Maryland’s public employee pensions are in good shape Re: “Public employees should pay more for their own pensions,” Local Editorial, Dec. 22
Is Rip Van Winkle now writing for The Examiner? That seems to be the only explanation for this recent editorial. While Rip slumbered, his belated recommendation was made an integral part of pension reform passed by the Maryland General Assembly last winter.
State employee contributions to their retirement have been increased by 40 percent. Other changes to the system include a reduction in benefits earned for service after June 30, 2011; increased vesting requirement for new employees from five to 10 years; and a reduction in the annual Cost of Living Adjustment for service earned on and after July 1, 2011.
As a result of these reforms, the General Assembly’s actuary projects that the system will reach approximately 80 percent funding by fiscal year 2023 and 100 percent funding in fiscal year 2031–essentially negating Rip’s doomsday scenario.
R. Dean Kenderdine
Executive director,
Maryland State Retirement and Pension System
Baltimore
Editors note: Maryland Public Policy Institute senior fellow Thomas A. Firey estimates that the reforms will only cover about half of Maryland’s $19 billion pension deficit by 2023.
Koch companies employ thousands in Johnson’s state
Re: “Johnson: Koch Bros control Congress, push Keystone,” Beltway Confidential, Dec. 20
In the House of Representatives and in the pages of The Washington Examiner, Rep. Hank Johnson, D-GA, recently claimed that Charles and David Koch “ended up being in control of Congress, using the Tea Party as a front group.” The Congressman’s statement is not only false, but it fuels the rancor that has besieged Washington, D.C. in recent years.
As a long-time employee of Koch companies and a resident of Georgia, I was disheartened to hear Rep. Johnson’s unfounded attack. Koch-owned companies, including Georgia-Pacific, Flint Hills Resources, INVISTA, Koch Industries and Koch Fertilizer, employ almost 8,000 people and support approximately 30,000 jobs in Georgia.
Annual compensation and benefits for Koch employees in the state totals nearly $795 million. The discretionary spending of Koch companies and the payroll taxes that Koch employees pay directly benefit the economy and the people of Georgia in so many ways.
During these times of economic hardship for so many, Rep. Johnson’s political attack on a key employer in his district is harmful and counterproductive. I would encourage him to do his research and focus on the facts, rather than attacking a company with deep roots in Georgia and decades of providing real value and real jobs in America.
Philip Ellender
President and COO,
Koch Companies Public Sector, LLC
GOP spares super rich, goes after middle-class
Fox & Friends had a segment on New Jersey Republican Gov. Chris Christie going after state workers’ sick days. Why is that a priority, while he and other Republicans refuse to consider taxing corporations that pay absolutely no federal income tax?
These same Republicans will not go after millionaires/billionaires, who are not paying a fair rate, but have no problem going after middle-class people. Over the last decade, the top one percent has gotten all the breaks while the middle-class has gone down. Members of Congress have been the beneficiaries of this lopsided gain, which is why they can’t relate to the average voter.
Wake up, middle-class America!
Jack Donner
Fairfax
