Yes, we have been Shlinkered, schnooked, and bamboozled by a totally incompetent Herenton administration, so what are we going to do about it, trust him to fix it up? I hope not. Unfortunately, the story of Mayor Herenton’s financial mismanagement extends deeply into the City’s pension plan, and probably has infected MLG&W - if Joseph Lee’s “financial expertise” is contagious.
Having read what is on the table for cost cutting are the “usual suspects”, sell this, raise taxes on that, cut the pay of the police and firemen – but what is most interesting in what wasn’t even mentioned: The City Pension Plan and adminstion pay scales. For too long, our government officials have justified pay scales and benefits in how they relate to the national competitive landscape, which in my opinion is a laughable logic. If they are going to continue using that logic, I would suggest that they compare Memphis only to other bankrupt cities, not Atlanta, or Nashville (Washington DC and New Orleans come to mind).
Just from the bits and pieces that I have read about the City of Memphis Pension System, it is generous to it’s participants in ways that private pension plans would never consider unless they could print their own money. The printing press that has financed the Memphis government employees pension plan just had its plug pulled. The Pension plan (and every job at city hall) needs to be evaluated by a competent third party who could easily quantify significant abuses and significant potential areas where the city can make cuts.
The pension plan needs to mirror the private sector, and while we’re at it, so does the government. If a CEO came to Wall Street and admitted such serious mis-management and financial deception, he would be looking for a new job and the SEC would have him under investigation. Maybe that’s asking too much of “the system”.
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