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San Diego City Employees pension fund ailing
Penetrating and exciting...where's Fumbar when we need him. I think it time for some relief, comic or otherwise. But then again this thread is closing in on 500 responses.— January 20, 2009 12:14 p.m.
San Diego City Employees pension fund ailing
All I can say about comments #449 to 475 is W-o-W... except of course for Mr/Ms XRAY's... who, if you'll pardon the pun has clear vision and deep insights.— January 20, 2009 9:35 a.m.
Union-Tribune Slashing Wages and Benefits, Warning of More Staff Reductions
....[the] 1970's (when I was in K-6) and today. =============================================== If that ain't the biggest whopper I heard this year.... careful you're giving Pinnochio some major competition... but you're in luck, there will probably be some bigger ones tomorrow, Jan. 20th, coming from the area of the Potomac....— January 19, 2009 7:15 p.m.
Union-Tribune Slashing Wages and Benefits, Warning of More Staff Reductions
LOL— January 19, 2009 7:09 p.m.
San Diego City Employees pension fund ailing
Hmmmm I'm just wondering what Bill Gates was getting paid with his HS Diploma. He never graduated from college? He holds no official degree. Oh sure he has some honorary degrees now...probably because of the honorarium he's bestowed on higher institutions of learning. All of the regulars here GET IT Johnny. You're upset because you spent a boatload of cash, probably went deeeeeeeep into debt with student loans and now you feel under paid, under compensated and unloved for all your hard work. It just gnaws at your soul that some common sensed, hard working Joes, like JF and others make more than you. If "Turko" was in your corner, he be yelling his signature line..."It ain't right!" It may not be right in your mind, but the pay these fellows make meet OUR market demands. For example, my younger brother makes more money than me. But he barely made it out of high school. He works hard, earns commissions, takes good care of his clients and earns additional rewards for doing it. He earns $150K a year and deserves every penny of it. The market for lawyers is a dime a dozen now-a-days. Law schools churn our thousands every year. Most have $$$$ in their eyes and some, the very bright ones, earn it. But I suspect there are plenty of starving attorneys out there competing, and driving down compensation.— January 19, 2009 6:34 p.m.
Union-Tribune Slashing Wages and Benefits, Warning of More Staff Reductions
Don both you and Johnny are showing your age...the bottom line...in San Diego $160K, $260K does buy what it did in the 1970s and 80s when you guys were working in your prime time years. Your perspectives seem to be linked to that era. Heck a average home still costs a bundle. An average new car, not a luxury one costs 25-30K and a half gallon of 2% milk is about $4 bucks at Vons.— January 19, 2009 1:42 p.m.
San Diego City Employees pension fund ailing
No before that there were various multipliers depending on age. Beginning at 2.5% at age 50 and escalating up to 2.99% at age 55 multiplied by the years of service. With no cap so if you decided to work more you'd earn more. In some cases employees retired with greater than 100% of their pay. JF is correct the City proposed DROP as a two fold solution. First it capped retirements at 90% period. 2nd it allowed the city to retain senior employees and their knowledge for up to five more years. If we look at the SDCERS Board of Administration agenda for its January meeting we see the City has 953 employees in DROP. That roughly about 10% of its workforce that it DOES NOT make a contribution to the regular retirement system. Additionally, SDCERS holds $150M in DROP funds for active employees and another $183M in DROP accounts left with the system, or about $333M invested. Johnny argues if we have the benefit of retiring at 50 just take it and go. And Don says 57 it too young and I agree. So Johnny tell me what's the difference between these two scenarios; an employee enters DROP and caps their retirement, but continues working with the City, who no longer contributes to their retirement OR, the employee retires, leaves the city and gets a similar job some place else? Don says it's double dipping. I'll tell you, there's really no difference except the new employer gets the benefit of all those years of experience at no cost whatsoever. Just use Don as an example he retired from his years of service with the U-T and now, I suspect he earns income with freelance writing for The Reader" who gained the years of his experience at no cost to it whatsoever. I think JF called it in comment #433 above where he wrote: "[Johnny] You're so obsessed with my pay and benefits that you actually changed political parties over that one issue. That's completely clouded your thinking to anything but your hatred." JF is also correct when he points out the City's reluctance to hire a mutually acceptable actuary to conduct an unbiased analysis of DROP. One could certainly argue if DROP was such a drain on city resources they'd jump at the chance to prove so the program would be terminated. Do changes need to made to the pension system. YOU BET. The process of change is called meet and confer it happens during labor negotiations the City will begin this years sessions shortly. Let's see what happens.— January 19, 2009 1:18 p.m.
Union-Tribune Slashing Wages and Benefits, Warning of More Staff Reductions
So when the airlines went bankrupt and the Pension Guaranty Corp took their pension system is when the changes occurred to benefits of vested pilots. It sounds like Don should be rooting for someone to buy and take over the UT... If the current trend amongst larger newspapers continues it's only a matter of time before the UT will declare bankruptcy so David can avoid large cash calls and hold onto his lavish lifestyle.— January 16, 2009 2 p.m.
Union-Tribune Slashing Wages and Benefits, Warning of More Staff Reductions
So Don does this mean that you and others who have pensions from the UT could see them altered? Can the UT or maybe its new owners renege on a promised benefit? Or are you insulated from their protracted demise?— January 16, 2009 12:31 p.m.
LA Times Editor Says Online Ad Revenue Enough to Cover Entire Print and Online Payroll
Driven by a 40 percent reduction in advertising since 2006, The San Diego Union-Tribune today (1/16) announced a sweeping cost-reduction plan that will temporarily reduce its top executives' pay, eliminate 401(k) matches, suspend merit-based raises and include unspecified staffing cuts.— January 16, 2009 11:22 a.m.