Monday, Dec. 4, 2006 | The contention that it is the fairest solution to reduce benefits for those already retired is ludicrous. Those people have already labored under the conception they would receive their promised pensions, and to eliminate, or reduce, those benefits after the fact is tantamount to “Breech of Contract.” The real reason Supervisors Dianne Jacob and Pam Slater-Price have chosen to attack benefits of those already retired is probably more related to the fact that there is no union bargaining unit that represents these persons, so they are the weakest prey in the food chain. They can’t even quit the county and get a real job in the private sector!
As another letter pointed out, these retired people cannot go back to start their careers over again, but future workers do have the luxury of deciding whether to work for a county that pays a pittance, and refuses to provide health care. I have known people who left County of San Diego employment and more than doubled their incomes in the private sector, so don’t try to tell me that public service pays better than the private sector.