interesting, meir. can you tell us the political
affiliation of the AG.?

--- Meir Weiss <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Pacific Research Institute
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Wednesday, March 16, 2005 16:01
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Pacific Research Institute, Capital Ideas,
> "Death, Disability,
> and Deception"
>
>
>
>
<http://www.pacificresearch.org/images/Cap_Ideas.gif>
>
>
>
>
> Vol. 10 No. 11: March 16, 2005
>
>
> Death, Disability, and Deception
>
>
> by Anthony P.  <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
> Archie
>
>
>
http://www.pacificresearch.org/pub/cap/2005/cap_05-03-16.html
>
> SACRAMENTO - Recent hearings on Governor
> Schwarzenegger's pension
> proposal have centered on the claim that death and
> disability benefits
> will be eliminated under the plan. Pensioners should
> beware that death
> and disability benefits aren't going anywhere.
>
> The governor's plan to grant new state and local
> employees ownership of
> individual pension accounts has been penned in two
> forms, a bill in the
> Assembly and an initiative being circulated for
> signatures. They clearly
> state that California will close the existing
> defined-benefit system in
> favor of a more fiscally stable defined-contribution
> system.
> Unfortunately, political trickery has clouded the
> simplicity of the
> initiative's language.
>
> It is the responsibility of Attorney General Bill
> Lockyer to write the
> title and summary of every initiative that crosses
> his desk. In the
> summary for the pension initiative, he writes in a
> seven-word sentence
> that death and disability benefits will
> unequivocally be eliminated for
> new employees.
>
> That one line has opened a Pandora's box, creating
> anxiety for those who
> depend on this income. The hearings in the Senate
> and Assembly featured
> a number of concerned widows who feared a reduction
> in survivor
> benefits. Visibly disturbed by the summary's
> language, they dismissed
> the pension reform as an attack on the families of
> police officers and
> firefighters. Injured law enforcement officers
> echoed that sentiment,
> calling the governor's plan an "injustice." Such
> rhetoric overlooks the
> reality that Mr. Lockyer's statement is simply
> wrong.
>
> Not only does the language of the pension plan
> unmistakably state that
> this measure applies solely to employees hired after
> July 1, 2007, there
> is no portion of the initiative that proposes the
> elimination, or even
> reduction, of death or disability benefits for the
> new hires.
>
> The group backing the initiative, Citizens to Save
> California, released
> this statement on the matter: "We do not share the
> Attorney General's
> interpretation. In our view public agencies could
> determine to offer
> death and/or disability benefits for employees in
> addition to the
> defined contribution plan."
>
> The governor seconded that when he said, "I can
> guarantee you that as
> long as I am governor, there will never be any death
> benefits or
> disability benefits taken away. It won't happen."
>
> Despite the Attorney General's misinformation, death
> and disability
> benefits can exist within defined-contribution
> plans. The state of
> Michigan operates under a 401k plan but also
> provides disability
> protection based upon salary and years of service.
> If an employee must
> retire due to the disability, he or she is entitled
> to no-cost life
> insurance coverage plus continued health, dental,
> and vision insurance.
>
> In the event of a death, survivors will receive
> distributions of the
> employee's 401k account and continued insurance
> coverage, as well as a
> life insurance payout equal to two times the
> employee's annual salary.
> An additional $100,000 is provided if the death was
> due to an on-the-job
> injury.
>
> A new pension system will not leave California's
> public employees high
> and dry. Public employees and their families must
> not be duped by those
> who promote this untruth. The Attorney General of
> California, the
> highest law-enforcement official in the state,
> should not be in the
> fabrication business.
>
>
>   _____
>
> America's War on Carcinogens
>
> Featuring introductory remarks from
> Dr. Bruce N. Ames
> Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology,
> University of
> California, Berkeley, and
> Senior Scientist for the Children's Hospital Oakland
> Research Institute
>
> and comments from
> Elizabeth Whelan, Sc.D., M.PH., M.S.
> President & Founder, American Council on Science and
> Health
> Editor, America's War on Carcinogens
>
> Tuesday, April 19, 2005
> 7:45 am - Continental breakfast
> 8:00 to 9:00 am - Program
>
> Special: Bring one guest for free!
> visit:
>
http://www.pacificresearch.org/events/2005/04-19-05.html
>
<http://www.pacificresearch.org/events/2005/04-19-05.html>
>
>   _____
>
> Forward
>
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