Category: Government workers and pensions
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In Defense of McDonnell’s VRS Reforms
by James A. Bacon Yesterday I referred to Gov. Bob McDonnell as an “incrementalist reformer.” That’s not entirely fair. Some of his reforms come in pretty big increments, like his proposal to put the Virginia Retirement System back on a sound actuarial basis. If he can get his plan enacted over the inevitable objections of…
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Rebuilding the Nest Egg
Gov. Bob McDonnell is tackling the under-funding of the Virginia Retirement System by proposing the largest employer contribution in state history. His proposed biennial budget will recommend a total of $2.2 billion in employer contributions by state and local governments in addition to fully funding the next installments of the 10-year payback of previously deferred…
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State Pension Liabilities Still Growing
Despite lower wages and salaries, the commonwealth of Virginia’s employee compensation package remains marginally competitive (defined as 90% or more of private-sector compensation), thanks to superior retirement benefits. But that fat retirement plan may not count for much if employees regard it as hopelessly under-funded and question whether they will receive the promised benefits. Between…
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Elephants Squeak By
By Peter Galuszka Virginia’s Republicans failed to replicate their national party’s success in last year’s mid-term national elections and barely squeaked by to win both houses of the state General Assembly. The 20-20 split in the state Senate hung on a spare 222 votes in a Spotsylvania County race. By conceding his election race Democratic…
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The Wonk Salon, November 10, 2011
Teacher Evaluations: No More “Culture of Nice“ American Enterprise Institute Something’s wrong with teacher evaluation systems that rate 97% of all teachers satisfactory or good. It’s time to find ways to rate the quality of the teaching, not the quality of the teacher. How to Recruit More Minority Teachers Center for American Progress Minority students…
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The Wonk Salon, November 9, 2011
Linking Databases to Spur Educational Reform Education Sector By linking school, college and workforce databases, the federal Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems initiative has awarded $515 million to help states divine how well schools are preparing graduates for college and the workforce. Income Tax as Tool of Crony Capitalism John Locke Foundation North Carolina’s corporate tax…
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The Wonk Salon, November 1, 2011
A Modest Proposition: Treat College Students as Customers Center for American Progress Too many students fail to graduate from college, and among those who do, too many fail to acquire marketable skills. It’s a wild and crazy idea, but maybe colleges should make students their central focus. Teachers Paid 52% above Fair Market Value Heritage…
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The Wonk Salon, October 18-19, 2011
Dealing with Diversity in Virginia Center for American Progress Think tank sponsors roundtable discussion about increasing ethnic diversity in Northern Virginia. Government Workers Are Almost as Unprepared for Retirement as the Rest of Us Center for Retirement Research Thanks to generous pension benefits, state and local government workers tend to be less unprepared financially for…
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The Wonk Salon, September 23, 2011
Comparing Public- Vs. Private-Sector Compensation: Private Wins by a Hair Boston Center for Retirement Research Private-sector workers earn about 9.5% more than state-local government workers with comparable skills. If benefits are included, total compensation is just about equal on a national level. Immigration Assimilation: It Takes Two to Tango Center for American Progress Historically, Americans…
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Killing Virginia’s Golden Goose
By Peter Galuszka Will Virginia end up killing the goose that has laid its golden egg? With apologies to Aesop, it is the most pressing economic question the Old Dominion faces. The golden egg, of course, is the federal government whose jobs continually prop up the state work rolls and help the flow of state…
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Tax the Rich!
By Peter Galuszka One the recurring themes of James A. Bacon, the Bacon-In-Chief, and his Baconauts, is that while the vast, unwashed masses of Americans must endure cutbacks in their lifestyles and spending to prevent “Boomergeddon,” the rich are strangely left out of the equation. Keep in mind that in the past 30 years, the…
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Forget FOREX, VRS’ problem is with active management
by Norm Leahy The headline news is that Virginia and Florida are suing Bank of New York Mellon for “…cheat[ing] pension funds in those states by choosing improper prices for currency trades the bank processed for the funds. But the real headline story that, so far, I’ve only seen posted here, is how Virginia’s public…