America's Class War - The Underhanded Battle to Destroy Public Service Unions

In terms of credible American newspaper chains, McClatchey Newspapers (formerly Knight-Ridder) towers above all others.   In the wake of the 9/11 trauma, it alone disputed the Bush regimes lies to justify invading Iraq.  McClatchey lives up to its motto, "Truth to Power."

Another shining example of this comes from the news service's analysis of the public service pension scam being used by radical rightwing US governors to break the backs of public service unions.

...there's simply no evidence that state pensions are the current burden to public finances that their critics claim.

Pension contributions from state and local employers aren't blowing up budgets. They amount to just 2.9 percent of state spending, on average, according to the National Association of State Retirement Administrators. The Center for Retirement Research at Boston College puts the figure a bit higher at 3.8 percent.


Though there's no direct comparison, state and local pension contributions approximate the burden shouldered by private companies. The nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute estimates that retirement funding for private employers amounts to about 3.5 percent of employee compensation.

 Nor are state and local government pension funds broke. They're underfunded, in large measure because — like the investments held in 401(k) plans by American private-sector employees — they sunk along with the entire stock market during the Great Recession of 2007-2009. And like 401(k) plans, the investments made by public-sector pension plans are increasingly on firmer footing as the rising tide on Wall Street lifts all boats.

Boston College researchers project that if the assets in state and local pension plans were frozen tomorrow and there was no more growth in investment returns, there'd still be enough money in most state plans to pay benefits for years to come.

 

What McClatchey has again shown is the compulsive perfidy of today's far right to fabricate narratives intended to frighten and mislead the public enough to permit them to achieve ulterior ends.   This is rank class warfare by plutocrats who will do everything in their power to disguise their campaigns.