Sliding Into The Abyss

It was only a few decades ago that nobody went to work for the government with the idea that they would make a bundle and retire to the finest retirement communities; that has all changed. Government employees earn an average of 21% more than those in the private sector and are vastly more likely to have health care.

For a year now, the Florida Whig Party has been talking about the importance of properly funding the Florida State Retirement System and the fraud that is taking place with many high ranking officials who enjoy special risk pensions while performing nothing close to special risk duties. There are many problems with the FSRS (such as a Governor, Attorney General, and Chief Financial Officer who all work part-time and are the trustees of the massive fund), but Florida is not alone.

Nationwide, 84% of all state and local government workers enjoy a defined benefit pension plan while a mere 21% of all private sector employees have such a plan. Defined benefit pension plans are similar to Social Security in that they guarantee a retirement income based upon years of service and a final average salary while 401(k) plans do not. The investment risk is on the shoulders of the employer with a defined benefit pension plan while a 401(k) [403(b) or 457 in the public sector] places the investment risk on the shoulders of the plan participant.

In California alone, the unfunded liabilities of retirement programs exceed $100 billion through 2015 by our calculations. In addition, retiree health programs could double debt.

A recently retired chief of police from Newport Beach has a pension of $221,554.56 a year, plus upcoming cost of living adjustments. Consider and compare this amount to the $217,400 annual salary paid to Chief Justice Roberts of the United States Supreme Court in 2008.

The working men and women across this nation in the private sector have got to begin paying attention, stop listening to sound bites, and start thinking for themselves. Nothing will ever change until We the People join forces, act intelligently and in unison. The Florida Whig Party invites you to join America’s third party (the Whigs). If you work and pay taxes, then begin by changing your voter registration to the Florida Whig Party, join as a delegate, contribute and work for Whig candidates, and recruit one person to the Party every two months. If you do not engage now, the political action committees, unions, urban community action groups, and multi-national corporations will continue to control the outcome of elections through advertising and influence peddling dollars. The nation is rapidly approaching the tipping point of no return; a slide into the abyss of government debt and indentured servitude to foreign investors and sovereign fund managers.

Think About It