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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsNYT: Under Citizens United, Public Employees are compelled to pay for corporate political speech
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/13/opinion/under-citizens-united-public-employees-are-compelled-to-pay-for-corporate-political-speech.html?_r=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20120713How Pensions Violate Free Speech
A CENTRAL principle of American political life is that everyone gets to choose which candidates to support. The idea that the government could force us to support those we oppose is anathema. But this unacceptable state of affairs is one of the unintended consequences of the Supreme Courts decision in the 2010 Citizens United case.
Thats because the vast majority of people who work in the public sector state, local and federal employees are required to make contributions to a pension plan. Nearly all states make participation in a pension plan mandatory and a condition of employment for public employees. To get and keep your job with the government, you have to give some of your paycheck to the pension plan.
Public pensions, moreover, are so-called defined benefit plans, which means that employees dont have a say in how their mandatory contributions are invested. The employees cannot request, for example, that their money be used only to buy government bonds or that it be invested only in certain mutual funds or only in select corporations.
Instead, the employees money is invested according to whatever decisions the pension plans trustee makes. And, not surprisingly, pension plans invest heavily in corporate securities: in 2008, public pensions held about $1.15 trillion in corporate stock.
And they don't even provide you with any K-Y Jelly.
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NYT: Under Citizens United, Public Employees are compelled to pay for corporate political speech (Original Post)
Scuba
Jul 2012
OP
Drale
(7,932 posts)1. I'm more worried about employees and investors of private companies
who use the money made by the employees and invested by the investors to put towards political causes that are terrible and most likely are not supported by a majority of human beings.
snot
(10,530 posts)2. Of course you know the 'cons solution will be: eliminate pensions.