"Taxpayers should not need a search warrant to see
how their money is being spent."
OPEN THE BOOKS ON FEDERAL PENSIONS
TheHill | March 15, 2016
What has a three-quarter billion-dollar unfunded liability, is manually calculated on paper inside a Pennsylvania mountain, and costs taxpayers more money annually than the entire state budget of Florida?
Answer: Federal employee pensions.
It's national Sunshine Week across America. During this week, good-government groups advocate for open government and transparency in public spending.
One area that remains hidden is federal pensions.
Imagine if you could see how much your former congressman makes in federal retirement pension? Just how many years were 'worked?' How much money was paid-in? How much did taxpayers finance?
Even Illinois - where the state's #1 manufactured product is corruption - has the courtesy to show taxpayers all of the gory details about pensions. The books are open on all 700,000 public retirees at every level of government.
... the same transparency of pensions exists in California and many other states. It's time for the feds to open the books on pensions.
Furthermore, the federal pension systems are spending more than $1.3 billion every ten-years in 'administrative expenses.' It's time to follow the money.
Recently, in Ohio, Treasurer Josh Mandel convinced his state pension funds to post their checkbook spending.
The 'Mandel Rule' of posting the checkbook of pension fund management fees and expenses must be replicated across America. After all, these expenditures are literally funded with government employee retirement dollars.
Together, join us in the clarion call for the transparency of both federal pension annuities and the actual checkbook expenses of the retirement funds.
It's time to open the books on federal pensions.