[sware2cod]

The big issue here is: The people/state taxpayers did not see any tax savings/lower budget when the governor took away 3% from the state employees.

Instead, the governor took 3% away from state employees, and put that exact 3% into a tax cut for corporations. No net savings for taxpapers...just taking from the small guy and giving to corporations. And, there are still no new jobs coming from those corporations. They simply used that tax cut money as a bigger cushion toward more profits and higher dividends.

[Granny Sue]

I'm one of those dreaded County workers that had been dealt the 3% paycut.

Unlike those that want to make this about the President instead of Rick Scott, I blame Scott.

Unless you're in the system or at least educated yourself about it, you as a taxpayer......(guess what???...that's us too)...has always paid into your government employee's retirement/pension or whatever you want to call it.
You from other states paid into it in the form of higher wages so that the employee could afford to put it in their own IRA/Roth or whatever. I'm willing to be that most other states have a pension plan of some sort. They probably have a match program. Same thing.

I have not had a raise or any sort in 4 years, my insurance costs have gone up 150% and now I get a paycut of 3%. Yet the cost of everything else is going up.

If you take my paystub from 2007 and compare it to my current one, it's actually less....by about $200.00.

Now the next part can only be truthfully answered by yourself. You're in the private sector....you get a song and dance about we don't want to lay anyone off so no raises...indefinitly. ("at least you have a job").
..a year later it's...oh! and we're going to triple your insurance cost! ("at least you have a job").
Another year goes by then...Oh! and by the way we're going to cut your pay by 3%. ("at least you have a job").
Not quite what you agreed to 20 years ago was it? ("at least you have a job").
Are you frustrated?
Then when you vent all you hear is that your a slacker and a waste of taxpayer's money.
You want to talk about your taxpayers money paying our salaries but we also have to pay our own salaries because we too are taxpayers.

[pcbgirl99]

so this 3% was Scott's fault? why am i not surprised. my husband got stuck with this crap this year. i hope the court rejects it altogether. it will pay for the insurance hike.

[Jo48]

Originally Posted by Granny Sue

I'm one of those dreaded County workers that had been dealt the 3% paycut.

Unlike those that want to make this about the President instead of Rick Scott, I blame Scott.

Unless you're in the system or at least educated yourself about it, you as a taxpayer......(guess what???...that's us too)...has always paid into your government employee's retirement/pension or whatever you want to call it.
You from other states paid into it in the form of higher wages so that the employee could afford to put it in their own IRA/Roth or whatever. I'm willing to be that most other states have a pension plan of some sort. They probably have a match program. Same thing.

I have not had a raise or any sort in 4 years, my insurance costs have gone up 150% and now I get a paycut of 3%. Yet the cost of everything else is going up.

If you take my paystub from 2007 and compare it to my current one, it's actually less....by about $200.00.

Now the next part can only be truthfully answered by yourself. You're in the private sector....you get a song and dance about we don't want to lay anyone off so no raises...indefinitly. ("at least you have a job").
..a year later it's...oh! and we're going to triple your insurance cost! ("at least you have a job").
Another year goes by then...Oh! and by the way we're going to cut your pay by 3%. ("at least you have a job").
Not quite what you agreed to 20 years ago was it? ("at least you have a job").
Are you frustrated?
Then when you vent all you hear is that your a slacker and a waste of taxpayer's money.
You want to talk about your taxpayers money paying our salaries but we also have to pay our own salaries because we too are taxpayers.

Granny, I hear you. It is just one reason why I quit working for the state of Florida. Good luck getting your "ivestment" money back. They already spent it, even after only a few months.

You see, I too, am a "granny". I haven't had a "real job", aka FOR PROFIT business, in over 30 years. Back then, I worked for a Fortune 500 corporation which gave PENSIONS. I don't think 401K's even existed then. Who paid for these employee private business pensions? CONSUMERS did from buying their products and the profits that corporations made. I can just see Rick Scott, et all, calling fo regulating FOR PROFIT businessesn

Can you opt out of a private business 401K retirement plan? I have no idea, but I know you CANNOT OPT OUT of the Florida State Retirement Plan. Stupid, especially if you are already in your 50s or 60s. Yes, your wonderful 401K will yield great retirement benefits in 20, 30, 40 years (sic). Well, what if you don't have all those years?????? Sorry, no choice. You MUST sign up for one or the other. Well, maybe I don't want it. Maybe at my salary I need every DIME I am making now to survive. Hell, at my age I should be retired NOW. I don't need some stupid broker telling me I need to plan for my "future" at 63 years old.

While Rick Perry, and of course Rick Scott, maybe think that Social Security is a Ponzi scheme, I think "investing" in the Stock Market 40 years is the future is gambling. At the very least, let us Seniors still working be able to OPT OUT of any, and ALL, state of Florida retirement plans.

Come on, is that too much to ask for? Saves YOU taxpayers money, and says ME the employee the money I need NOW.

[Sunny-Days-in-Florida]

Originally Posted by JM1822

Sunny Days,

You need to research Florida government and Florida benefits, especially at the state level. The property taxes that everyone complains about are used to fund COUNTY and CITY governments. State employees are funded through sales tax and other fees. Florida has the LOWEST government employee to citizen ratio than any other state. It also is the LEAST expensive state in the country as far as how much the state pays for it's employees. And I'm not sure where you heard that retired Florida employees get free health care. To retain health insurance, retirees have to pay over a thousand dollars a month.

In your former state, they pay a brand new person $49,842 a year for the job that I do here. A new person working for the state of Florida in the same job makes $33,977 a year. A person in Ohio that has been doing this job for ten years makes $66,536. A Florida person with ten years on with the state will still make $33,977.

Since you think you are going to go broke paying for my retirement, if I ever make it that far, lets do the math:

I am in a supervisory position so mine will be a little higher than the average employee. I have 14 years with the state. At times I am responsible for what goes on in seven different counties. I make $44,000 a year. Since I know we won't be getting any raises for a long time, and I haven't gotten one in six years, we'll just pretend that I have 25 years of service with the state. I would then be eligible for a retirement at %75 of my salary because my profession falls under the "high risk" category. That would be $33,000. Since state employees are paid by sales tax, etc, I can count the residents and visitors to Florida as contributors. That means I can divide my retirement check by about 87 million people. I think that means each one of them would contribute .00037 dollars to my check. I can PROMISE you that is WAY lower than what you were contributing in Ohio.

I understand completely but I am sure everyone ( well most everyone ) understands you cannot keep spending more then you have or take in and the bleeding has to stop at some point.

My Dad worked for the same company for more then 40 years so I know what retirement etc is all about.

[Gatornation]

Originally Posted by City Guy997S

Really? Most of the public employees are far removed from the public arena and have ZERO idea what they are worth in today's market. I suspect they pay similar wages excluding jobs like attorneys (tough to compare a public defender to a personal injury lawyer). Cop vs armed security guard, janitor at Walmart vs. janitor at city hall or secretary at abc company vs. secretary at water dept might all be viable comparisons with the govt. employee probably making more than private sector guy/girl.

Read an article from the Palm Beach Post that the AVERAGE firefighter with West Palm Beach makes $90,000 a year (working 48 hours a week, 2 24's with a "kelly" day off every 10 days). The boards were lit up with arrogant firefighters still saying they were underpaid, overworked. Others were calling for a volunteer dept. Apparently they let you build up your overtime in your last year or two so your retirement figures are based off the last year's income (boosting your retirement payout significantly).

90K seems extreme for 2 24 hour shifts (essentially sleeping, eating, working out on the job). They claim they are missing family life, oh ok but if you work a regular 9-5 you are still missing 40 hours a week of family life also yet the firefighters are missing the nights also (kids are sleeping all night, not missing much) so it really all works out the same in the end.

Many public employees are folks that couldn't make it in the public arena, they would have been cut a long time ago! Entitlements/pensions/raises are a luxury, not a right (though some unions have made them rights!).

Many public employees are just a lot more educated than those in private sector. More education means more money.

[sware2cod]

Originally Posted by Sunny-Days-in-Florida

I understand completely but I am sure everyone ( well most everyone ) understands you cannot keep spending more then you have or take in and the bleeding has to stop at some point.

.

Do you understand that NO bleeding was stopped when the 3% was taken from FL employee's pensions?

No money was saved at all by the state. The 3% "savings" was immediately given to corporations in the form of brand new tax cuts. They took money from Peter and Paul(govt employees) to give brand spanking new tax cuts to corporations.

[crazynip]

Originally Posted by Sunny-Days-in-Florida

I understand completely but I am sure everyone ( well most everyone ) understands you cannot keep spending more then you have or take in and the bleeding has to stop at some point.

My Dad worked for the same company for more then 40 years so I know what retirement etc is all about.

The FRS is not "bleeding"... it's not broke. FRS is one of the most SOUND pension systems in the country. This is about the state employees funding the state general fund, not their individual retirements.

[Matt Kim]

Originally Posted by sware2cod

The big issue here is: The people/state taxpayers did not see any tax savings/lower budget when the governor took away 3% from the state employees.

Instead, the governor took 3% away from state employees, and put that exact 3% into a tax cut for corporations. No net savings for taxpapers...just taking from the small guy and giving to corporations. And, there are still no new jobs coming from those corporations. They simply used that tax cut money as a bigger cushion toward more profits and higher dividends.

Corporations pay a lot of taxes.

[City Guy997S]

Originally Posted by Matt Kim

Corporations pay a lot of taxes.

Not sure about that in Florida (no income tax, payroll taxes (FICA) are federal....all I can think of is unemployment taxes).

BTW J048 401K's are 100% optional.........It is a portion of your paycheck you want to invest. Some employers match what you put in (so you do 3% and they will do 3% also), some don't match at all.