The Briar Patch of Pension Reform

All you have to know about the just-passed Pension Reform bill to judge it a bad law is who is praising it.

State government employee unions and the Pennsylvania State Education Association applauded the vote.

PSEA president James P. Testerman said the bill "resolves the pension crisis in a responsible manner and over time will save the taxpayers billions of dollars. It also keeps the promise of a secure retirement for current and future workers."

Baloney. Without further changes the system will require massive tax increases in future years to pay for benefits for public employees that private sector workers can only dream about.

Disappointed with the bill were advocates real reform, such as the Commonwealth Foundation.

"We attempted to bring fiscal sanity to the pension discussion, but the reality was that self-interested unions were successful in drowning out the voice of the taxpayers," said Matthew J. Brouillette, president and CEO of the Commonwealth Foundation. "Despite arguments to the contrary, this bill didn't 'save' the taxpayers any money. Taxes will still be going up with this 'reform' next year—$646M more just to pay for PSERS and SERS—and every year thereafter. But it did prevent moving new employees into a Defined Contribution plan—a major victory for labor unions like PSEA, AFSCME and SEIU."