Shafting The "Select Few"

Admittedly, the past can’t always accurately predict the future but unfortunately it’s all we have got to work with.

An average teacher at the top of the salary guide in 1990 was making about $55,000 per year. Let us assume that he/she retired in 1990 at the age of sixty. If he/she started immediately after being graduated from college his/her years of teaching would be about 35. Doing some rough calculations his pension would be $35,000 (assuming the full benefits were taken without survivor benefits).

In 2014 this person would be 84. During his/her retirement inflation (as seen by the accompanying charts) has risen by an accumulated 81.64%. This means if the COLA was not in effect during this period,  the real value of the pension would have  been reduced to $18,900 (more than cut in half).

Now, it appears that “The Governor” wants to renege on his pension reform agreement which eliminated the COLA and raised contribution rates and retirement age requirements. I am sure that more tinkering will result in further loss of pension benefits even beyond what inflation will cost.

His statement “we will miss the opportunity to improve the lives of every New Jersey citizen, not just a select few” is infuriating.

Does he mean the “select few” that have faithfully made pension payments during their entire working lives while the State reneged on its part?

Does he mean the “select few” who have educated New Jersey children (including him) year after year and decade after decade?

Does he mean the “select few” that relied on the integrity of the State to fulfill its contract with them?

Does he mean the “select few” that he has chosen to demonize, bully and degrade because they failed to support his political campaigns?

PS - Speaking of a “select few” read my preceding article “George Orwell Again? - Sunday, February 23, 2014 ” and you decide who the “select few” really are!!