Jackson Jambalaya

They put way too much emphasis on Veterans Day! Most people who joined never fought in a war. The majority joined because they weren't college material and couldn't find a job.

Priority: Protect my job regardless if my job is an appropriate, efficient, or necessary expenditure of the money of the working people of Mississippi. Prevent the Governor's Takeover: Because we resent the representatives of the taxpayers of Mississippi having a voice in the way things are run. What a bunch of welfare queens and kings.

@9:38 must be about 12 years old and that's why he's totally unaware that the vast majority of war time veterans were DRAFTED without any regard whatsoever for their DESIRE to enlist. And he obviously never went through any basic military training - or he'd know just how easy it is to flunk out. The very idea that ANYBODY would join the military "because they weren't college material and couldn't find a job" may be the DUMBEST idea I've heard yet.

I've been a state employee for 16 years, yet I have never seen these clowns come around; and I can't seem to find anyone else that has dealt with them either. I wish someone would force them to change their name. It's my understanding that they primarily represent City of Jackson employees. Kingfish, is there a way you could get a breakdown of their actual membership?

9:38 and 9:40....spoken like a couple of " I pay your salary" assholes who want the state to provide services but know no appreciation for government service

Three boys were bragging about their dads.
#1: my dad is so fast, he can shoot an arrow at a target and get there before the arrow does.
#2: my dad is so fast, he can shoot a bullet at a target and get there before the bullet does.
#3: That's nothing. My dad works for the city and even though he gets off work at 5, he is usually home by 3!

State employee here. The union folks don't represent the views of most of the people I know.

Most of the people I talk with want certainty and sustainability, and know the current PERS arrangement doesn't provide that. I personally would be okay with a reasonable increase in contribution, provided it comes with assurance that what I'm owed will be there when I retire.

That said, if the GOP handles this with its customary (of late) ideological overreach, you could see more moderates in the same camp as the MASE folks. In other words, you could be in for a real war.

Using Alaska as a comp, huh? Should we laugh or cry?

This is simple math. Too many retirees given too many extras in good times and not enough state employees to keep pace. You start work at 18 to 22 and retire at 43 to 47. Collect until you die at 80. Defined benefits plans need to go and be replaced by 401K like programs immediately. Young people are fleeing the state which only exacerbates the problem.

Political "leadership": Please. Show. Some. Courage. Make a tough call and don't be intimidated by the Blue Hair Brigade. The future of Mississippi is watching you.

Government workers, paid by taxpayers, should not be allowed to unionize.

@9:50 what draft, the military has been volunteer for over 40 years, it's a shame but 9:38 is correct. Most recuits are clueless after Veitnam it became a day job for most. I served 12years and never saw combat

PERS is a disaster that will happen. The only remaining question is when. The model is so far out of whack it borders on criminal negligence on behalf of the Legislature, Board and Pat Robertson.

10:44,

I don't think the leaders or the public realize what you just said...
"YOUNG PEOPLE ARE FLEEING THE STATE"---My wife and I raised 5 children here in Jackson---four have moved and say that they will never return to live in Mississippi. My fifth child is steady looking for a way out....

WOW what a statement as to what we have created here in Mississippi!!

10:44....yes, I agree. Leadership should show courage in pledgeing to honor the compensation arrangement they made with employees.

Kill PERS for new employees, or modify it. But when folks accept a job they expect the employer to fulfil his side of the bargain. The free market system falls apart if employers are able to arbitratily decide how much to pay people after the work is performed.

I agree that reform is needed. 30+ year retirements are ridiculous. But a 401k is (rightly) a non-starter.

401k's were created as a scheme to shift economic risk from employers to employees, who are in a far worse position to absorb shocks or, frankly, discipline themselves. Their effect on retirement income has been disastrous -- not a political opinion, just a statistical fact.

Worse, every state that has tried defined contribution plans has seen their unfunded liabilities rise, not fall. West Virginia had to abandon their 401k plan in 2008 because they found that reasonable defined benefits were far better at keeping costs down.

Bottom line: The average size of a 401k at retirement in 2012 was less than $25,000. You can't retire on that. That's why state employees view defined benefits as the number one incentive for their jobs. I know MSGOPers get aroused thinking about attacking government in any form, but if you want marginally competent cops and teachers, a 401k and a $30k salary will ensure you don't have them.

You have to pay to play.

Increase contributions and extend date benefits are paid to 65.

No more 50 year old state retirees sucking on trough for 30 plus years.

We also need competent medical employees and state government administrative employees in addition to cops and teachers.

Not sure how they think Alaska is an important comparison.
Idiots

Make local districts partially cover the cost of matching contribution. See what happens to their S100Ms in reserve funds then.

@11:17 That sounds like a great start to me. Effective July 1, 2018 all new employees get a 401K with a state match. We've been talking about PERS since Frank the Freak from New Mexico ran it into the ground 20 years ago.

Invest it conservatively (I'm looking at you @11:22) and you will beat PERS promises.

1:42 is an example of GOP magical thinking.

401k's have failed in every state where they've been tried. Unfunded costs go up, retirement savings go down.

But 1:42 handwaves decades of empirical data away with "invest it conservatively" and things will somehow magically work differently this time.

This is how Kansas got where it is. It's how the Taters and Rush Limbaugh listeners of the world think.

Cut out the 13th check for anyone not retired by July 1, 2018. It would be political suicide to cut it out for current retirees, so just do it for upcoming ones.

For the "AK" as Alaska comparison, I think they intended to compare Arkansas, or AR.

Just from looking at Louisiana, Tennessee, Alabama as border states, I pretty sure they meant Arkansas.

Even comparing those states is a little skewed. Yes, we're all neighbors, but look at the populations of each:

Mississippi 2,988,062
Arkansas 2,998,643
Louisiana 4,694,372
Alabama 4,872,725
Tennessee 6,707,332

Mississippi and Arkansas are pretty close, but not the other states. There is much more population and in turn more money in play.

Nope, 2:23pm. Personally not a fan of ideologically-driven government espoused by Reeves or Limbaugh. I like ideas that solve problems. Raising taxes or cutting other agencies to cover the PERs balance year after year after year after year isn't sustainable. BTW, Kansas still has a deferred benefit system called KPERS so not sure about your correlation.

Would love to hear your revenue neutral idea for solving the problem.

4:16 -- Solution: You're eligible for benefits when you (a) have sufficient years; and (b) turn 65. Want to quit before then? Awesome! Have fun with your new job. We'll see you when you turn 65!

As a state employee I'm happy to discuss changes to PERS the legislative session after they address SLRP and MHSPRS. Leadership starts at the top.

"Cut out the 13th check for anyone not retired by July 1, 2018."

3:42 posted that suggestion.

Tell that to your wife if she's been teaching public school scholars for 40 years and plans to retire in 2020.

Looks to me like somebody wants to unionize City of Jackson Employees.

@ 10:58 - I know there hasn't been a draft in 40 years. That's why I CLEARLY said "wartime veterans". But a WHOLE LOT of the people who were drafted when the draft was still in effect (as in "Vietnam Vets") are STILL AROUND toaday. THEY are a large part of who we honor on Veteran's Day. Further, just because YOU never saw combat doesn't mean that nobody else did. News Flash: Even though there has been no draft in 40 years, enlisted men and women (the ones the juvenile poster claims to have joined only because they are too incompetent to do anything else) are STILL going into war zones. The are STILL dying in service to our country. The STILL deserve as much recognition as we can possibly give them....contrary to what the juvenile may think about the importance of Veteran's Day.

10:48, I agree with you, but you understand that MASE is not actually a labor union as the term is commonly used...