John Arnold is spending millions to steal your pension

Story from AZCentral.com submitted by Sean Smoot, Director & Chief Legal Counsel of the PB& PA of Illinois and the Treasurer of NAPO.

John Arnold, the former Enron executive is spending millions to eliminate pensions for government employees.

In Phoenix there’s a ballot measure – Prop. 487 – that if passed will force the city to freeze its pension system and replace it with a 401(k)-style retirement plan for new employees. Prop. 487 would also end the controversial practice of “pension spiking” where employees put in extra hours during their last years on the job to boost their pay check in order to get a larger pension.

Unions have contributed more than $1.17 million to fight Prop. 487 with $755,300 coming from firefighter unions in Phoenix, Glendale, Chandler and Peoria. An assortment of other unions, including the national teacher’s association and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, contributed about $417,000.

Citizens for Phoenix Pension Reform, the group backing the initiative, has raised about $1.43 million. A $1.04 million was sent by the Action Now Initiative, a Houston non-profit corporation bankrolled by John Arnold, a billionaire former hedge-fund manager and Enron executive who has invested millions of dollars trying to eliminate pensions for employees of cities, states and counties.

Phoenix is the sixth largest city in the country and if the measure passes it would be the largest U.S. municipality to phase out its pension system for city employees.

Watch this debate on AZcentral.com on whether eliminating the pension system will save money. The answer is clearly, “No!” And check out the guy on the left advocating for eliminating pensions for police officers. He looks worse than the worst used car salesman ever.

What’s happening in your town with pensions? Leave your comments below.

FACT CHECK: Will Phoenix pension reform save money?

Despite its infusion of cash, Citizens for Phoenix Pension Reform appears to be at a financial disadvantage at the end of the campaign. The committee ended the reporting period with a $2,200 deficit, while the unions had hundreds of thousands of dollars in the bank.

The disparity has been noticeable — the opposition has continued apace sending mailers, while the pro-reform campaign’s efforts have dwindled following a TV Supporters of a Phoenix ballot measure to end the city’s costly employee-pension system have out-raised government unions fighting Proposition 487, raking in more than a million dollars from an out-of-state billionaire.

READ MORE: ‘Dark money’ floods Phoenix pension election

READ MORE: Phoenix braces for battles, costs over pension measure

Much of the group’s money has come from similar non-profit corporations that aren’t required to disclose their donors.

Prop. 487 on Tuesday’s ballot would force Phoenix to freeze its pension system and replace it with a 401(k)-style retirement plan for new employees. It would also make changes to combat the practice of “pension spiking,” generally seen as the artificial inflation of a city employee’s income to boost retirement benefits.

Unions have contributed more than $1.17 million to fight Prop. 487. Much of the opposition’s money, $755,300, came from firefighter unions in Phoenix, Glendale, Chandler and Peoria. An assortment of other unions, including the national teacher’s association and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, contributed about $417,000.

It’s no surprise that both sides have raked in large sums. As the sixth-most-populous city, Phoenix would be the largest U.S. municipality to phase out its pension system and has become an epicenter of the national debate over pension reform for government employees.

FACT CHECK: Will Phoenix pension reform save money?

The disparity has been noticeable — the opposition has continued apace sending mailers, while the pro-reform campaign’s efforts have dwindled following a TV advertising blitz last month.