Governor Patrick today outlined some of his key priorities in the area of pension reform, hitting some key points in an interview with the Globe. The Governor has been buffeted by some tough political stories lately, and some will point to this story as timed to take pressure off on issues that have created those political problems. Nonetheless the Governor, I think, has hit some very important points on this subject. He has come down on the right side, in my view, of every issue addressed in that interview. From the Globe:
Governor Deval Patrick said today that a series of reforms to state and municipal pension systems was necessary to shore up the financial structure of Massachusetts’s retirement systems and to restore public confidence in state government.
“It’s plain to us and plain, I think, to everybody, that the abuses and loopholes in the system are discrediting the system and distracting from the good work of state government and, frankly, just making everybody mad,” Patrick said in an afternoon press briefing at his State House office. “That has to end, and it has to end now.”
That is without a doubt true, and the Governor addressing it directly shows that he is hearing some of the rumblings. The specific points hit dealt with some of the more notorious abuses.
Abolish the MBTA’s generous policy allowing employees with 23 years of service to retire with full benefits regardless of their age. This provision has enabled many MBTA workers to retire in their 40s and then take other jobs while collecting their pensions.
Prohibit public employees from collecting two pensions after holding multiple jobs at the same time. That change would address the case of Charles Lincoln, the retired Brockton police lieutenant dubbed “the poster child for pension abuse” for collecting nearly $140,000 from two public jobs.
Define regular compensation as wages only. Presidents of the state’s public colleges and universities have been allowed to count housing and transportation allowances as compensation after William Bulger, a former University of Massachusetts president, fought for the perk and won. Counting his housing allowance boosted his pension by $17,000 to $196,000 a year.
Eliminate double pensions for employees who retire under one system and then take another government job, such as a judgeship, with a separate pension system.
Bar employees from receiving an accidental disability benefit after being injured while filling in for a supervisor. Some Boston firefighters have been collecting benefits based on their bosses’ higher pay level after getting injured on the job while subbing for them.
The Governor should seize the mantel of reform, and in so doing challenge the legislature in this area. If everyone at the table really wants reform the Governor should deliver real and substantive reform proposals across the board, and see what comes out of the legislature. If reform is rejected or watered down by the legislature then the political high ground belongs to Deval Patrick.
Michael Widmer delivered a strong endorsement of the Governor’s proposals, calling them “terrific”.
“This is a terrific package of reforms that will end many of the abuses that have justifiably upset taxpayers for so long,” Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, said in a phone interview yesterday.
“These virtually daily stories of excesses and abuses of state and local pension systems are particularly galling because they fly in the face of the enormous struggles and concerns the average citizen is facing.”
Widmer, who has been pressing for pension reforms for years, said the time is ripe for major changes.
“The combination of the public outrage and the fiscal crisis presents a real opportunity to pass these reforms,” said Widmer, who said that closing the loopholes would “over time save tens of millions of dollars a year.”
Good job by the Governor.
Bill Manzi.com 