Legislators: Cut benefits for long-term growth

Originally published in the Baltimore Examiner

By Baltimore Examiner Editorial Board
Published on Friday, January 02, 2009
Public sector salaries matter. But not in the way that many employed by the state government think. State employees often complain their salaries do not match those in the private sector. But a quick search of the state's labor statistics puts that lie to rest. And a new study from the Maryland Public Policy Institute shows that state government compensation in 2007 was 11.1 percent higher than the average private sector job and has been higher since 1981. That is nearly four times higher than the national compensation ratio of public sector jobs to private sector ones of 2.8 percent, according to the study. The biggest contributor to the ratio is the generous benefits paid to Maryland state government workers in the form of health insurance and pension benefits. The study found that in 2007, state government benefits were $13,387 per job while private sector benefits were $8,604. In other words, state government workers received benefits worth 55.6 percent more than those in the private sector. Read More »

Benefits are biggest benefit of state job

Originally published in the Daily Record

By Danielle Ulman, Daily Record Business Writer
Published on Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Maryland state government employees racked up benefits worth 55 percent more than their private sector counterparts in 2007, according to a report on government pay released Tuesday. The Maryland Public Policy Institute study found that state employees received an average of $13,387 in benefits in 2007, compared to $8,604 in the private sector. "I think that in Maryland, the overwhelming majority of employers are small businesses; certainly small businesses can't compete with large businesses who can receive discounts based on their size alone," said Deborah Stallings, president of Columbia-based HR Anew, a human resources consulting firm. "From an employee benefits perspective, government is big business," she said. "They are able to provide better benefits because their costs are lower." The study found that the government paid workers an average of $47,313 a year, just over the $46,031 average salary of private sector employees, but state employees made much more in terms of health care and retirement coverage, with total compensation at $60,700 versus $54,635 in the private sector. Read More »

Paying for yesterday's burgers today

Originally published in the Baltimore Examiner

By Baltimore Examiner Editorial Board
Published on Thursday, December 11, 2008
We applaud Gov. Martin O'Malley for proposing furloughs for 67,000 state workers, including himself. The move would save about $34.4 million and help to balance the budget this year. But furloughs are a temporary fix; the state faces a long-term budget hole thanks to lofty promises it cannot fulfill without slashing services or raising taxes -- again. One of those promises is the State Employees' and Teachers' Retirement Enhancement Benefit Act of 2006. That law increased benefits for teachers who retire after 30 years to 54 percent of their salary each year from 42 percent. Read More »

Free Maryland teachers from unions

Originally published in the Baltimore Sun

By Tom Neumark
Published on Tuesday, December 09, 2008
Though some teachers may not realize it, Maryland's laws infringe on their freedoms, place the interests of unions over individual teachers and restrict the ability of teachers to become entrepreneurs. Teachers ought to have the right to be represented by a union. But they should also have the right to not be represented. Maryland forces teachers to be represented by unions, which violates teachers' rights and has negative consequences for teachers and students. Read More »

Yep, we're in the hole

Originally published in the Baltimore Examiner

By Baltimore Examiner Editorial Board
Published on Sunday, November 16, 2008
Forget your credit card debt and your mortgage. And forget the lousy state revenue numbers for October reported Thursday by Comptroller Peter Franchot. In his upbeat words, "the worst news may also not be readily apparent - the strong likelihood that the poor to abysmal October results do not reflect the full effect of the marked deterioration of the nation's economy over the last two months." Marylanders are a lot more in the hole than we realized.As the Maryland Public Policy Institute and Calvert Institute recently reported, state and local governments - read, taxpayers - are on the hook for about $50 billion in unfunded pension and other post-employment benefits promised by politicians to state and local workers. Read More »

A growth enterprise

Originally published in the Baltimore Sun

By Baltimore Sun Editorial Board
Published on Thursday, November 13, 2008
Our view: A small rise in enrollment offers hope for Baltimore's troubled school system and some evidence that efforts to keep kids in school are having resultsBaltimore schools chief Andres Alonso's recent announcement that for the first time in decades, city schools posted a modest rise in enrollment was a welcome surprise. State officials had predicted the schools would lose about 3,000 students this year; instead, the system saw a small increase of about 800 students, much of it attributable to fewer dropouts between the ninth and 10th grades and to more parents enrolling their children in prekindergarten programs. If the trend continues, it could signal the first time since 1969 that Baltimore's public schools were a growth enterprise. Read More »

Metro region pins hopes on Obama

Originally published in the Washington Examiner

By Kathleen Miller, Examiner Staff Writer
Published on Monday, November 10, 2008
Virginia, Maryland and the District handed President-elect Barack Obama all of their 26 electoral votes last Tuesday, but experts say it could be tough to translate that political support into heightened support for regional priorities. The commonwealth's Gov. Tim Kaine was on Obama's short list as a vice presidential pick. A Kaine spokesman said the governor hoped that would translate into increased help on infrastructure spending.Stephen Fuller, director of George Mason University's Center for Regional Analysis, acknowledged the close relationship between Kaine and Obama and said it was "possible" that connection could result in increased attention to Virginia projects.But Fuller chuckled, adding, "Where's the money going to come from? We're bankrupt, we have a trillion-dollar deficit, there is no money for the Chesapeake Bay or anything else." Read More »

Governor Palin’s pension party

Originally published in the Baltimore Examiner

By George W. Liebmann
Published on Sunday, November 02, 2008
This writer has long taken an interest in Maryland's pension funds. Recently, while investigating the adventures of Gov. Martin O'Malley, who recently acquiesced in the removal of any percentage limit on the compensation of hedge fund managers, I came upon pension fund adventurism in Gov. Sarah Palin's Alaska. Alaska has an $8.6 billion defined benefit pension deficit, arising from a plan since abolished. This is astonishing for a small state -about $10,000 for each Alaskan. Palin was not responsible either for the deficit or for Alaska's wise shift to defined contribution plans. However, she in April signed a plan by which the state will try to gamble its way out by issuing $5 billion in pension bonds. The first tranche of these bonds comes to market next month, safely after the election. Read More »

Market worsens public pension crunch

Originially published in the Baltimore Examiner

By Jaime Malarkey, Examiner Staff Writer
Published on Friday, October 31, 2008
Maryland and local governments must reconsider retirement benefits for its employees, according to two think tanks who said already underfunded pension coffers will take additional hits with the stock market drop-off. The state's retirement and pension system suffers an $11 billion unfunded deficit, according to a new study. The report blames the administrations of Democratic Gov. Martin O'Malley and his Republican predecessor, Robert Ehrlich Jr., for skimping on annual contributions to pension plans while expanding benefits to public employees."The response of both the Robert Ehrlich and Martin O'Malley administrations to this impending crisis has been defined by the principle, ‘When you're in a hole, dig deeper,' " wrote George Liebmann, executive director of the Calvert Institute for Public Policy, which co-authored the report with the libertarian-minded Maryland Public Policy Institute. Read More »

Pair of think tanks issue warning on pensions

Originally published in the Baltimore Sun

By Gadi Dechter, Sun Staff Writer
Published on Friday, October 31, 2008
Maryland's public pension and retirement systems are underfunded for the long term, and tough economic times will tempt governments to fund them even less responsibly, warned two state think tanks yesterday. "The way Maryland's elected state and local officials deal with these issues is a sure litmus test of their political morality as individuals," wrote George Liebmann, executive director of the Calvert Institute for Public Policy, which produced the study with the libertarian-oriented Maryland Public Policy Institute. The authors contend that Republican and Democratic administrations have increased promises of retirement benefits to workers without making the necessary investments in the pension funds. The report recommends that lawmakers consider reducing some post-employment promises to public employees and adhere to strict funding formulas for pension programs. Read More »