welfare vs wages

[GenuineRisk]

Originally Posted by dellinger63

60K is not rich and I think is fair pay, it's also a far cry from minimum wage and with healthcare added I would definitely consider it middle class.

When the $30-$35K comes from the taxpayer, then yes I consider it lavish. Drawing from the employee's 401K, I consider livable with Medicare and SS added. I also call it self-reliant and not taxpayer subsidized.

Illinois and many other states don't have a problem with payroll it's pensions that have been neglected/pilfered and mismanaged at no fault of the taxpayer yet guess who's on the line?

You are aware many public employees don't get 401Ks, aren't you? And that many also don't get SS? So their pensions, which were PROMISED TO THEM, are all they get. My uncle, who was a state trooper for over 30 years, is one of those public employees who gets no SS.

Yes, it's horrible that elected officials overestimated market returns and so chronically underfunded pensions, but who was in charge of electing those officials? Right... we taxpayers. And we taxpayers are the ones who benefit from not having garbage-strewn streets, highways that are in reasonable condition, police on patrol and fire fighters. We pay their salaries because they WORK FOR US. The least we can do is not renege on the employment contracts we made with them. God forbid they get to live a middle class life and have some security in their retirement years. God forbid.