The latest bit of advocacy journalism from the Louisville Courier Journal really just goes too far:
The thing about the $1 million in "savings" is that, regardless of how many times they repeat it, it is illusory. The Senior Status program forces taxpayers to overpay for judges who work part-time. All we are doing by keeping this program alive is running up future pension bills. With public employee benefits unfunded liability already well over $30 billion, this is exactly the wrong thing to be doing.
We've already played this smoke-and-mirrors routine with cities and counties. It seems pension illiteracy is the new black.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Bad political spin never goes out of style
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1 comment:
You are right to a point. The pension benefit given to senior judges is problematic. However, as someone who practices law in Kentucky, I can tell you that those areas that have senior judges have seen their caseloads work more efficiently through the system. While I was skeptical at first, the program has been beneficial.
The obvious answer to the problem would be to create new judgeships statewide. While that is more expensive in the short term, the long term savings would be well worth it.
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