Jackson Jambalaya

Yay, property tax hikes soon to follow

Today is the day is sucks to be on THAT board.

The Ponzi is collapsing from its own weight.

The barbers stand at the ready to put an end to this pension fund economic tyranny.

Gotta hand it to McRae for speaking up when all the others heretofore have pretended a problem didn't exist though they've known damn well PERS is about to blow big chunks.

But to be considered a serious leader McRae needs to propose substantial reforms that will be unpopular with the greedy retirees. That will take some big stones.

If only PERS could get some of that TANF money..... Perhaps they should start a volleyball program.

They are gutless, irresponsible & derelict to not start to reform the pay out formulas for the future. No one wins if the system implodes. These guys remind me of Washington. And that is sad.

@5:11- “Greedy retirees” don’t set the rules for PERS.We just cash our 13 th checks and sing Merry Christmas. Jealously is a terrible thing to waste.

Other than simply “no,” what was the alternate proposal for the stability of PERS offered by McRae, Graham and Dale? To not offer alternatives for stability is as irresponsible as I’m sure they feel is the increase. I’m a PERS retiree. Would a TEMPORARY suspension of the COLA make a significant difference? Certainly, increases in contribution rates cannot continue indefinitely.

So the payers of property taxes will get hit with a 5% increase, meanwhile the level of lack of service from government employees will remain the same.

With the employees putting in 11% or whatever and state/cities/counties putting in 22.4%, meaning that an equivalent of 33% of an employees check goes to retirement, that somethign is F'd up with the retirement system.

The pension system should be replaced. I don't put that much into retirement across my 401k and Roth Ira amd yet when I pulled out what I had 4 Yeats ago it has about quadrupled (pulled out about 14k working for the state for 4 years. My 401k sits at about I UT 60k now. And I only contribute 7% (6% match) and max out Roth contributions yearly. I've got about 110k total. Amd I'm only 35.

From a total dollars contributed perspective the average PERS salary being less than McDonald's pays probably doesn't help.

I live in Jackson, EVEN MORE property taxes are not an option. I got my property tax bills today. I'm paying $400 for a vacant lot in a deteriorating area of south Jackson. The tax on my early 1970's 3/2 ranch home with foundation problems is $1800. The car tags are so ridiculous I won't mention them.

This may be the straw that breaks Jackson's back and tips it into insolvency. The few remaining payers (like me) are ready to throw in the towel and increase the amount of abandoned, tax delinquent property. We've had enough!!!

The PERS model is NOT sustainable! Look at the trajectory! To floor the gas pedal as the car runs into the ditch is SO irresponsible. The beneficiaries are going to have to accept some changes, otherwise the system will collapse just as every Ponzi scheme does.

Right now, it's salvageable... with some adjustments. Wait another couple of years and it may not be.

DAVID BLOUNT you're my senator. MAN UP. Be a leader. Your constituents CANNOT bear even greater confiscatory taxes, especially in light of the ever-more-failing services.

Please pray that I have running and drinkable water for Christmas. That I pay a PREMIUM for.

I probably won't.

The retirees get no say so in the system. You can make a change or opt out and have to put in 8 years to be vested.

Damn! and I wish my 401K gave me a 13th check or mandated my employer increase their contribution when the market sucked. Maybe the current Resident can make that happen federally. Reckon uncle Bennie would support that?

5:37, something is F'd up with this. The vast majority of defined benefit plans failed long ago yet governments, who can either print money or legally force the collection of it, are the only sponsors who continue this insanity. The numbers in these plans will never look good and they will continue until the economy severely tanks. On the other hand, municipalities and counties can opt out of PERS.......gotta wonder if any are thinking about that.

Does this mean, after all of these years, I might have to go out and get a real job?

Just the first of many obstacles for the State to fully consider before doing away with individual income taxes. These times are crazy-volatile.

FYI to a couple of previous commenters, two of the ten PERS board members are PERS-covered retirees, elected by retirees.

At least this finally seems to be coming to a head. They’ve played dumb on this for too long, it’s past time to make some changes.

has anyone asked how much PERS would save by eliminating the 13th check? Why is this not an option? Most of state employees are state employees because they can’t get hired on in the private sector so you really shouldn’t be afraid of people leaving public workforce

Tell Chris Graham to fix the ABC….said every restaurant and package store in our great state. Quit opining on issues you have no clue about. Wait…..

McRae has ambitions on higher office and so is starting to court the crazies on the right. Graham is a Tater Tot and therefore does and says whatever Tater tells him.

Like previous rate hikes the republican regime in the Legislature will tell the state agencies to absorb the increase even though Tater brags about having a $2.5 billion surplus.

Ouch! That's going to put a dent in the surplus, and the tax cut.

Maybe the state can automate more jobs?

The 13th check or 12 checks - it's the same amount! Some opt to get the 13th check to have money for the holidays. They get less in the 12. GEEZ.

If this was a private sector pension plan, it would be under investigation. Ponzi schemes are illegal, yet the state runs one and charges agencies a Godfather tax with no say so.

So, you will get no replacements for retirees and no new hires to cover the gap in the budgets.

I’ve got a possible solution.

Change retirement from years of service to age to receive full retirement from PERS. 65

State and federal can start work at 22 serve 25 or 30 and “retire” and receive full retirement, or be rehired by same place on “contract” basis to do the same job while getting full retirement.

I’ve never understood how Government employees retirement systems under both state and federal were sustainable doing this, oh wait, they aren’t.

Could anyone breakdown how PERS calculates earnings for retirement?

Unless it becomes law that immoral politicians can’t make promises to write checks into the future that their immoral a___s won’t have to cash, catastrophes like the state retirement program will continue. This mess was created by politicians that aren’t being called out today, but should be, even the ones that are no longer in office. How about a roll call of all politicians that voted for this Ponzi scheme scam?

6:02 AM is spot on; it’s a Ponzi scheme that would result in jail time for the private sector but politicians keep buying votes with fat cat promises that private sector constituents end up having to write checks for later on.

We all know which modern history generation was the greatest, and millennials regularly get slammed for being spoiled, but it is without a doubt my/the baby boomer generation that history should record as the sorriest, for throwing morals and simple math out the window and creating these financial disasters that requires theft from others to pay for.

So many aspects of Mississippi governance are either imploding from neglect, or on the verge of collapse.

@ 12/20 9:30

Did you say TWO of TEN are PERS covered? Thanks for the FYI, but how about TEN of TEN? What difference does it make whether two are elected by retirees or ten are appointed or elected by others who are also covered?

Section 27-210-53-101 - Organization of PERS

1. Composition of the Board of Trustees

The Board of Trustees of the Public Employees' Retirement System of Mississippi (PERS Board) was created by legislative enactment in 1952. Membership of the PERS Board is set forth in Miss. Code Ann. § 25-11-15 (1972, as amended) and consists of the following ten (10) representatives:

The state treasurer; one representative who is a member of the System and who is appointed by the Governor; two members elected by state employees; one member elected by county employees; one member elected by municipal employees; one member elected by employees of the State Institutions of Higher Learning; two retirees elected by retired members; and one member elected by employees of the public schools and employees of the public community/junior colleges. Each member fills a term as specified in the statute, generally a six-year term unless the member serves ex officio or is appointed.

7:17, even greater taxes? We’ve been cutting taxes for two decades. I’m not complaining of course but at least get your rants right.

This falls at the feet of the legislative and executive branch. They have known about this problem since the Barbour administration. But they are chicken shit to do something about it. The legislature establishes the payout rules, etc. Your conservative leadership continues to sit on its hands doing nothing.

Too big to fail, besides the taxpayers aren't tapped out, yet. You can't compare his scheme with privately run retirement funds. Private retirement funds have a limited supply of sources to draw from. While in the public sector, as long as you have taxpayers, you have unlimited funds.

Tremendous amount of money can be saved by reevaluating the 13th check system, what was intended as a cost of living increase. Most people don 't really understand how it works- and those that do keep quiet about the issue. The COLA, or 13 th check didn't use to exist. I agree for classroom teachers, secretaries, and state workers, etc that didn't make adequate salaries throughout their careers should be rewarded. And quite frankly, more than those that were administrators , dept heads, etc , that drew higher salaries during their careers..
Principals, Superintendents, asst Principals, Dept Heads, Head coaches, Govt. officials- These people are getting a yearly cost of living increase (13th check) of 20,000.00 plus after just a few years in retirement . And it just- keeps - growing at an astonishing rate- each -and every year- it has nothing to do with yearly increases in cost of living. It is an illogical system created to reward those making the mid to upper salary levels. I wish the facts, and examples of this corrupt system would be publicly posted each year. But it is kept secret - amongst those making huge yearly bonuses- they do not want the taxpayers to know. And there is no elected official that will bring it up - it would be the end of their career.

My suggestion, cut the 13th check. Also go ahead and cut the 12th also. Then maybe some of these life long employees who have actually done very little work over the years can at least learn the basics of economics.

hope i live to see government penisons from federal to county learn the term 'austerity'. Stop the annual 3% or whatever increase and get a fixed defined benefit. Feds funded the teamsters for another decade and many more in waiting. The land of milk and honey.

Oddly enough, those calling PERS a “Ponzi” scheme have not mentioned the greatest Ponzi scheme of them all, the Federal Ponzi scheme that is Social Insecurity. Both are forced upon employees.

Bernie Madoff would be proud of Mississippi right now.

Funny, retirees get 3% raises every single year. Actual employees get maybe a 2% raise once every five years. Retirees should get the same COL adjustment that current employees do. That would make a huge dent in the deficit.

Asking a legit question. Can you change the retirement benefit on currently employed or currently retired PERs members, or would you have to implement changes on new hire/new contracts? I would think the lawsuits would be forthcoming if they tried to change the structure after people had started their employment or are currently receiving benefits.

It would be a disaster if the state defaulted on its pension obligation. A major cause of this was not funding the obligation in the increase in benefits during the late 90’s early 2000’s. Benefits were increased with no change in funding.

May state employees work for low salaries because the retirement benefit makes up for it. Politicians like this concept because it gives them more cash to spend now with the low salaries and lets them kick the can down the road for the pension benefits. The state has a huge surplus, so the pension plan should be funded. Don’t break the deferred compensation agreement (pension) with the employees. It’s like an employer taking back their matching contributions to an employer’s 401(k) plan just before the employee retires.

I find it rather unusual that all keep saying the legislature should fix this. They're the problem. A fix would affect everyone of them. Has everyone forgotten SLURP? The little door that gave them all access to PERS?

Yes, the system is broken, but the majority of the retirees receiving a 13th check isn't the reason. My spouse retired from the board of health in 2005. 17 years ago. They just received their 13th check. A little over $7000.00. Divide that by 12 months, it amounts to less than $600.00 a month. How many of you complaining are only making $600.00 more a month than you were 17 years ago? Retirees have to live, also.

As with the Jackson sewage problems, Kingfish loves it when his usual turds float to the top talking about state employees not doing any work and all being shovel-leaners who can't find real jobs.

It's a bi-annual contest among knuckle-dragging mouth-breathers to see which one of them can post that nonsense first. Wonder which judge, sheriff, patrolman, school teachers or employees of the House Budget Office he's referencing.

And let's not forget the bench-warmer who shows up at 4:59, as usual, squawking about 'hair cuts'.

At least the chirper who talks about (non-existent) teachers' unions hasn't shown up. Yet.

Reading all the negative comments and down right mean comments about public employees makes the PERS retirees realize why they enjoy their retirement —-they no longer have to put up with insulting jerks that call them names.. Next time you need help don’t call the police or firemen, fix the roads and water breaks yourself, home school your kids, need a judge (just solve it with a duel),stop polluters yourself,don’t need no lieberry(you already know everything) and by all means cancel all the laws. I agree that some government employees are slackers but labeling all of them worthless is shallow . There are some very qualified public servants that stayed on the job when they could have made more in the private sector because they wanted to earn that retirement, that is not bad if you can make it.That 13th check can be bothersome—makes me pay more taxes.

The current state emploees have a legal binding contract with the State of Mississippi. What they can do is to cut out the 13th check with employees that are hired at a future date.

One has to ask if letting PERS dissolve like this isn't by design in some way. I'll bet more than one government stooge has said, "Let it go away, we can't afford it anymore." It appears they're halfway there already without a massive infusion of cash.

@5:11 PM, looks like the greedy retirees have arrived.

I have a question, after reading the news on our great senators from MS voting to pass the spending bill of 1.7 trillion dollars and the people saying a 7000 check is not that much;

What is it at the State government, city or county level and the federal government would you willingly want to spend your money on if you had a choice and were not strong armed into paying your money to the state, local and federal government?

I'll start;

State level:

Prisons
Roads

Local:
Police and Jails
Water
fire
roads
local heath laws (food etc, but really the market and lawyers would work this out without this dept)
Schools should be vouchers to the parents, especially in areas where it is failing year after year after year..after year after year after year. Kind of like football NIL, if your school does a good job kids can bring their NIL (voucher) money with them to the school or school recruit them for the voucher NIL.
Rebates to the people who don't burden the education system with children.

Most Utilities are private and work (unlike the water in some areas) so maybe they could just leave this alone.


Federal;
Border WALL and halting all immigration until we recover economically and get a handle on the ones here illegally already.

Only do what is in article 1 section 8 of the constitution (not the preamble) such as army, navy, post roads etc etc. And follow article 10. I mean in the CR RW and CHS signed you have LDGTBLEA training to the tune of 85 million dollars for some agencies.

Follow the constitution and present an annual 'accounting'(budget) and 'receipts' (audit) to the people and not print us into the 1923 Germany collapse and current Argentina and Brazil for all put into a 4150 page bill that not one person has read much less said WTF?

Just a start, next up.

There is a belief amongst many of a "legally binding contract" with PERS. Well - I'm not part of PERS, but I believe every member should be fully compensated as they have been led to believe. However- when/if the funds aren't available in the future - they are just not going to be available. There is no guarantee. Retirees can sue the State of Mississippi , PERS, or whomever. I'm sorry it just won't do any good.
Other States in the US have had to cut back payments, and lower distributions on State employee retirement benefits in recent years. There is no guarantee unfortunately.
Quite frankly I would suggest any young State employee to try and put aside some funds in an individual IRA- don't rely on a "promise" from the Mississippi government. You may be lead to believe it is legally "binding" and a "contract", but look out for your self. Plan otherwise.

PERS retirees get 3% COLA raises compounded annually, even when the cost of living is zero or negative. Mississippi taxpayers and State employees get tax increases to pay PERS retirees and a subscription to the jelly of the month club! Merry Christmas!

The 13th check is not a "legally binding contract."

It's discretionary.

Actually, 11:47, the COLA (which some erroneously refer to as a 13th check) is NOT discretionary. Please cite your backup for that untrue statement.

There's this: Anonymous said...
PERS retirees get 3% COLA raises compounded annually, even when the cost of living is zero or negative.

Do tell! Can you reference any time in history when COL was zero or negative?

My understanding is that base earned retirement benefits are vested (contractual) and cannot be abrogated in the absence of an imminent state fiscal disaster. The “13th Check,” however, is an intended cost of living adjustment to what was earned as the base, and is NOT itself part of earned retirement, vested or contractual, until it is added into the base each year.. The COL rate therefore can be raised, lowered, paused, or even eliminated, and this would affect the annual “13th Check” payouts of ALL retirees going forward, but would NOT impact the “13th Check” increases from prior years which have already been compounded into their earned, base retirement.

That is my understanding, but I am NOT an authority on this subject and do not pretend to be.

Dec 21 8:18 PM, can you provide names and links to articles of “States in the US (that) have cut back payments, and lowered distributions on State employee retirement benefits in recent years?”

Sorry, but the Un-United States of America is officially in the vote buying phase of this so-called Democracy, so, it is likely a safe bet that even the red state of Mississippi WILL NEVER cut back payments, and lower distributions on EXISTING State retirees.

Cutting back payments and lowering distributions on EXISTING State retirees would equate to complete Armageddon with evil winning and Republicans out of office for at least a generation.

The electorate is too indoctrinated to realize that the money will have to come from somewhere, and that THEY, will eventually have to pay for it. So, kicking the can down the road will win out.

The most recent PPP scam paying rich people with thriving businesses (like government contractors, private schools, etc.) millions of dollars they did not need or deserve, without a peep of outrage at all, proves this beyond any shadow of any doubt.

from pewtrusts.org

"Among 30 states with declines since 2007, the greatest drops were in New Mexico (-2.4 percentage points), South Carolina (-2.1 points), North Carolina (-1.5 points), Florida (-1.2 points), and Missouri and Wisconsin (both -1.1 points)."

@3:51am, cost of living was negative -0.36% in 2009 and 0.12% in 2015. Cost of living has been much less than 3% in the vast majority of years the last quarter of century. But don’t let facts get in the way of your argument that a fixed 3% compounded COLA is due PERS retirees every year who don’t even pay Mississippi state income tax on their retirement benefits.

You can trace most of the problems back to 1999 when the economy was doing great and PERS was flush with cash. The funding percentage was around 98%. Rather than be happy with things going well, the legislature decided to increase benefits substantially. Anywhere from 6% to 15% depending on how long a person has worked. And to make it worse, they applied it retroactively to all former retirees too. When the bottom dropped out after the dot-com bust in 2020 they did nothing to reduce the costs, and that has lead directly to where we are now.

@ 8:23, you misunderstood the point. Some commenters were saying that PERS retirees have no say in the system. The point was that retirees do have a say, by electing two of the board members as their representatives on the board.

And to the guy who said "Most of state employees are state employees because they can’t get hired on in the private sector,"
Well you, sir, are a moron and couldn't get hired to pick up trash on the road.

December 22, 2022 at 4:33 PM
As a former state employee there are two types of state employees: the ones that would not last in a private sector job and the ones with golden handcuffs (though there's a lot less now that they changed from 25 t0 30 year retirement). But I did see one with golden handcuffs leave and go private sector.

7:34 - I notice you said, 'former state employee', not 'retired state employee'. Any chance you quit as soon as you noticed your employer didn't think quite as highly of your talents as you did?

Lots of former state employees entered the portal as soon as they were put on the bench.

PS: Using your definition, which type were YOU?

Please describe being "put on the bench"....

Why cant/wont state just change law to be effective Jan 1, 2025 that all new PERS eligible hires will have defined contribution plan and not defined benefit plan? Make it market based not the scam it is now? Clearly not working. Govt be better off by doing a 1:1 match into 403b type plan. Match up to 5% or so rather than the EE % + ER%. Think PERS may be more investor consultant friendly also.

Like most Mississippians, I have friends, family, and neighbors drawing state retirement and planning to draw it. I expect almost all of them would squall if that 13th check were greatly reduced or eliminated, but that’s the answer to the funding crisis. Retiring at 50 or 55 and living to 80 or 90 makes the system unsustainable.

Since our elected representatives care more about holding on to their power than about being responsible, I would be shocked if they manned up and did what needs to be done. The only way this will change is for those of us in the private sector to raise enough hell and vote out the do nothings who refuse to fix this. Maybe when people realize that their taxes going up is due to PERS, something will change.

I don’t begrudge any individual for drawing all they can get, but these retirees need to be made to understand that it has always been a Ponzi scheme and that they will have to accept some cuts if they want the system to remain viable. I would also suggest a modification to the retirement age. Most folks in the private sector cannot afford to retire as early as folks on PERS do. If the system is financially able to afford it, I don’t have an issue with it. What I do have a problem with is my taxes going up so folks who are still relatively young and healthy can quit work and have fun for 30 years while I’m having to subsidize their golden years. The funding of Social Security is all of this situation I can stomach.

"If this was a private sector pension plan, it would be under investigation. Ponzi schemes are illegal, yet the state runs one and charges agencies a Godfather tax with no say so."

There you go again with that nucking futs comment. A ponzi is an illegal scheme designed to benefit its creator at the expense of its participants. The PERS retirement system (along with its periodic changes) was not designed to fail, and, in fact did quite well for many years and will again. The question is when. Quit with your idiot parroting of the same tired old yack.

I'm sure you're aware that when a school district decides to increase taxes and makes that decision within the parameters of state law, neither the taxing authority nor YOU 'have any say so' other than to pay the increase.

Using your weak logic, Social Security is also a Ponzi scheme. And so are the retirement plans operated by many employers, particularly in the manufacturing sector, union and otherwise. Not all employers participate in 401(k) plans while many have both a defined benefit pension plan and a 401(k) plan.

I retired with a PERS retirement, a deferred compensation plan, an employer sponsored 401(k) plan AND a guaranteed, defined benefit retirement plan offered by a private sector corporation-as well as social security. Knuckleheads like you love to take pot shots while shooting blanks.

'Anonymous David Blount is USELESS said...The Ponzi is collapsing from its own weight. The barbers stand at the ready to put an end to this pension fund economic tyranny.'

Do you mind if I ask...Is ignorance painful or simply blissfully euphoric?

has any other news outlet reported this?

Nope. Media can't be bothered.

Good thing I videotaped it. Someone would come on here saying I was lying about it.

"Please describe being "put on the bench". December 23, 2022 at 1:11 PM"

Sure. Being put on the bench in this context means never being assigned a supervisory role, being assigned only perfunctory duties, being number 4 in a 3-deep backup plan, not being named in a company or agency succession plan, given no speaking part, being given no demonstrable or critical role in the agency's mission. In short, back-benched, not thought of as having potential for advancement. A bad hire...next up to be put on a performance improvement plan.

I would bet my considerably large rear end that the Legislature will attempt to stop the increase. I’m not sure they possess the statutory authority to do so, but they won’t let a thing like that stop them from trying.

However; give the PERS Board a slight pass. They have no authority to reduce/alter benefits. The only choice they have for viability is to request more income.

What is needed is a review of the plan and realistic suggestions, which probably include reduced benefits, to return to strength. Of course, the first suggestion might involve SLRP 😂. Other items for discussion should include modification of COLA, service credit percentage and the ‘high four’ rule. You might note the Legislature, not the PERS Board, increased these benefits, not that many years ago.

@1:11 - 3:37 here: I didn't mean to confuse you with the term succession plan since you've never heard of it. In football terminology, like being on the bench, it's sort like a three-deep quarterback chart. The fourth guy enters the portal like the guy @ 7:34 who refers to himself as 'a former state employee'.