US. Have Public Employee Pensions Become More Generous, or Less?
There’s a debate going on about public employee pensions. One study finds that government pensions have become more generous over the years. But a prominent academic replies that public sector retirement benefits have remained steady in generosity and taxpayer costs have actually fallen because public employees are paying more for their pensions. Who’s right? Me, that’s who. It’s an important debate: retirement benefits are needed to attract public employees but excessive benefits can squeeze out other important parts of state and...