Schwarzenegger “girly-mans” under pension attack
By Marjorie Hinds
Bashing teachers and nurses is now well within the
confines of acceptable political conduct. Schwarzenegger will, however, have to
pay the piper for mixing it up with police and firefighters.
April 7, 2005 the Gov. held a news conference and
temporarily backed off his campaign to undermine California pension funds. While
it is unclear whether the plan would actually tamper with police and firefighter
survivor benefits, the suggestion of such was sufficient to force its withdrawal
and retooling. This is only a breather, however. He’ll be back and the
stakes are high.
Why should those of us who are not public employees
give a damn what befalls the state pension system? Well, as it happens, the
outcome of this skirmish over the California Public Employees Retirement System
(CalPERS) and the California State Teachers Retirement System (CalSTRS) may well
portend the future of Social Security.
Why, if this is a local pension matter is the
funding, and cheerleading, for Schwarzenegger’s privatization scheme
coming from corporate interests and their allies nationwide? It appears these
recalcitrant pension people are a meddling nuisance. They’re buzzing like
gnats in the faces of culpable CEOs—just yammering on and on about
corporate this and corporate that—accountability, malfeasance and the
like.
CalPERS and the teachers’ retirement fund are
sore about losing a combined 1 billion dollars at the hands of Enron and
WorldCom. Pissed off and taking names, the pension funds are throwing their
weight around—180 billion and 126 billion respectively. They are doing,
collectively, what we are unable to do individually—they’re kicking
some corporate ass.
Holding billions of dollars hostage during
investment negotiations, their demands for corporate accountability include
curbing excessive pay for executives, strengthening accounting standards,
increasing transparency, opening corporate boards to shareholders and halting
the privatization of public sector jobs. They have succeeded in altering
business practices at hundreds of corporations including Disney, Apple, Safeway
and Coca-Cola. Admittedly, the practical disruption to
“business-as-usual” has been marginal. Nevertheless, any public
intrusion into corporate governance engenders a backlash.
While dismantling an activist power base is a solid
enough reason to privatize CalPERS, another incentive is, of course, the money.
Wall Street bankers are down right orgasmic envisioning all of those dollars in
the hands of novice individual investors. And yikes, what becomes of these
individuals? With both Social Security and pensions up for grabs could
Schwarzenegger be helping to create yet another special interest group—the
elder homeless?
Urgent Action Needed to Save SSI
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) faces
congressional cuts that would push millions of vulnerable seniors and people
with disabilities deeper into poverty. Your representatives are currently
considering two options: reduce benefit amounts for everybody or cut benefits
entirely for some. Individuals cut from the program will likely lose Medi-Cal
coverage as well.
Call your representatives and ask that they not
cut the SSI budget!
• Representative Jane Harman (310)
643-3636
• Senator Barbara Boxer (213) 894-5000
•
Senator Dianne Feinstein (310) 914-7300
Posted: Sun - May 1, 2005 at 10:03 AM