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A pension solution — use Social Security formula

February 12, 2013 By 2 Comments

IndianaJonesSwordGunIn the classic “sword vs. gun” scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones encounters a massive assassin ominously wielding a three-foot sword. We all remember Indy taking pause, shrugging, grabbing his pistol and killing his adversary with one shot. Simple. Effective. In the ongoing Illinois pension saga, Governor Quinn and the incoming General Assembly should adopt this Indy-inspired approach.

In each of the past three years the mind-boggling complexity of the current system has overwhelmed our political process. Reform proposals have included optional 401(k)s in 2011, voluntary benefit reductions and property tax increases in 2012 and mandatory benefit reductions in 2013. All have failed.

Let’s learn from our mistakes. The proposed solutions failed for the same reason – they all tinker with the same convoluted elements inherent in the pension system. COLAs, normal costs, retirement ages, amortization, defined benefits, spiking, cost shifts, yada, yada, yada. Who really understands this stuff anyway?

Did Indiana Jones brandish a sword because he was facing a swordsman? No! He chose a different weapon – simple and powerful. Here is ours. Stop negotiating arcane details and move to something everyone understands.

Social Security.

Continue reading at LevineOnPolicy.com.

Marc Levine publishes LevineOnPolicy.com and is a senior pension advisor to House Republican Leader Tom Cross.

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  • Wolf

    Social Security, Medicare and self-directed 401Ks with a maximum 3% match would be acceptable to all the taxpayers, but not the Public Sector Employees who today have multi-million dollar retirement packages with exorbitant COLAs on top. The fraud here is seismic, and it is the greatest heist of taxpayer wealth in the history of the World with a $50 Trillion obligation on the backs of the taxpayers for the present 23 million Public Sector employees. They not only have 50% over staffing and compensation levels for their functions but they raise their already absurd pensions by a minimum of 40% prior to retirement in all the Labor Agreements. This fraud will never be addressed from the Public Sector operations because everyone is a major beneficiary of this fraud on the taxpayers including the Politicians, Judges, etc. The only resolution of this corruption is a complete default of the state, nation and municipalities which fortunately is coming our way in the near term. It is truly amazing that the taxpayers are not in the streets at this junction because the oppressive taxation levels today are beyond anything that our forefathers found objectionable enough to start a revolution.