Posted in Civil Service, Governor's Office, Notable Quotables, Retirement, Transparency on March 26, 2012| 2 Comments »
“I wanted you to hear it from me that I will be a friend and supporter of both state employees and retirees.”
“I want to see state workers and retirees supported for the work they do.”
“As a former state employee, I know firsthand how important it is that we protect state employees and state retirees.”
–Statements by Gov. Jindal lifted from that infamous 2007 campaign brochure.
Posted in Civil Service, Governor's Office, Retirement on March 26, 2012| 12 Comments »
While he is asking state employees to contribute more, work longer and accept less in retirement benefits, Gov. Bobby Jindal has quietly filed application to buy back 2.2 years of service to beef up his own retirement benefits.
Papers filed on Jan. 4 with the Louisiana State Employee Retirement System (LASERS) to buy back the 2.2 years that would be added to his public tenure and thus, increase his public employee retirement benefits which are already based on a higher percentage than rank and file state employees.
This would appear to be yet another shameless display of Jindal’s total contempt for state employees and his relentless agenda of self-promotion.
State civil service workers presently get 2.5 percent of the averaged top three years of earnings times the number of years of service. Thus, an employee with an average income of $50,000 over three years who retires after 30 years would receive $37,500 in annual retirement income.
The governor, however, earns an additional one percent, or 3.5 percent of average income for top earnings for three years times years of service. Based on the same hypothetical $50,000 salary and the same 30 years of service at 3.5 percent, the retirement income would be $52,500, or $2,500 per year more than his salary when working.
Moreover, while rank and file employees must work 30 years if they are 55 years of age or younger before becoming retirement eligible, the governor, lieutenant governor and state treasurer may retire at age 55 after only 12 years of service.
Jindal, as well as any other elected officials currently in office are also exempt from being required to pay an additional 3 percent into their retirement for the remainder of their respective terms.
Jindal was appointed by then-Gov. Mike Foster as Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH) in 1996, a position he held until 1998. That same year he was appointed executive director of the National Bipartisan Commission on the Future of Medicare.
On March 5, 1999, he withdrew $15,252.46 in retirement funds from LASERS for contributions made from Jan. 9, 1996 through Feb. 16, 1998. The refund was apparently made while serving at Foster’s request as a volunteer to study how Louisiana should use its $4.4 billion share of the tobacco settlement.
Later in 1999, at age 26, he was appointed by Foster as the youngest-ever president of the University of Louisiana System and in March 2001 he was nominated by President George W. Bush as Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services for Planning and Evaluation.
He resigned from that position in 2003 to make his first run for governor, a race that he lost to Kathleen Blanco and in 2004 he was elected to Congress where he remained until he won his first term as governor in 2007.
With the purchase of the 2.2 years, he now has a little more than 13 years as an elected and appointive official at both the state and federal levels and, provided he completes his term, will have 17 years of combined credited time on which to base his pension.
Buy those two years might have been a good idea; with only a single year in the private sector, at McKinsey & Co. right after college and four years in various positions in the federal government, including two years in Congress, he doesn’t appear to be on track for much in the way of social security benefits when he reaches 65 (or would that be 67?).
On his application form, Jindal listed among his state employment his service with DHH, the University of Louisiana System, governor and “teacher at LSU.” Jindal taught briefly at LSU
A printout provided by LASERS shows that besides the $15,252.46 that he withdrew in 1999, he also owed interest of $26,923.89 through Jan. 4. The total due, if paid by Feb. 5, was given as $42,176.35. For the next 30 days after Feb. 5, the amount was given as $42,455.89 and $42,737.30 if paid after March 6.
The LASERS document noted that only the amount shown as “Refunded” ($15,252.46) would be credited to his account. Any interest payments are not credited and are not refundable in the event Jindal terminates state employment and requests another refund of contributions.
Word from LASERS late Tuesday was that the money has been paid to purchase the 2.2 years but it was not clear as to whether the payment was from Jindal’s personal account or if it was obtained from campaign funds.
Posted in Computers, Education, Governor's Office, House, Senate, Legislature, Legislators, Retirement on March 24, 2012| 9 Comments »
Short shorts around the State Capitol
Just in case you may have missed it, we found yet another in a long line of examples of Jindal arrogance and hypocrisy from a few days ago:
• Whereas, Louisiana’s retired teachers have devoted their careers to the education and training of literally thousands upon thousands of Louisiana’s youth; and
• Whereas, Louisiana’s retired teachers have provided additional job and social skill training for adults throughout the state; and
• Whereas, Louisiana’s retired teachers have rendered valuable services in diverse leadership roles to their communities and institutions throughout their careers and continue to render such services as retirees; and
• Whereas, Louisiana’s retired teachers represent the profession, which is given the basic responsibility for launching the careers of state and national leaders, and for laying the foundation for the welfare of all members of our society; and
• Whereas, Louisiana’s retired teachers represent a tremendous pool of experience and training which remains dedicated and dependable support to the leaders in our communities, state, and nation; and
• Whereas, Louisiana’s retired teachers represent a loyal, patriotic, and concerned citizenry which provides a dedicated and dependable support to the leaders in our communities, state and nation.
• Now, therefore, I, Bobby Jindal, Governor of the State of Louisiana, do hereby proclaim March 15, 2012 as
Retired Teachers Day in the State of Louisiana.
Other than to question the grammar of the next-to-last whereas (“which remains dedicated and dependable support”—does anyone proofread these things?), we have nothing to add except to observe that even the pickle gets a full week and the rutabaga gets an entire month.
Fear and Loathing on the House Floor
Freshman House member Bob Hensgens (R-Abbeville) reportedly visited a constituent recently and confided that he had no choice other than to vote with the governor on the education bills lest the governor cancel the LA. Highway 14 construction project in his district.
Nice to know, observed the constituent that “my job, (my) retirement and all Louisiana children and teachers are less important than a few miles of highway.”
If true, Hensgens apparently is either sufficiently politically astute to throw up the appropriate smokescreen to detract from the real issue at hand or he is far too naïve to try to swim with the sharks in Baton Rouge.
The word we get is the project is already at or near completion. It would be rather difficult for the governor to undo the work that’s already done.
Such is life these days with this governor. In computer parlance, one might be prone to refer to Jindal as 2012 Nixon Upgrade: like Nixon, he is more than a little paranoid, he is certainly as vindictive as Nixon (see: Teague, Teague, Richie, Manuel, Champagne & Daniel) and he has complete and total disdain for existing law (see the U.S. Constitution position on breaking contracts as regards state retirement contributions and benefits).
But, as a longtime north Louisiana political observer says, “Is the public getting it yet? Do they see?”.
Dissent will not be tolerated, she noted. “The events that transpired on the House Floor on HB 976 and HB 974 finally show the true face of Jindal and his lackeys, as well as the absolute spinelessness of the House members.
“Thank goodness for the Black Caucus. Freshman Rep. Katrina Jackson…repeatedly embarrassed Rep. (Stephen) Carter, the author of the bills and the chairman of the House Education Committee who, as was clearly demonstrated, does not know what is in his own bills.
“He (Carter) finally grew tired of looking like a fool and ‘refused’ to take questions on his own amendments. The Speaker was forced to drag other administration lackeys such as Rep. Ligi to the mike to give equally evasive and/or uninformed answers.
“…These bills are bad for Louisiana. Who ever heard of giving school boards the responsibility to hire and pay a local superintendent, but then tell that same school board that they cannot supervise that superintendent? This is madness. Local superintendents are somehow now answerable (the bill is unclear on how this will actually work) to the State Superintendent, an appointed lackey who is not answerable to the voters or, technically, even to the governor!
“This is the ‘small-government-is-best crowd that is consolidating power at the state level?
” What the hell?”
Posted in Civil Service, Education, Governor's Office, Notable Quotables, Retirement, Transparency on March 21, 2012| 13 Comments »
Click on the image to enlarge.
IN CASE YOU’RE STILL UNABLE TO READ THIS 2007 JINDAL CAMPAIGN FLYER, IT SAYS IN PART (AND THESE ARE DIRECT QUOTES LIFTED FROM THE FLYER):
I know firsthand how important it is that we protect state employees and state retirees.
As my campaign for governor continues to intensify, I expect that some people will begin to spread false rumors about the future of state employees under my administration.
I wanted you to hear it from me that I will be a friend and supporter of both state employees and retirees.
I want to see state workers and retirees supported for the work they do.
I do not believe we should punish people for working, and certainly do not believe teachers and state workers in Louisiana should be singled out for penalty.
These men and women (state employees) work incredibly hard to ensure a bright future for our state and our children.
I strongly believe that we must support these workers in their efforts.
As a former state employee, I know firsthand how important it is that we protect state employees and state retirees.
Any statements to the contrary are simply false.
There’s more to this jibberish, but you get the picture.
Gov. Jindal, the truth is simply not in you.
Posted in ALEC, American Legislative Exchange Council, Campaign Contributions, House, Senate, Legislature, Legislators, Lobbyist, Retirement, Teague on March 20, 2012| 23 Comments »
State employees hoping to avoid Gov. Bobby Jindal’s state retirement reform, aka reverse gang rape, would be wise to contact the Louisiana State Employee Retirement System (LASERS) Member Services Office as quickly as possible.
Jindal, working in lock step with the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), is attempting to ram through the ALEC-sponsored retirement reform that could potentially leave many state employees in dire financial straits.
ALEC is a national organization underwritten by dozens of major U.S. corporations, including Koch Industries, which drafts legislation favoring business and industry and passes the proposed legislation along to state lawmakers to take back to their respective legislatures and state assemblies for passage.
One 38-year-old state employee earning $100,000 per year has worked for the state for 15 years and planned on working 15 more years before retiring at approximately $75,000 per year.
Under Jindal’s plan, that employee would only qualify for an annual pension of $17,000 after 30 years, a loss of $58,000 per year, or 77 percent.
Another state employee, 41 years of age with 20 years is presently making $52,000 per year. That employee planned on working another 10 years and retiring at 75 percent of that salary, or $39,000.
That worker is now facing an annual pension of $6,000 after 30 years under Jindal’s plan, a loss of $33,000 per year, or almost 85 percent.
Jindal is seeking an additional 3 percent contribution from state employees but the money would not be used to close the gap on LASER’S unfunded accrued liability (UAL). Nor would it go to increased retirement benefits. Instead, the 3 percent will go directly into the state general fund to help fill holes in Jindal’s budget.
Jindal’s plan also would require state employees to work until age 67 to qualify for full benefits.
Finally, he is seeking to convert from a defined benefits retirement plan to one of defined contributions.
Any one of the three that is subsequently approved by the legislature and signed into law is all but certain to face litigation on the theory—by LASERS officials and courts in Arizona and New Hampshire—that the U.S. Constitution forbids lawmakers from diminishing or impairing a contract.
LASERS contends, and the courts in those two states have agreed, that promises made to employees upon their hire constitute binding contracts and cannot be broken arbitrarily.
State employee morale is at an all-time low, largely due to the policies implemented by Jindal’s minions.
Over at the Department of Health and Hospitals, Carol Steckel, former Commissioner of the Alabama Medicaid Agency, was hired by Jindal to head up health care reform efforts in Louisiana. Her efforts to fire 69 information technology workers and contract their jobs out to the University of New Orleans was thwarted by the Civil Service Commission because commission members did not buy into the rosy numbers she gave them.
Only last week, UNO President Peter Fos said in a letter to DHH Secretary Bruce Greenstein that he was disinclined to sign the proposed contract until his concerns “are addressed and resolved to my satisfaction.”
Fos, who is new to the job, obviously does not know how things work in the Jindal administration. Underlings do not question the master; it’s surprising that he has not been Teagued already.
Steckel, who while in Alabama, left out of her budget appropriations for the purchase of artificial limbs for low-income Alabama amputees, saying the funds were optional, not mandatory. She has lost no time in pursuing reprisals against her employees who had the temerity to resist being fired.
The first thing she did was to discontinue flex time, whereby employees had the option of working four 10-hour days instead of five 8-hour days.
On the heels of that move, she began refusing to grant annual leave to employees.
It is the option of supervisors to grant or refuse annual leave even though it is earned by employees. Generally, the reason for not granting annual leave is that it is essential that the employee be at work on that day.
These, however, are employees she has been trying to fire—the same employees who were blocked out of their computers minutes after being informed in December that they would not have jobs in January and now she says they are needed at their desks. One of the IT workers at DHH has had enough and announced plans to retire.
In other agencies and other offices, state employees who are retirement-eligible are calling LASERS to schedule appointments with LASERS Member Services to plan their exodus from state government.
State Civil Service employees are eligible for retirement after 30 years of service at any age, after 25 years of service at age 55, and after 10 years of service at age 60.
LASERS data show that there are 3,000 rank-and-file employees under the age of 55 but with 25 or more years of service and another 1,100 who are 55 or older with 25 years or more of service.
Moreover, of the 47,000 rank-and-file Civil Service workers, about 9,900, or 21 percent, are eligible for immediate retirement—and they aren’t waiting around for the proverbial shoe to fall.
While it normally requires only a three- to five-week waiting time for an appointment with Member Services, the wait is now about three months—or until late June at the earliest. And as the retirement nightmare approaches reality with the advancement of Jindal’s bills, that line is inevitably going to grow longer and more crowded.
And lest one believes passage of the retirement bills out of the House and Senate retirement committees is not likely, let’s harken back to Rule One:
Follow the money.
Just as in the case of the House and Senate education committees, Jindal has complete control and he is going to go full throttle with his bills through those committees. And the fuel, once again, is money.
Between Jindal and ALEC, a grand total of $182,450 has been invested in 13 members of the two committees.
It turns out Jindal was not running around all over the country raising unnecessary money for a re-election campaign that he already had in the bag; he was fundraising to grease the skids in the Legislature with his own campaign donations.
Illegal? No. Unethical? Probably not. At odds with his squeaky clean public image he so cherishes and burnishes outside the borders of Louisiana? Absolutely.
With that said, let’s take a look at those contributions to select committee members with names of the legislators listed first, followed by the total campaign contributions and the source—Jindal or ALEC corporate members, or both.
House Retirement Committee members:
• Kevin Pearson, Chairman (R-Slidell)—$2500 from Jindal;
• Nick Lorusso, Vice Chairman (R-New Orleans)—$6500 from ALEC corporate members;
• Frank Hoffman (R-West Monroe)—$2500 from Jindal, $12,800 from ALEC corporations;
• Anthony Ligi (R-Metairie)—$5000 from Jindal, $20,700 from ALEC corporate members;
• Jack Montoucet (D-Crowley)—$6000 from ALEC corporate members;
• Alan Seabaugh (R-Shreveport)—$2500 from Jindal, $11,750 from ALEC corporate members;
• Kirk Talbot (R-River Ridge)—$5000 from Jindal.
The total for the seven House Education Committee members: $17,500 from Jindal, $57,750 from ALEC corporate members.
Senate Retirement Committee members:
• Elbert Guillory, Chairman (D-Opelousas)—$7500 from Jindal, $45,200 from ALEC corporate members;
• Page Cortez, Vice-Chairman (R-Lafayette)—$2500 from Jindal;
• Conrad Appel (R-Metairie)—$2500 from Jindal;
• A.G. Crowe (R-Pearl River)—$2500 from Jindal, $4500 from ALEC corporate members;
• Gerald Long (R-Natchitoches)—$2500 from Jindal, $35,000 from ALEC corporate members;
• Jonathan Perry (R-Kaplan)—$5000 from Jindal.
The total for the Senate Education Committee members: $22,500 from Jindal, $84,700 from corporate members of ALEC.
Larusso, Hoffmann, Ligi, Montoucet, Seabaugh, Talbot, Crowe and Long are all members of ALEC and the organization paid for travel, registration fees, hotel accommodations and meals for members Hoffman, Seabaugh, Crowe and Long to attend ALEC conferences.
Rule Two: See Rule One.
$2.50 each or three for $6.00
Louisiana Voice 