-more-open-records language was. I tried all morning to find out from legislators, but I have no clue who did this or why. All I know is it is part of the budget bill which will be voted upon as early as tomorrow! Please call your Senator and Representative TODAY and demand that this language be stripped from the bill. The WRS may be at very serious risk if this is passed without any study and/or public input. (Please do not email me. I will not be able to reply. I am going to be very busy trying to get this language removed from the bill!)

Why? The 27a language drastically changes the Joint Survey Committee on Retirement Systems, the legislative body that oversees the WRS. JSCRS is currently composed of ten members who represent a variety of interests and viewpoints: two senators of the majority party and one of the minority party; two assembly representatives of the majority party and one of the minority party; an assistant Attorney General or someone appointed from that office; a member of the public who does not belong to any public retirement system; the Insurance Commissioner or someone representing that office who has actuarial experience; and the ETF Secretary or someone representing the Secretary. The widely heralded success of this group shows the mix is an excellent one.

In the new language, the committee will be composed of five senators and five representatives, all appointed "as are standing committees in their respective houses". Deleted is is the requirement that the Secretary of JSCRS be a non-legislative member of the committee. Also deleted is language that specifies terms of four years. The new law will also "delete current law which provides that any member of JSCRS ceases to be a member of the committee upon losing the status upon which the appointment was based". Finally it also deletes currrent law which requires that "membership not be incompatible with any other public office."

Bottom Line: Under the new law, Republicans can now (or Democrats in the future) do whatever they like in regard to the WRS since they have majority status and therefore total control. They would be able to rush through any changes when and how they want. Are you okay with that? I AM NOT!

[gordianot]

1. If this works just wait it will come to a legislature near you if it fails expect it anyway.

SHHH! The workings of Government are secret but you should trust them anyway.

[MoonRiver]

2. Repukes to retirees: SHUT UP, SIT DOWN & DIE

[restorefreedom]

7. and do it quickly

as your meager existence is draining our obscenely full bank accounts.

scumbags

[MoonRiver]

20. Exactly. Once we can't contribute to their coffers, we need to disappear.

[restorefreedom]

21. ironic that they are always the ones yapping about death panels. n/t

[MoonRiver]

22. They want to be on those panels.

[restorefreedom]

23. how can you say that? they are pro life!!

[MoonRiver]

24. Until it's born!

[restorefreedom]

25. you are right. i stand corrected

they are probirth and pro subjugating women

and once that kid is out, well he just needs to change his own diaper and get a damn job!

[MoonRiver]

26. Absolutely. Those babies are slouchers.

[restorefreedom]

27. arrrgghhhhh

what republicans reduce me to

[MoonRiver]

33. I thought I would lose my mind with rage during dimson's reign of terror!

I get the same feeling with several of the current clowns, especially Cruz, UGH.

[restorefreedom]

34. i still can't believe those 8 long years

it is amazing i didn't destroy a tv or three. every time i saw his snickering face, never even mind his evil master, i wanted to go wild on the tv.

i have to believe the country is no longer capable of putting someone like them in office again.

president cruz? president paul? we would be laughed out of every international body in existence. how truly awful it would be for this country.

ok, have to stop thinking about it.

[MoonRiver]

35. And don't forget a President Walker!

Must not think. Must not think. Must get those thoughts out of my mind!

[restorefreedom]

36. happy thoughts....

beanie babies....(fans of reba's sitcom might remember that reference)

🐼 🐨

[riversedge]

3. thanks for the post.

[Octafish]

4. The Banksters need the money.

You think the people in Wisconsin who earned it deserve it?

Where you been? This is the new America! Get used to the ENRON business model for Wisco. And smile!

[ladjf]

5. Please someone explain to me again why the people of

Wisconsin continue to tolerate this inhuman, lunatic abuse of their rights.

[Ed Suspicious]

12. We love taking a beating. We're a little bit stupid. We don't work hard enough at recall. We

just love the way he lies.

[ladjf]

17. I wasn't making any derogatory assumptions when I asked the question.

I was thinking along the lines of how did the Governor setup the situation that allowed him to bully everyone?

How did he win the recall?

[Ed Suspicious]

18. Ok. In that case, the Governor came in on a wave of conservativism that brought with it

Ron Johnson ousting Russ Feingold. We are an independent minded people. Unfortunately, tea party politics can be attractive to folks who have a skeptical feeling toward national party leadership. The Tea Party was peaking at the time he was brought in.

There are numerous things that went toward setting that up including the state's main newspaper, The Milwaukee Journal/Sentinel have undeniably right wing editorial slant. We have right wing talk radio that has taken hold in a big way that coordinates and corroborates with the Governor's office to smear democrats and spin stories to match the republican agenda. There was a massive targeting of our state by nearly unlimited Koch cash. This was enthusiastically welcomed by corporate media who quickly identified where their bread would be buttered going forward.

Walker is a pretty shrewd politician on some level, and he has just the lack of integrity to shamelessly lie to find his advantage, then when he meets resistance his slippery nature allows him to squirm out of trouble by way of lies and obfuscation. He is very careful to find an out for everything. To the politically uninitiated, he is an "outside the system" guy fighting against big government that is sold daily as the problem. (Government is the problem. ~ Reagan) He picked up on a discontent with what was considered wasteful spending by government. He used a brown paper lunch sack to great effect as a visual aid during his campaign that was to represent the idea that he would not be a wasteful politician. He would take his lunch to work in a sack just like the rest of us hard working, blue collar shlubs. Once the people cast their lot for such a divisive figure in such a polar extreme political climate, well people, not wanting to be wrong, double and triple down. It's tough to admit when you've been sold a bill of goods. We are a bit prideful in that way.

Our democratic party leadership in this state is nearly devoid of imagination. They foist upon us the most uninspiring candidates who seem to seek to be only slightly less vile than the republicans they're running against. Mary Burke was a prime example. She was sold to us as the most viable candidate because she had a lot of money and had some business credentials (and we all worship at the throne of business interest and acumen.) Ok. Burke wasn't vile, but she was absolutely uninspiring and very third way (much like party leadership). Tom Barrett - also not a good candidate.

This is only a brief and not well put together synopsis, but the ways and means by which puke domination was achieved in my state would require a much longer format than this TLDR forum post.

I think perhaps the pendulum in about to swing back. This latest thing with the secret government has more people than just liberals pissed off, so there may be a start of a return to normalcy.

[ladjf]

28. Thanks for the very good review of what happened. Hope things continue to improve

there as well as throughout the Country.

I like what Sanders is saying. I intend to back him as long as he is running.

[Still In Wisconsin]

32. That's a damned good analysis.

Of course the fact that 2010 was also a census year allowed them to Gerrymander the hell out of us with their new majority.

[lonestarnot]

6. Thieves will be thieves. Why let them in the house in the first place?

[elfin]

8. But, but... All that money is just "sitting there"

We need changes so we can put that wealth to better use, such as no-work jobs for cronies, pay for roads so we look good and hope hope hope that the market replenishes the fund. But if it doesn't, too bad. Maybe the Feds will bail us out, or else we can just slash the pay outs to all those lazy teachers and the like.

The weasel and his ilk have wanted to get their mitts on that pot since day one. This is the first step to set the framework of people to bribe to vote for the smash and grab.

[Ed Suspicious]

14. I think this is what it's all about. They see a pile of money just sitting there and that does not

compute to their lizard-like brains. Money that's not working might as well be no money at all.

[awoke_in_2003]

29. Do not ascribe to stupidity

was is purposely being done to make a few select richer. They know exactly what they are doing

[Ed Suspicious]

30. I don't. I think they need to keep their damned hands off the pension fund, just like the Federal

reps need to keep their hands off the Social Security fund.

[awoke_in_2003]

31. Yep...

The only things they need to do with SS is raise or eliminate the cap, and lower retirement age- especially for those who do physical labor.

[Omaha Steve]

9. Walker won't get to be POTUS keeping his hands dirty

K&R!

[WillyT]

10. HUGE K & R !!! - THANK YOU !!!

[Enthusiast]

11. If this doesn't wake up the people from Wisconsin what will?

[Ed Suspicious]

13. What was that? Leave me alone, I'm napping.

[bulloney]

15. The people who paid into and plan to live from this pension plan will be demonized.

This will be done as a means of gaining support from the rest of the state toward the efforts to gut it. This pension system will be marketed as something that enables public employees to live high on the hog at taxpayers' expense.

I've seen it all of the time. Whether it's union benefits, public employee pensions, or whatever, those who don't benefit from these and other plans have been brainwashed into thinking they're getting screwed while a handful of people are mooching from them.

Here's the mentality of these types of people: You have a cow. I don't. I hope your cow dies.

Rather than pulling themselves up to a better standard of living, these people would rather pull everybody down to their level, which is just what the 1%ers want.

[brentspeak]

16. Well put

A good description of the usual way these kinds of pension-raiding schemes have been sold to the public.

[Ed Suspicious]

19. Yes. +1