Will Brownsberger — State Senator, Democrat, 2d Suffolk and Middlesex District

While I voted against the gambling bill, I think that we got a number of other good things done in this session. The biggest may be the redistricting plan which has been widely praised for the increase it creates in the number of districts from which minority candidates may potentially be elected.

The day before the final day of the 2011 session the House completed work on a number of good bills:

A panel of judges for the Pioneer Institute’s Better Government Competition has awarded me their 2011 First Prize for my pension reform proposal.

The inter-generational fairness of the public pension system depends on the investment return assumption used in planning. This post collects resources on this subject.

Today, NYT: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/02/business/02leonhardt.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=leonhardt&st=cse .  Summary: it’s not the pay, it’s the pension and disability benefits.  And the work rules. Recently, Fortune/CNN: http://management.fortune.cnn.com/2011/02/28/are-public-unions-our-convenient-economic-scapegoats/?section=magazines_fortune . Summary: the unions are (generally) not the cause. Neither article supports the current moves to strip unions of the right to strike and/or engage in collective bargaining.  

“…the current [pension] shortfall is attributable to the recent stock market plunge…” Hmm…first of all, the S&P 500 has doubled from its March 2009 low and is now within 40 points of its all time high (1,565 on Oct. 9, 2007).  So we are past the plunge. Second, the problem of poor returns now stretches [...]

During my recent re-election campaign, I made public employee benefit reform a high priority and, having been reappointed to the public service committee, I’ll be working hard on the issue. Ongoing input will be much appreciated.

Via Brad Delong‘s blog: http://www.cepr.net/index.php/publications/reports/the-origins-and-severity-of-the-public-pension-crisis It argues, roughly, that the current shortfall is attributable to the recent stock market plunge, that pension funds, because of their size and long-term outlook, need not and should not invest like individuals, and that the size of the shortfalls, as a share of future state receipts, is not that alarming. [...]

Will Brownsberger’s recent posts and proposed  ideas illustrate what a thoughtful legislators does; research, consult, publicly debate and propose. He is one of the good ones. While I would go in the direction of getting the state out of the retirement business, Will is attempting to lead reform that would reshape the pension system and [...]

It’s time to eliminate half-price sales of pension benefits for special employee groups.

Given the controversy about public employee benefits, it is important to get a clear picture of how public retirement benefits compare to private retirement benefits. In a nutshell, they are much richer.

Financial pressures and equity considerations require that the state rethink how it provides retirement security. Under the Massachusetts constitution, major changes could only be applied to new employees. An important first question in thinking through change options for new employees is: What does federal law require the state to provide to employees?

I draw your attention to the streets of Paris, this from the lead paragraph in an article in the10/13  WSJ – ” PARIS—French unions brought more than a million people into the streets Tuesday and vowed to press on with more strikes to protest President Nicolas Sarkozy’s plans to lift the retirement age, a measure [...]

from the centrist New York Times op-ed columnist David Brooks: this is a problem coming to Massachusetts as well. If not dealt with soon,  we will see the same social dislocation that is being seen in Greece, Spain, CA, NY and NJ. Op-Ed Columnist The Paralysis of the State By DAVID BROOKS Published: October 12, [...]

There’s a thoughtful discussion on On Point today about how to handle guaranteed pensions in the face of economic volatility: http://www.onpointradio.org/2010/07/pension-crisis They touch on pensions’ contributions towards budget deficits, how some public employees game their respective systems, and how public salaries differ from private salaries.  It’s worth a listen if you’re interested in the issue.

Will, There was an article in Saturday’s NYT entitled “In Budget Crisis States Take Aim at Pension Costs“.  It quotes a pension expert who finds that states like Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana and New Jersey are less than 10 years from exhausting their pension funds. However, as the article says “…paying public pensions straight out of [...]

In response to a proposal initially made by the Arlington teachers’ union, and after considerable consultation with many affected parties and experts, the members of the Arlington legislative delegation (Senator Donnelly, Reps. Garballey and Kauffman and myself) have developed and committed to support the amendment appearing below to the municipal relief bill. It will be [...]

Further below see a proposal made by the Arlington Education Association for an early retirement incentive ERI for teachers. I think this concept deserves some careful study.