Atlanta Mayor says public employee pensions will have to be dropped across the country.

[Better Believe It]

New Front in Benefits Fight, Atlanta May Drop Pensions
By CAMERON MCWHIRTER And DOUGLAS BELKIN
June 22, 2011

ATLANTA—Atlanta's City Council is expected to vote as early as Thursday on one of the most sweeping overhauls of public-employee retirement benefits attempted by a large U.S. city in recent years, as cities and states across the country race to close big budget gaps.

The legislation, if passed, would set the stage for eventually eliminating the city's current pension system entirely. That would shore up its budget and potentially bolster similar efforts by other municipal governments. Many pension changes undertaken by other cities have focused largely on asking public employees to kick in greater contributions to their retirement funds or reconfiguring benefits.

Faced with a $1.5 billion shortfall in benefit payments owed to current and retired employees, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed is backing legislation to phase out pensions, which offer defined benefits, and replace them with a 401(k)-type plan, in which the city instead pays defined contributions. The new plan would also have city employees join Social Security for the first time.

"The steps we are taking are going to have to be done across the country," Mr. Reed said in an interview. Mayors, governors and other political leaders have to push for pension changes for their governments to remain solvent, he said, but politicians also "need to have a very high pain threshold," because the changes will bring a backlash.

Read the full article at:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304887904576399650162046260.html?mod=WSJ_WSJ_US_News_5

Politicians will need to have a "very high pain threshold"??? It's the millions of state and city public employees who will be hurting, not the politicians. BBI

[Joe the Revelator]

1. Atlanta is one fucked up,mismanaged city

And one that loves to pretend that their mismanagement is par for the course across the rest of the country, which just isn't in the case. What it really shows is what happens when you elect republican governors and give them a republican legislator.

[Joe the Revelator]

2. And I know mayor Reed is a dem, but he's a product of a backward system.

That city and it's metro is too far gone....

[Angry Dragon]

3. Is the mayor and council giving up their pensions also??

I find it funny that when they talk about public employees giving up something they never include themselves in that.
They do not consider themselves public employees for some reason

[Better Believe It]

4. It really pains Democratic and Republican politicians to take away working peoples pensions.

They feel the pain!

[warrior1]

5. start from the top

down then let see how that works for ya.