News from Brownbackistan: Brownback defends using public pension funds to fill Kansas budget hole

[deminks]

http://www.kansas.com/news/politics-government/article4413431.html

Gov. Sam Brownback defended his decision to cut the state’s pension contribution to help fill a $279 million budget hole amid criticism from leaders in his own party Wednesday.

He said using funds from the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System was a way to prevent cuts to K-12 education, higher education and Medicaid, which together make up about two-thirds of the budget.

(snip)

King, who chairs the joint committee on pensions, said in a phone call that Brownback had shown unprecedented leadership on pensions over the past four years but that Tuesday’s move represented a major reversal.

“By raiding the KPERS fund, instead of continuing prudent reform, Governor Brownback is threatening to undo all of the hard-fought gains that we have made,” King said in an additional e-mail.

(end snip)

Most of the GOPer state legis have put in protections against recall for their govs. Kansas is no exception. As I understand, he has to be convicted of a felony first. Many, including the GOPers who supported him, are looking.

[malaise]

1. No taxes for the rich

just loot the pension funds of the poor and middle class.

These criminals should be in prison

[tazkcmo]

2. He'll win another election.

Spent most of my first 14 years of life in Overland Park, KS and am so thankful our family was hated and scorned for being Irish, Catholic and poor. Our mom made our clothes and we had a huge garden and did a lot of canning. Got in a fight almost everyday because of the rich kids picking on us for being poor. I have the utmost confidence in the Kansas majority to fuck themselves yet again.

[Logical]

3. What school district was this??? And what time period? I live there now and raised my.....

Kids there and never saw this.

[hfojvt]

6. no he won't

He is limited to 2 terms as Governor. Of course, he could run for Roberts' seat in 2020. I am not sure the KDP has anybody who could beat him.

According to a recent poll, Republicans have the edge for the legislative races this fall. Right now we do not even have candidates for our local races, not even for the three winnable positions.

[CanonRay]

4. We used to call that "theft"

I guess that an archaic word now.

[summerschild]

5. How can that possibly be legal???

[hfojvt]

8. it's fairly easy

the "pension funds" are money that the state pays in to the fund for state workers and school workers. They have been shorting it for about a decade. (I am not sure about longer since I have only lived here for 14 years).

In the current budget the legislature allocated a certain amount of funds to go to the pension fund - probably still shorting it (in the sense that the worker pays in 6% and the employer is supposed to match that. My guess is that even BEFORE this they were not doing so - when King gives Brownback credit for making the fund more secure. Well, the way they did that (after years of underpaying it) was by increasing the workers' contribution from 4% to 6%. Nice little stealth tax increase that.)

Anyway, the legislature, the House, has passed a bill allowing the Governor to take the funds that were allocated for the pension and instead use them for the General Fund, which keeps coming up short as gas prices go down and as Kansans run to shop in Nebraska, Missouri and Oklahoma to avoid the higher sales taxes that Brownback has foisted on us.

Brownback just wrote an OP-ed in the KC Star saying (contrary to the media naysayers, my tax cuts for the rich ARE working).

[summerschild]

10. Thanks for the response.

I'm so sorry you all are having to put up with this crook!

[dmr]

11. Tax cuts for the rich are working? Does he ever explain how?

I'd like to see him back that statement, and be specific about it.

Robbing from the pensions should be a crime. I thought there were protective safeguards in place.

I wish, wish, wish, Republicans would be challenged when they justify tax breaks for the rich. Specifically challenged & giving specific answers, & then challenged again on their answers.

[hfojvt]

18. he has a certain advantage

his tax cuts passed in 2011.

He credits all of the job from the national economic recovery - to his tax cuts.

Actually a columnist from the KC Star has been blasting him pretty good. He almost did not get re-elected.

The legislature makes their own rules for themselves as far as the pension goes. It is sad that the voters put up with it, but all they can see is party and a large majority of them vote R. The pension also covers city workers, county workers, and water department workers (among others). As our finance person said at a water board meeting - If we (the water department) did not pay the employer contribution part, the state would come down on us, but they don't do it for themselves.

They are supposed to pay the employer match for State workers and for school district workers, but since they make the rules, they have been shorting that amount for years and years and years - even under two terms with a Democratic Governor. Only the voters can hold them accountable.

The voting public is not gonna care, probably for a couple of reasons

1. public sector workers often have better pay than many voters do
2. public sector workers have better retirement benefits than many voters do.

Making $14 or $15 and hour and even having a pension, I cannot go to an $8 wal-mart worker (or McDonalds or Dollar General or a grocery stores, etc.) or a $10 factory worker and expect them to sympathize with me. They sure do not wanna pay higher taxes to fund my pension.

Of course, I am not sure how many of those working class people are even voting.

[dmr]

21. I wish people would undersrand that as benefits & pay keep dwindling

for civil servants, their own pay will never prosper.

Funny how it is. The general public give the rich a pass while they strike out at their civil servants.

Thank you for your explanations. I guess we both have bought & paid for jerks running our states. Mine is Michigan.

[hifiguy]

7. I wonder how he's going to like jail.

How is this not flat-out theft?

[Justice]

9. I have no sympathy for him or the voters in Kansas who reelected him.

[hifiguy]

12. I must agree.

After four years of this incompetent asshat, a majority said "Thank you sir, may I have another."

You can't fix that kind of stupid.

[tblue37]

15. There is evidence that the votes were tampered with, but the RW officials are

stonewalling the math professor who wants to check the records to see what is causing the statistical anomalies in the vote results.

http://americablog.com/2015/08/mathematician-actual-voter-fraud-kansas-republicans.html

"A mathematician may have uncovered widespread election fraud, and Kansas is trying to silence her"
8/5/15 2:21pm by

[tblue37]

16. See my #16 post above. Certainly I did not vote for him, and evidence suggests the votes

were tampered with to give him the win.

http://americablog.com/2015/08/mathematician-actual-voter-fraud-kansas-republicans.html

"A mathematician may have uncovered widespread election fraud, and Kansas is trying to silence her"
8/5/15 2:21pm by Jon Green 317

[tenderfoot]

13. from DECEMBER 10, 2014 6:23 PM

eom

[deminks]

20. Sorry, it has come up again.

I am not sure what I clicked on above, but here are new links:

http://www.kansascity.com/opinion/editorials/article59395288.html

http://www.kansascity.com/news/government-politics/article59671646.html

http://www.kansas.com/news/politics-government/article59539796.html

[tblue37]

14. That's MY pension fund he wants to rid to pay for the tax cuts he gave to the Kochs and other rich

jerks here in Kansas.

[hollowdweller]

17. How many public employees are there in Kansas?

Just saying......

But in most states if they really got out and voted there's be enough to swing an election, esp for a state rep.

If Kansas public employees are afraid to walk out and shut down the state for a while over this, the least they should do is to vote as a block.

It amazes me as much crap as public employees have to take they haven't started rising up.

[tblue37]

19. He probably didn't win that last election. The numbers are hinky. nt