Public Pensions and common sense

I'm going to try and make this as simple as possible.

We all know that the cost of operating a government is enormous. The number of jobs needed to sustain a government is a large number.

What we generally don't know is how much is paid to government employees after they retire.

I have never seen a list showing what public pension funds pay to various retirees.

I have heard rumors. Everyone seems to know someone who knows someone who receives retirement benefits that almost equal their actual pay.

I've even heard rumors about certain government retirees who make more than they did while working because they had multiple pensions....such as an elected official who held several elected positions.

I know you've heard those rumors also.

The truth is we don't know the truth and I think that's what is happening with all the fuss in Wisconsin.

The fuss in Wisconsin will soon become the fuss in AMERICA.

PENSION REFORM must be addressed and as that happens the moaning and groaning will turn into bitching and yelling and then that will turn into gathering and protesting and then maybe the rest of us will actually learn the real numbers.

We've all heard the rumors about firemen and police officers who manipulate their final years of work in order to receive a much higher monthly pension.

RUMORS need to turn into actual facts. It's hard to investigate the reality of the PENSION situation because there are so many variables involved.

It's like we might be able to understand all the complexities if they created a PENSION REALITY TELEVISION SHOW.

"PENSION PLAN REVELATION" Wen 8pm NBC

Somehow the actual facts need to be revealed on how much people receive from PUBLIC PENSION FUNDS.

THOSE FUNDS ARE BEING PAID BY TAX DOLLARS.

SOMEONE WHO MADE $75,000 A YEAR WHILE WORKING AND WHO NOW GETS $60,000 A YEAR RETIRED, COULD NOT POSSIBLY HAVE PAID ENOUGH TO GET THAT KIND OF REWARD.

THE NUMBERS ARE OUT OF WHACK.....
OR THE RUMORS ARE OUT OF WHACK.

THE TRUTH NEEDS TO BE LEARNED....and common sense needs to be applied.

And while I'm addressing common sense......why doesn't the amount of money spent in IRAQ and AFGHANISTAN ever get mentioned when talking about excessive government spending?

I tried to keep it simple but now I've brought up the elephant in the room.

Oh well....let's try to learn the truth about pensions before we try to understand the military complex.

Michael Timothy McAlevey