Pennsylvanians should prepare for some serious suffering regarding disposable income come 2012-2013 and the cause is going to be their additional contributions to pay for the pensions of retired public school employees,state workers, legislators, judges and others.
The Commonwealth Foundation estimates that the annual hit will be $1,360 for the average taxpayer.
State EmployeeRetirement System (SERS) which handles non-school retirees is funded entirely by state taxes and the looming annual bite to handle the coming crunch for Mr. Average is expected to be $390.
The School Employee Retirement System (PSERS) is 54 percent covered by state taxes with the rest coming from school district taxes. The Commonwealth Foundation estimates the average bite to come to about $970.
And what is going to be the result of the suffering? Well it means that Senator Robert Mellow (D-22) will be able to survive on a $313,000 annual pension. It kind of makes you feel warm and fuzzy.
Of course we can expect our public servants to be reasonable in helping resolve the crisis. Oh, ho ho ho. I just wrote that to make you smile and take your mind off the coming pain. Of course, we can’t expect that.
People, it’s time to start getting angry.
If you need help, check out the salaries of those who work for the SERS and PSERS