Washington Post says state is “breaking the trust”
Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley is trying to renege on a deal he made with state employee unions by grabbing back $100 million a year to plug a hole in the state’s budget deficit.
Temptation is big to dip into pension funds to plug current deficits – that’s what Maryland is doing. But the practice should be against the law and public employee unions should make sure it is.
Three years ago, Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) made a deal with the state’s public-employee unions. Under its terms, state workers agreed to pay more of their salaries into Maryland’s underfunded pension system and accept lower benefits for new hires. In return, the state promised to devote $300 million annually from the resulting savings to shore up the pension fund, which at the time had less than two-thirds the amount it needed to make future payments.
Now Mr. O’Malley is trying to renege on the deal by grabbing back $100 million a year to plug a hole in the state’s budget deficit. By doing so, he is undercutting not only his credibility but also the state’s, and putting at risk Maryland’s coveted triple-A bond rating. That’s a bad idea, and lawmakers in Annapolis should reject it.
Subscribe
If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to receive more just like it.
