The source of the fight against public employees pension plans, not just public safety, is a website from Southern California. It is operated by man named Jack Dean, a long-term Libertarian who believes in small and efficient government. Before you hastily assign some sinister motivation to him, forget about it. He is not some crackpot idiot spewing right-winged mantra like a robot. I have known Jack for about five years, I have even had dinner with him. He is a good and decent person, with a well thought out and articulated opinion. I count him as a friend - seriously. We speak by phone occasionally. I can assure you that he believes in what he is doing. This is why he is so effective. He is not alone either. The Libertarians are well organized in California.
The argument coming from this website has to be effectively rebutted. Unfortunately, it has a large head start on us. Read Pension Tsunami on a regular basis. better yet Jack will put you his mailing list and you will get his report everyday. I do. Until we admit that the opposition has some valid points (spiking being the most glaring) and start to address those issues, we will keep on losing the pension battle; and right now we are getting our butts kicked.
The only effective antidote for this Tsunami is to rehabilitate the image of public safety pensions by removing the obvious faults and to develop a coherent and effective message that shows the real cost and the reasons for how they are structure. Simply attacking the opposition will only energize their efforts.
p.s. Do not send Jack a nasty email.
