Public employees’ pensions punish others

President Barack Obama has said something I kind of agree with. We might have to work until we are 70. That will save the federal, state and local government trillions of dollars on public employee retirement funds. If the average public employee would retire at 70, instead of the normal 50s, at 65 percent to 90 percent of the maximum salary, it will probably save the taxpayer trillions of dollars or about half of the total pension.

Oh! I am sorry. He is only talking about the Social Security people who average about $40,000 a year versus $75,000 for federal jobs. Those who retire on Social Security only get about 30 percent or 40 percent of their wages in Social Security versus the 65 percent to 90 percent public employees get.

Obama should have suggested that employees of GM and Chrysler work until they are 70 to keep their pensions from forcing the carmakers into bankruptcy. Or maybe he needs to let the U.S. government and all the other government organizations go bankrupt to force the government unions like the carmakers unions to get rid of some over the excessive pension plans.

Does Obama think that attacking Social Security and Medicaid as too expensive while the public employee wages, retirement pensions and health benefits exceed the average taxpayers' is going to work? Maybe he should have a czar find out how many of the people over 65 are working because they need the income or can still work.

Larry Conrad

Walker