*********ACTION CALL***********
Dear Member- the following
was a letter sent to Governor Jerry Brown. Please
contact him and your representatives to voice
your opinion on this matter
Dear Gov. Brown,
As you may recall, my name
is Malcolm Lunn, President, of United Small Business
Of California- we have an underlying membership
of approximately 5000 members.
We believe that California
has an unsustainable public employee pension system
that will lead to fiscal collapse of our state
unless you make major reforms immediately. This
situation has been exasperated by tens of thousands
of California state workers taking advantage of
a perk that pays them pension benefits for years
that they don't actually work.
As you know, this state law
allows employees to increase their retirement
benefits by adding 5 fictitious years- known
as "AIR TIME" - onto their public
service. They pay a fee for the privilege, and
your officials claim the fee is high enough to
cover the eventual payout- but their claim
is fallacious, as this boost will cost taxpayers
millions!
It offers a return that is
almost twice what an annuity would pay if purchased
on the private market-Scott Hanson, of Hanson
McClain, a Sacramento based investment firm said
"It's a phenomenal deal for retirees,
but it's an absolute fleecing of the taxpayers."
It offers a guaranteed 7% to 8% return, as opposed
to a 3% return available for similar investments
in the private sector.
This bill was such a political
payoff; Gov. Davis signed this bill when he
was accepting contributions from public employee
unions to fight his recall. These union payoffs
are the main reason our state is facing fiscal
ruin. For example, one of your managers, after
25 years, retires at $100,000 a year; his pension
would be $50,000 a year. If that individual bought
5 years of "AIR TIME" at the current
rate of $124,000- he or she would receive an additional
$9,840 per year for life. In this example they
break even at 67. State Actuaries, however, anticipate
that the average male will live until 83, and
a woman until 86. Using 83 as his death knell,
would cost the taxpayers about $160,000 extra!
Another way to look at this
ridiculous scam, an employee buys his "AIR
TIME" when he is making only $40,000 a year,
but retires decades later with a salary of $200,000,
this really would throw off the price calculation,
because the state would pay his retirement at
the $200,000 level. To help stop California's
"Death Spiral" and show the small business
community that you will take command- You must
immediately rescind "AIR TIME" We believe
that you and lawmakers have an obligation to place
the interests of all Californians above those
of public employee unions. We await your reply.
Sincerely,
Malcolm Lunn
President
United Small Business of California
United Small
Business
Proclaming Liberty to America's Small Business
P O Box 3132 St. Charles, IL 60174 - unitedsmallbus1@aol.com
Phone - 877/ 535-4 USB Fax - 877/ 722-4USB
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