Phil Murphy for Governor - NJ's Pension Obligations Must Be Honored

[TexasTowelie]

1. State employees are not second class citizens.

If the employees are having money withheld from their paychecks to fund their retirements, then they deserve to know that the retirement benefits they have earned are secure. Letting pension systems remain with unfunded liabilities is a disservice to not only future retirees, but to the taxpayers as well since they are impacted by additional interest payments on bonds due to the lower credit ratings assigned by credit ratings agencies.

State employees frequently make sacrifices as salaried workers because they are FLSA exempt and receive lower salaries than their contemporaries that work in the private sector. If the taxpayers want the best service from state employees then they should realize that they need to adequately fund the salaries and the fringe benefits that those employees receive.