Jim Tobin, A Friend Of Liberty (1945-2021)
May 2nd, 2022
By: Christina Tobin
Sometimes a single man or woman has to stand up for principle, just so t[...]
Ouch! Ohio Government Pensions Are A Painful Reality!
OHIO – Taxpayers United of America has released the top pension estimates for Ohio government teachers and employees. “We are shedding light at last, on the problems with Ohio’s government pension system,” said Christina Tobin, Vice President of Taxpayers United of America (TUA), and founder and President of ‘Free and Equal Elections.’ “Minimal reform has occurred in Ohio. Much more pressure is needed from taxpayers,” she said.
“Ohio’s government pension system desperately needs reform. Releasing the specific names and pension amounts would show who’s really benefiting,” said Tobin. “But Ohio refuses to release actual individual pension payments. Why won’t the Governor let Ohioans see the facts?”
“There is no fair representation of taxpayers. This is a nationwide problem that burdens the Left and Right alike, and has fueled the financial crisis facing taxpayers and retirees. The urgency of this crisis is illustrated by the extensive press coverage that our government pension reports have received throughout Ohio.”
Tobin, who toured through Ohio towns revealing top government pension estimates to the public, was covered by The Lima News, WTOL 11 TV , WKBN 27 TV, Columbus Dispatch, Toledo Blade, 89.7 NPR News, WFMJ NBC, and The Republic (AP).
TUA will be exploring all options to get the information still being withheld by the government bureaucrats of Ohio, released. “I have written letters to Governor Kasich and the members of the Ohio General Assembly, asking for transparency. As long as taxpayers feel the pain of the hefty bill for these pensions, those payments should be available for public review.” Tobin plans to work with legislators but does not exclude the possibility of filing a lawsuit to obtain the information.
TUA will be revealing more States’ pensions across the nation, including those of Kansas, Pennsylvania, and Arizona in the coming weeks.
Your group is grossly distorting the facts based on fictitious estimates and predictions. Your creditability with Ohio voters and Ohio legislators is marginal at best. It continues to decline when these lousy estimates and predictions are made. One thing your group has forgotten, Ohio legislators would have to vote themselves out of a pension as well. The pensions are well deserved and perfectly legal. Most private companies such as Procter and Gamble and many others offer early retirement and very lucrative deals with company stock. Doing away with the pensions in Ohio will cost taxpayers even more to hire and rehire workers that leave gov’t positions. That’s my concern.
Using terms as “grossly distorting,” “fictitious estimates,” and “lousy estimates” adds nothing to the conversation, and suggests that you have a weak argument.
If you have specific criticisms or questions regarding our methodology or conclusions, please state them and I will forward them to our analyst for a response.
Whether or not Ohio legislators need to vote themselves out of a pension is something that concerns me not at all, and I suspect Ohio taxpayers feel the same way.
It is irrelevant that Ohio’s government pensions are legal and possibly even “deserved.” They are unsustainable, and, unlike pensions in the private-sector, when government pension plans run out of money, the first thing politicians do is go to taxpayers and raise their taxes to bail out these plans.
Finally, it is somewhat presumptuous of you to declare that our credibility with Ohio voters is marginal at best. You have no way of knowing that. As for our credibility with Ohio legislators, that is the least of our concern. The only way these politicians will vote for pension reform is if they are dragged kicking and screaming in that direction by angry taxpayers.
If government employees leave their jobs, they will have to fend for themselves just as those in the private sector must do. If they have anything to offer, they will be hired, and if they don’t, they won’t be hired. I suspect that very few will leave their cushy government jobs with salaries and pensions that are more generous than those in the private sector.