Matt Bevin, Kentucky’s governor, has been riling the dander of many people as of late with his proposed pension reform plan. Under the plan, public employees – including teachers, police offers, firefighters, road department employees, many EMS providers, and much more – would be moved from the current pension plan to a defined-contribution plan that would work like a 401(k) retirement plan. Governor Bevin and supporters say that this will end Kentucky’s considerable debt and underfunding that has occurred under the current pension plan. Opponents, of which I am one, argue that this bill breaks promises made to the Commonwealth’s public employees and will reduce retirement benefits. I will take it a step further.
Governor Bevin’s proposal is immoral.
Nevermind the fact that the proposal being passed around Frankfort includes language that ends the legal requirement of school districts to provide any paid sick days per year for our educators. Nevermind the fact that current language also takes away line of duty death benefits from a significant portion of Kentucky’s current law enforcement personnel and all new hires. Nevermind the fact that such defined contribution plans have limits on contributions and are tied to a volatile stock market. This plan is immoral because it breaks promises made to generations of employees who have filled our schools, government offices, ambulances, fire trucks, police cars, and road crews with the best and the brightest to serve the citizens of Kentucky. The message being conveyed is that the short-term and long-term well being of Kentucky’s public workers does not matter and that the governor seems them as expendable.
This is immoral.
And let’s not forget that Governor Bevin thinks that you and I, Joe Q. Public, are not smart enough to get how such things work and what needs to be done. Governor Bevin stated:
The people who do not have the sophistication to understand what’s at stake, but will bear the brunt of it, are the ones that are going to suffer if people like us who get it, who are willing to fight for it, don’t step up.
Governor Bevin would do well to know that we are smart enough to understand what’s going on. Here’s what else we are sophisticated enough to know: We understand that promises should be kept. We understand that the people who are the ones who will shape the future of this state, who provide for the safety of all of us, and who ensure that our infrastructure is maintained at the best possible levels matter and should be looked after. We are smart enough to know that something much be done in order to shore up the state’s retirement fund but we also are smart enough to know that gutting the pension plan and replacing it with something that simply is not in the best interest of the people is what should be done.
Perhaps Governor Bevin lacks the sophistication to understand that the people elected him and the people can also vote him out.
For my wife and I, this is personal. She is an educator who wants to have a secure future. I am a former paramedic who ministers to those who continue to work on the streets every day to ensure that the best out-of-hospital healthcare is provided to Powell County, Kentucky. We are also taxpayers who want our money to be used wisely and in ways that will benefit the employees that our taxes go to the pay the salaries and other benefits of.
But perhaps more importantly as Christians, we have a responsibility to see that people are cared for. Taking away their retirement and other vital benefits is not getting that job done. As a disciple and especially as a pastor I have a responsibility to name and fight that which is an injustice. If this does not fit the nature of an injustice that is repugnant to anyone’s morals, I don’t know what does.
One early sign we see of this being a bad idea is the sheer number of teachers, school administration, and other public employees who either have retired or will before the end of the year. We are about to see a crisis in our classrooms the likes of which no one has ever imagined. If you don’t believe me, ask any school employee. They will tell you of people within their districts who either have retired or will very soon. In other words, Kentucky’s teacher shortage is about to grow exponentially. And that’s just in our schools. This does not include the firefighters, police officers, and others who are taking the same action.
Kentucky is about to be in a real mess.
I call upon our representatives in Frankfort to work against this bill. I would also love for our clergy in Kentucky to fight against this injustice and to pray for its defeat. We must stand with our public employees, especially our teachers and public safety workers. This is simply not in the best interest of the Commonwealth.
Here is the letter I sent to Senator Rand Paul and Senator Mitch McConnell regarding my gross concerns about Betsy DeVos. If you have not done so, I encourage you to contact your senators to vote against her confirmation as Secretary of Education.