Gov uses robocalls to kill pensions
In Pennsylvania Governor Corbett is ramping up the pressure on the Legislature to pas a sension reform package this year.
The Republican party has launched robocalls in southeastern Pennsylvania, home to several competitive state Senate races, urging voters to contact their local lawmaker, according to a post by the right-leaning Keystone Report.
It’s tough to understate how large the pension problem really is, just as it’s tough to understate the mix of bipartisan, civet cat greed, financial mismanagement and plain old economic apocalypse that led the state to its current predicament.
Trading stadiums for pensions in 2001, Gov. Tom Ridge went along with a pension hike that boosted retirement benefits for state employees, teachers and lawmakers.
Despite sweaty palms and nervous glances, lawmakers went along with the scheme, even though they had only hours to review it before it was rammed through the General Assembly.
The vote jacked up pension debt “by $10 billion instantly,” according to an analysis by The Commonwealth Foundation. Which, was, y’know, all kinds of awesome.
As more astute readers are no doubt aware, the bottom dropped out of the economy after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. In 2003 and 2010, lawmakers approved, and former Gov. Ed Rendell signed, legislation delaying contributions, further adding to the problems.