MPS' Woes: Union Benefits!

So long as we're on the topic of 'union benefits,' and how they will be used to destroy 401(k) plans and "less-than-sufficient" health plans...

....it will be instructive to see what "union benefits" have done to Milwaukee Public Schools.


To appreciate the impact of fringe benefi t costs, consider that in 2004-05 the overall MPS budget grew $27.3 million while fringe benefi t costs grew $45.8 million. In other words, every new dollar of spending plus an additional $18 million were needed to pay for higher fringe benefit costs


The independent WTA report issued last year found that fringe benefit costs rose 83 per cent between 1995 and 2004, faster than any other MPS spending category. Looking to the future, the WTA concluded: “[I]n the coming years, the expenditure demands MPS faces, particularly in the fringe benefit area, will grow faster than available revenues. As a result, annual rounds of budget retrenchment are inevitable."


Think that's a problem? Get a load of this:


In just one category — health care for retirees — MPS has a $2.2 billion unfunded liability. This is nearly twice the size of the MPS annual budget. MPS uses a “pay-as-you-go” system that
annually provides only a quarter of the cost needed to address its unfunded liability. As a result, that liability will grow to $4.9 billion in less than a decade.


The summary:



A new report from an independent consultant confirms the basic conclusion that MPS reached years ago, namely, the district’s fringe benefits are “considerably more generous” than in
the private sector and among other units of government. As a consequence, cuts in
classroom programs have occurred despite a substantial increase in per pupil spending,
something verified more than a year ago in an independent report from the Wisconsin
Taxpayers Alliance (WTA).


Well, now. "Union benefits," seemingly the new gold-standard for retirement and health-plans under the (anticipated) Democrat hegemony, may be detrimental to your health.

You'll DIE trying to pay for them...

HT: The Warrior