Nearly 1,200 L.A. County retirees receive six-figure pensions

[UpInArms]

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/states/california/northern_california/9131037.htm?1c

LOS ANGELES - Nearly 1,200 retired county government workers receive pensions of more than $100,000 a year, it was reported Sunday.

The 10 largest pensions range from $210,434 to $316,047, the Los Angeles Daily News said, citing county figures obtained under the California Public Records Act.

Overall, Los Angeles County counts 1,198 six- figure pensions while the California Public Employees Retirement System has 816 and the California State Teachers' Retirement System has 427, the newspaper said.

<snip>

"These spiraling costs are crushing local governments and now threatening the fiscal integrity of the state government," said state Sen. Tom McClintock, R-Thousand Oaks. "San Diego is about to go belly-up for the same reason. It doesn't sound like Los Angeles County is too far behind."

...more...

[Massacure]

1. How does a teacher get $100,000 a year?

Why do government workers get $200,000+? People in the U.S. senate and house don't even get $150,000.

[Nevernose]

2. Administrators

Superintendents, ass't superintendents, other high-level muckity-mucks. Even high-school principals make a hundred grand and up.

A high-school principal in neighboring Nevada (I don't know anything about the CA payscale) makes from 110-140k a year. And they deserve that kind of money. Running a large urban high-school is like running a small city; you're directly responsible for 3-5,000 of other people's children as well as 3-500 employees; you work 12 hours a day, six or seven days a week, 358 days out of the year.

[BeyondGeography]

4. Nobody "deserves" that kind of money

It's what they negotiated. And the fact they got it means that successive generations won't get anywhere near that much.

Government pensions are the biggest liability on the books. Government employees have all sorts of ways to artificially bulk up their pensions (excessive overtime, last-year promotions), which are often based on their final year's salary. The argument used to be that they make an enormous sacrifice by devoting their lives to public service, and that this is offset by job and retirement security. This is outdated thinking.

The private sector offers job and retirement insecurity. Yes, a certain percentage make out like bandits, but most of us are left with shaky 401k's and no idea where our money and health insurance is going to come from when we get older.

If this article is any indication, public-sector pensions are going to come under the microscope. The happy solution would be to strike a balance between public- and private-sector pensions, restoring some defined retirement benefit to all employees, in addition to social security. I'm not holding my breath.

[juajen]

5. Aw, come on. This is California

One $150,000 yearly salary in California equals $60,000 to $75,000 here in Lafayette. I am not sure why this is breaking the bank, since the taxes they pay are proportionate.

[bemildred]

3. Why, that's over a billion dollars a year.

A small fraction of what the prisons cost.
A small fraction of what was stolen during the energy crisis,
following Pete Wilson & Co.s "energy deform" initiative.

McClintock is an asshole, and until they are willing to stop
throwing everybody in jail and fix the tax system they can
all kiss my ass with this whining about retirees and their
pensions.