Reform needed on teacher retirement system
After pumping nearly $600 million into the Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS), the Legislature wants to “do pension fixes ‘at some point’” (“Ga. lawmakers say teacher pensions need fixing, just not now,” Politically Georgia, March 4). Great. A few years ago, the National Council on Teacher Quality gave TRS a grade of D-plus. It met one of seven criteria. Included in the reasons for the poor score was the TRS’s treatment of entry-level teachers. The stock market is now on a high. If it tanks or takes a substantial hit, funding needs will grow even greater. Here’s a suggestion: Give existing teachers three months to decide whether to stay in TRS or switch to the Employees’ Retirement System (ERS), a hybrid pension/defined-contribution arrangement more in line with current retirement benefits provided to other state employees. New hires would be placed in the ERS.
ALLEN BUCKLEY, ATLANTA
Reining in political perks would boost democracy
In response to Clifford Humphrey’s column (“Amazon, Delta, corporatism and political prostitution,” Opinion, March 3) – interesting, but the wrong premise. It assumes the Legislature represents the people. It does not, because of political contributions and gerrymandering. Gerrymandering can be controlled with modern computer technology. A central program should be written that is required for the country and the states. It would take the population of an area and divide it evenly, then strike population circles. Advertising limits would force more face-to-face meetings by candidates to learn the real feelings of the people. The multibillion-dollar lobbyist industry needs to be done away with by law. Special privileges to legislators would be watched and publicized. Legislators would have no free medical coverage, cars or retirement; they could purchase these the same way a worker does. These steps would put us much closer to representation by the people.
ROBERT P. LYNCH, JONESBORO
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