Melvin Ladousier: We can’t afford to allow public employees to retire like kings

Re “County government jobs pay less than local cities” (Page 1A, Dec. 12): The disparity in pay is unacceptable. Government employees are exploiting the public with their exorbitant compensation packages extorted by their unions. It does not end with their retirement, either.

No wonder we are always facing increased taxes and fees. Full military retirement with 30 years of service is 75 percent of base pay. For the uninformed that equals gross pay minus the housing allowance, hazardous duty pay, combat pay, etc. On top of that, retirees now have to pay for health insurance.

Consider our elected representatives and senators. After five years, they are entitled to collect full pay with full medical benefits. We cannot afford that kind of overly generous retirement compensation. It’s time to lower the entry-level salaries, lower the promised retirement benefits and stand our ground against unions, just as President Reagan did with the air traffic controllers union. Government employees are public servants not public royalty.

Editor’s note: Members of Congress are entitled to enroll in the Federal Employees Retirement System, which allows them to receive a pension at age 62 after at least 5 years of service. No federal pension can exceed 80 percent of the representative or senator’s final salary. They do not collect Social Security benefits from their time in office.

This story was originally published December 17, 2015 at 10:44 AM with the headline "Melvin Ladousier: We can’t afford to allow public employees to retire like kings."