What would you say if your boss wanted to dip into your retirement savings to make building repairs, but assured you the money would be there when you needed it?
You'd be rightly skeptical. More likely, you'd find a good lawyer.
Now, put yourself in the shoes of Michigan's school employees, whose retirement plans are being targeted again as a source of funding to fix the roads. Being told that some lawmakers want to stretch out pension payments to fix potholes rings the same to Michigan's dedicated educators as it would to any other worker.
The so-called Pensions for Potholes scheme would saddle taxpayers with as much as $23 billion in long-term costs, prompting conservative economist Patrick Anderson to call it irresponsible.
What's more, it's not just taxpayer money this scheme risks. School employees put more than a half-billion dollars per year into the Michigan Public School Employees Retirement System (MPSERS) — in 2018 alone, more than $603.7 million came directly from the paychecks of teachers and other school employees.
So, what do educators think of when politicians plot to reamortize MPSERS, generating that same half-billion per year for roads? That money may as well come directly from their paychecks — checks that are too small to begin with, according to growing volumes of research about the teacher shortage.
Michigan's dedicated educators deserve better than to be treated as an ATM for politicians. We need real revenue solutions to fix our crumbling infrastructure and properly fund our schools — not more shell games and gimmicks like Pensions for Potholes.
Paula Herbart is Michigan Education Association president.
"Opinion" - Google News
February 08, 2020 at 02:21AM
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Opinion: Educators shouldn't be an ATM for politicians - Crain's Detroit Business
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