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If you felt the ground shaking last week, there’s a reason why: the Kansas state legislature caused a political earthquake by rejecting Gov. Brownback’s disastrous, failed tax policy. In 2012, the Kansas legislature passed Brownback’s extreme right-wing tax plan, something…
Public pensions generate significant economic activity in cities and states across the nation. Public workers and their employers contribute to the pension fund and those pension funds earn a meaningful return on their investments. That money goes back into the…
The Oklahoma state legislature adjourned its 2017 legislative session on May 26. In many ways, what was remarkable about the 2017 session was how little got accomplished. For public pensions in Oklahoma, the session was largely a win, except for…
When it comes to honoring the hard work of America’s public employees, the entire month of May was a veritable commemoration of their service. From International Firefighters Day to Emergency Medical Services week, May was host to a plethora of…
Republican lawmakers in Michigan recently introduced legislation to close the Michigan Public School Employees Retirement System (MPSERS) pension plan. The bills – S.B. 401 and H.B. 4647 – would move all employees hired after September 30 into a defined contribution…
States across the country, from Wisconsin to Oklahoma to Alaska, are experiencing teacher shortages. Fewer people are preparing to become teachers and it is becoming more difficult for states to find qualified individuals to replace teachers who quit or retire.…
Today President Trump released his proposed 2018 budget for the federal government. His proposal includes a harsh attack on the retirement security of federal employees. Unfortunately, this proposal follows a pattern of attacks on the retirement security of working families…
Kansas is home to tornadoes and the Land of Oz. It is home to more cows than people. It is also the site of a massive, failed experiment in tax policy. When Kansas passed large tax cuts several years ago,…
The United States is facing a retirement security crisis. As the private sector has moved from defined benefit pensions to defined contribution 401(k)s, the retirement security of working families has been devastated. This switch also doesn’t account for the roughly…
It’s well-known that defined benefit pensions provide a secure and dignified retirement to librarians, nurses, correctional officers, and other public employees. They do this by providing a regular, reliable source of income in retirement. However, public pensions serve other functions…
Michigan lawmakers are at it again. During last year’s lame duck session, legislators in Michigan attempted to force through a bill to close the pension plan for teachers and public school employees – the Michigan Public Schools Employee Retirement System…
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: Closing a pension system is a terrible idea. Shuttering a pension system and shifting new hires to a defined contribution 401(k)-style plan is damaging not only to the thousands of workers…