Sacramento – California’s growing pension liability is threatening California’s economic future, unless elected leaders show the courage to take on needed reforms, according to Sen. Steve Glazer, D-Orinda, and Assemblywoman Catharine Baker, R-Dublin, who will kick off their 2018 Bipartisan Speaker Series on the topic on Monday, January 22.
On hand will be pension expert David Crane, president of Govern for California, whose mission is to support legislators willing to tackle tough fiscal issues. Crane, also a Stanford lecturer in public policy, will speak on the economic stresses that California faces with its growing pension liabilities.
“As pension liabilities continue to soar, California faces a looming fiscal crisis that could cripple California’s ability to offer basic services,” Glazer said. “This is the sleeper issue of our time, and if we don’t act on it, we will be forced to make budgetary decisions that will create extreme hardships on families across the state.”
Baker added: “Our pension system is already crowding out essential government services, and threatening our future financial health. It is our duty to put politics aside, and find a long-term solution while economic times are better. We should not kick the can down the road, and wait until economic times are worse, and the crisis deeper.”
Over the last two years, Sen. Glazer and Assemblywoman Baker have held more than a dozen bipartisan town hall meetings in an effort to break down partisan barriers to arrive at common sense solutions to California’s problems.
- What: Pension Reform – Bipartisan Speaker Series
- Senator Steve Glazer and Assemblywoman Catharine Baker
- Date: Monday, January 22, 2018
- Time: 6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
- Citizen participation: Q & A after presentations
- Where: San Ramon City Hall, Council Chamber, 7000 Bollinger Canyon Road, San Ramon
2 comments
I can understand being concerned about the pressures on the state’s budget but with record receipts could it be the cost of Brown’s High speed Train with its billions in overruns and the cost of being a sanctuary state and extending so many benefits including tuition in colleges to people here illegally could be the reason for the pressures on our budget? Why cut the pensions of those CITIZENS who have served the people of the state for decades. I feel this is a politically motivated decision intended to pander to Democratic groups like those who support illegal immigrants while targeting employees known to be more conservative such as police and fire. Its unfortunate but true that things can always get worse, esp in The People’s Socialist republic of California.
Who will be financing those fat pensions when many of the well-heeled Californians keep leaving the state? Public employees are now unionized and are getting salaries larger than most in the private sector. Look at what BART employees are paid for doing NOTHING! And, they insist on more and more raises! Let public employees save more of their high salaries to help finance their retirement.
By the way, if our country is attacked … no one will be getting any pensions! Look at what happened in other countries during wartime. You live on what you managed to sock away in your mattress.
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