Washington State House risking pensions with budget game | Opinion

House Dems playing pension games

On April 3, hours after the S&P 500 plummeted 5%, the Washington State House Appropriations Committee voted to raise the expected investment returns of public employee pension assets. This budget gimmick was not motivated by economic optimism, but rather to enable House Democrats to move $1.7 billion in state investments away from supporting public employee retirement accounts to spend on other state programs.

This action will erase $5.9 billion in future assets that are needed to support retirees. In the same meeting, the committee also advanced a bill that transfers another $3.3 billion of pension assets into the general fund. As global markets tumble, the House Appropriations Committee is wiping $9.2 billion of pension assets off the books.

Rather than balancing the budget, House Democrats are raiding money from accounts designated for Washington’s retirees. This will dramatically increase pension obligations for future state budgets.

There is a better proposal on the table. The State Senate Democrats’ budget eliminates all pension debt by merging underfunded and overfunded pension plans, saving taxpayers billions of dollars in the long-term. As the final budget is negotiated, we urge you to support the State Senate Democrats pension proposal.

Barbara Church, Tacoma

Phone coupons discriminate

Blind, older and poor people are being eliminated from sales prices by stores using E-coupons. I have bad eyesight and a cell phone for me is out of the question. Imagine my surprise when getting to the checkout and finding out I couldn’t get the sales price. This discriminatory program should be eliminated — and illegal.

Jim Maloner, Puyallup

Oppose fire merger

The Graham Fire Department plans to merge with Central Pierce Fire. Voting “No” is the appropriate response in the forthcoming election.

No new “efficiency” exists by merging the two fire departments. We do not vote against fire levies. We support our firefighters.

Serving on the Graham Community Planning Board, I came to appreciate the importance of community in an area not well served by the county. During two monthly meetings over four years, we heard what was important to our citizens. Sessions were held in a Graham Fire Station. A Fire Commissioner served on the Board.

Where is Graham? You find the Graham Library, Graham Elementary School, Graham-Kapowsin High School, Graham Town Center, the Graham Post Office.

Smith Graham, a Maine native, was a logging company foreman in the local area back in 1901. Over time, incoming mail carried by the Tacoma Eastern Railroad cars often had just the name ‘Graham’ as the place for delivery since logging camps were moved frequently. When a post office was established in 1908, the name Graham remained.

Graham’s name is symbolic of our shared historic community which the fire department’s current leadership simply ignores.

James Halmo, Graham