"This Is All About the Money": Pension Fund 'Crisis' a Red Herring, Union Chief Says

I applaud the job our fire fighters have done and are doing. I agree that all the Vampire Squids on Wall Street have their designs on all those pension funds or to cash out other nest egg saved up by their fellow Americans. However, as a former Marine, I know the benefits and pay of the average firefighter far outstrip that of a career military person. There is no 3 on 4 off especially when deployed in a war zone away from their families. I think the average firefighter needs to take a hard look at their military counterparts and ask the question - is my compensation package really fair?

I don't understand why the public anger is over public employees pensions and wages,why it is not against the corporate america which has kept the private employees wages stagnent for 30 years and givenall the benefits to the top brass.
I came here 40 years ago,the average life was the best in the world,today it is even worse than all the developing countries.
The American dream has become American night mare for most of the americans except the top 5% of the wealthy who are making obscene amounts of money and not wanting to pay their fair share.
Not one millionare's son or daughter has gone to Iraq or Afganisatan,not one drop of their wealthy blood has been shed but they are the first to pounce on the working class,shame on all these wall streeters.

This guy is a union chief? Weather a 401k or a defined benefit plan, Wall street would already have both. Oh wait they are not funded that is the problem. There is no money, so yes it is all about the money.

Seems like Harold Schaitberger is trying to mislead quite a bit.

If both public and private workers are paid the same wage, and if one has a better benefit plan to subsidize healthcare and pensions, that's a perk with enough value to make it so a public worker does essentially make more.

Also, the Wisconsin deal did not affect firefighters or police officers. Why put up a campaign targetted at winning sympathy?

The bit about Wall Street wanting to "do 401Ks" is the most confusing of all. No one suggested pensions be dismantled at all. All they were suggesting was people contribute more into it, so how would the Wall Street guys get any of that action anyway? I hope that wasn't some lame attempt to confuse and direct people into thinking somehow Wall Street is related at all to this.

I was an engineer for thirty years the defense and semiconductor industries. AND I don't get a pension!!!!!! Yes we have Wall Street and CEO problems, but they are not the multitude of private sector workers routinely get screwed. If the union members think they are not replaceable, guess again. They can replace all of them tenfold with use of visa programs like the ones used to destroy he engineering profession!!!!!

tea party has already been bastardized.that didn't take long. will never have legs being based on petty jealousy and hatred-unless you belong to some hate mongering group. as a matter of fact-throw fox news in there also. i think i'm going to become a democrat-no i don't think-i know

We live in the best nation in the world. We have freedom and we have organizations that will save us from danger,Put out a fire at our house and come in and rescue us if we are asleep in it,We have nurses that will treat us with the best care if we are injured. They put their lives on the line for us 24 hours a day. Our teachers are among the best in the world and most of them spend extra time and their OWN money to see that our children get the best education possible with the ancient system that they are asked to work with. And yet assholes like Glen Beck sit back on their lazy asses and do nothing but criticize them and stir up problems so that they can get ratings. It is the kids that flunked out of school that are bitter and have joined the tea party. They are idiots that can't spell taxes and are too cheap to pay their fair share to live here. They would be better off living in Libya with Beck and Rush Limbaugh as their leaders. It's about time for the real workers in this nation to take time out from there 12-14 hour days to kick the living @#$% out of these morons. Their patience has to be close to running out. I support the public unions and would be proud to pay higher taxes to support them and show appreciation for the jobs that they have chosen to do. Screw the conservatives and their two-bit platforms. They belong in the old East German bloc.

For the record, DB plans, where the money is managed by firms like BlackStone, are probably more expensive than DC plans filled with low cost index funds. And the money is already going to Wall Street. This guy has dozens of reasons that firefighters' benefits should be protected and he picked the one that doesn't make sense. Kudos.

I think if paying money to your health plan helps great but I think all Americans should pay based on gross income

End the bogus "war of TERROR" (WW2 was only 4.5 years long and "was" declared a war by congress) .. bring back these soldiers.. shut down military bases on foreign soil.. and 1/2 of your economy will be saved.. the other half f the problem.. market bulls.. dividend markets.. and foreign subsidies.. don't blame the working class, social security, medicare.. its the wall street sharks that have to be hung up by their buster browns. wake up.