LASERS will let you change to the self-directed retirement system if you really want to. If you plan to leave state service with under 10 years service this might be smart. If you plan to go the distance, you're better off with the pension. You don't have to worry about the fiscal responsibilities of legislators. They have legal obligations.
True enough, the pay sucks. It's why they offer decent benefits or they couldn't keep positions filled. One must move to an unclassified position to get better pay in state service. You lose the civil service protections and can be fired for any reason or no reason at all. But if you do a good job, they can also pay you much better. Well, that's exaggerated. It is true that there is some deadwood that is hard to fire, but not much. There has been too much belt tightening. Most of the departments are understaffed and everybody is fully tasked.
Bingo.... As a matter of fact, lets look at last years election. In 2010, 3 unions cracked the top 10 in spending to support the democrats. 1 was Service Employees International Union, 2 was American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, and 3 was the National Education Association. The other 7 either supported the GOP or spent money to discredit the democrats. Let's see, if we get rid of the unions, we get rid of the primary source of democratic funding for campaigns. What a coincidence.....
Corporations outspent unions 19 to 1 in the last nationwide election. I never hear conservatives wanting to reign in their influence. Republicans complain that unions spend union members dues to support canidates that the members don't support, but do corporations get permission from their rank and file stockholders before spending money on campains?
Really? I own stock in several companies, I don't recall giving permission the way the conservatives want unions to do. And a corporation isn't a person anyway, so that Supreme Court activist ruling is bull.
Funny our conservative friends don't mind activist judges, as long as they're changing 100 years of precedence in their favor. :yelwink2:
