Granholm announces another attack on public employee retirement

Tell Governor and Legislature to implement real reforms, not more gimmicks

Despite constant polling results that say the public wants a balanced solution to the state budget crisis, Gov. Jennifer Granholm is joining the chorus of short-sighted politicians in Lansing calling for more cuts targeted at public employees and their families.

This time the political target is public employee retirement plans.  For school employees in particular, the governor wants all employees to increase their retirement contributions by 3 percent, up to a cap of 6.9 percent.  She also wants to cap service credit at 30 years and eliminate dental and vision insurance for new retirees starting in October.  And she is pushing a tiny early retirement incentive to move veteran employees out of the system.  You can read the details of Granholm's plan in a memo from State Budget Director Bob Emerson.

Gov. Granholm, along with Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop and Speaker of the House Andy Dillon, need to take a step back and think about why Michigan voters are angry. It isn't because a half a million public employees earn enough to have a middle class lifestyle or retire somewhere above the poverty line. It isn't because the billions of dollars in concessions made by public employees aren't enough.

It's because voters are sick and tired of the political games and gimmicks that still haven't solved our decade-long budget crisis.

Instead of more politically motivated nonsolutions, some are proposing real reforms. MEA is a coalition member of A Better Michigan Future, a group proposing four simple reforms to ensure that everyone is paying their fair share as we fix the broken tax structure that has caused the past decade of cuts. It's time for real reforms and common sense changes -- auditing government contracts and tax incentives for efficiency, closing corporate tax loopholes, expanding the sales tax to some services, and implementing a graduated income tax that would result in a tax cut for 90 percent of Michigan families.

Those are changes that make sense. But adding taxes just for public employees -- which is exactly what both Granholm's 3 percent retirement increase and Bishop's 5 percent pay cut are -- are senseless stunts that aren't supported by the 3 out of 4 voters who don't want more cuts to schools, public safety, health care and other basic services that our leaders in Lansing continue to target.

It's time to say enough is enough. Contact Gov. Granholm today and tell her to withdraw these attacks on half a million Michigan families before her State of the State address on Tuesday. Tell her to reject the flawed concept that continuing to take from public employees will fix our flawed tax structure. Tell her to show real leadership in her final State of the State address and call for implementing the balanced solution proposed by A Better Michigan Future. And share that message with your state representative and senator as well.

Related:

Governor Jennifer Granhom - Remarks - State Government Reforms

Granholm Outlines Next Steps in Transforming Government to Improve Efficiency, Cut Costs

Updated: January 29, 2010