Fong: Culver wrong to 'just hope' for IPERS solution

By James Q. Lynch

The Gazette

A Cedar Rapids Republican running for governor laid out a four-point plan for dealing with a $4.5 billion loss in the state's public employee retirement system fund.

The worst possible solution is the one Democratic Gov. Chet Culver appears to be pursuing: “Stick our head in the sand and just hope that things improve,” Christian Fong, a charter financial analyst, said Wednesday.

“We have to take steps to protect the retirement of the more than one in 10 Iowans that depend on IPERS for their later years,” he said. Fong noted his wife, a former schoolteacher, is among the 320,000 members of the Iowa Public Employees' Retirement System (IPERS). “Simply hoping things get better is not an adequate, nor positive solution.”

IPERS reported a 20 percent loss in it fund that last year paid out more than $1 billion to nearly 88,000 retirees.

The solution is not to force Iowa taxpayers to foot the bill, Fong said.

“Now is not the time for state government to follow the Obama administration's habit of forcing taxpayers into expensive bail-outs,” he said. “The solution must come from within IPERS.”

He's the second GOP candidate to say taxpayers shouldn't be on the hook for bailing out the fund. Rep. Chris Rants of Sioux City called Culver irresponsible to say there's no reason to worry because the impact won't be felt for years.

“That's irresponsible to the people who depend on that fund and the (taxpayers) who are on the hook to make up the difference if something doesn't change, Rants said.

Fong wants IPERS benefits to be in line with the private sector, not be worse than that of the typical private sector employee. Fong also called for the majority of the IPERS board to be portfolio managers and investment professionals.

Finally, the solution must not pit one generation against another. However, the situation underscores the fact the ratio of workers to benefit recipients of many government programs is shifting toward an unsustainable number because young people are moving away due to lack of good jobs.

As governor, Fong said, he would have the background to understand how economic growth happens and the strength to lead Iowa toward more opportunities.”