Facebook questions about CF

[George Wallace]

Found this running rampant on Facebook:

Military retirement is not a Entitlement, it was earned from 20+ Years of Service! Our benefits aren't some kind of charity or handout! Parliamentary benefits = free health care, outrageous retirement packages, 67 paid holidays, three weeks paid vacation, unlimited paid sick days - now THAT'S welfare. And Parliament has the nerve to call a Military Retirement an Entitlement?................ Re-post if you are sick of their stuff, and ashamed of our "leaders"!

Some pretty harsh questions of our political leadership in those statements.  Remembering back, the government raped the RCMP and CF Pensions to fight the 'Deficit' a decade or so ago.  Makes you wonder.

 

[Cansky]

Funny I thought it was pretty harsh too.  So I did google searchs to see if any of our (Canada) politicians had actually said this (or similar)  but could only find references to it from the US congress. Not to say that maybe some of our Canadian Politicians feel this way just couldn't find actual references.  Proof you can't believe everything you read or see posted (facebook)

 

[ModlrMike]

I think the key to it probably being American lies in the part "free healthcare". Most Canadians already consider healthcare free, so why mention it?

 

[Kat Stevens]

Really?  Because I'm pretty sure I pay for medical from my pension.

 

[Cansky]

Yes Kat you do pay for health insurance from your pension but this is for the things that medicare won't pay for.  Ie prescriptions.

 

[Kat Stevens]

Then it's not free, is it?

 

[Occam]

Really?  Because I'm pretty sure I pay for medical from my pension.

You actually pay for enhanced health care coverage and drug benefit coverage though PSHCP.  The basic health care coverage remains free.

 

[cupper]

I suspect that the term "Entitlement" also points to the fact that this may be a US thing as well.

And trust me, from the perspective of a Canadian living in the US, Canadians get free health care.

 

[aesop081]

There are quite a few of these things going around on Facebook. I refuse to repost any of them. Most of the one i have seen are obviously American in origin ( one talked about school starting with "the pledge").

To me, all of these things smack more of whining than anything else.

 

[Old Sweat]

From the terminology used and the reference to a 20 year pension, as well as some of the so-called parliamentary entitlements, I believe that it originated in the US. One of the major benefits for American military retirees is access to military medical facilities, as is also the case for active duty families. One may suspect that the retired military community will actively oppose any attempt to do away with or limit this access.

I agree with CDN Aviator!

 

[Occam]

There are quite a few of these things going around on Facebook. I refuse to repost any of them. Most of the one i have seen are obviously American in origin ( one talked about school starting with "the pledge").

To me, all of these things smack more of whining than anything else.

Actually, there is one that I occasionally post...

You CAN'T find out who saw your profile. You WON'T see what you'll look like in the future. You WON'T know what that man saw when he walked in on his daughter. There are NO free iPads. And you CAN'T see the video of Osama's death... Not on Facebook. STOP CLICKING THE SPAM LINKS AND EXPOSING YOURSELF AND YOUR FRIENDS TO VIRUS RISKS. REPOST if you'd like to TRY to fix stupidity..

;D

 

[aesop081]

I did see that one as well but i am not going to jump on that bandwagon either.

 

[navymich]

And ones like this:

Salary of House/Senate .......................$174,00​0 FOR LIFE
Salary of Speaker of the House ............$223,500 FOR LIFE
Salary of Majority/Minority Leaders ...... $193,400 FOR LIFE
Average Salary of a teacher ................ $40,065
Average Salary of Soldier DEPLOYED IN AFGHANISTAN $38,000
I think we found where the cuts should be made! If you agree... RE-POST

And this:

took a job knowing I would never get rich. I've missed out on holidays, birthdays, and spent them working. If I got a "bonus" it would be investigated. I may have to lay down my life or take one. My life expectancy is shorter than yours because of the stress. But yet, you think I'm overpaid & not deserving of a pension or Health Care Benefits? Post if you or your family is Military.

 

[aesop081]

Yeah, those 2 are particularly lame.

 

[Pusser]

Found this running rampant on Facebook:

Some pretty harsh questions of our political leadership in those statements.  Remembering back, the government raped the RCMP and CF Pensions to fight the 'Deficit' a decade or so ago.  Makes you wonder.

That's not true.  Surpluses in all three of the public pension plans (RCMPSA, CFSA and the PSSA) were used to offset the deficit.  I won't go into great detail as to how these surpluses were calculated, but suffice to say that not one federal government pensioner, present or future, lost a single dime of their benefits due to this accounting transaction.  We have defined benefit plans, which means that our benefits are calculated, based on our salaries, and paid regardless of whether there is money in the so-called pension "fund" or not.  This is protected by legislation and guaranteed by the Government.  In other words, if our pension "plan" fails, we will have bigger things to worry about (I'll be procuring ammunition and laying in canned goods) because it will mean that the country has completely collapsed.

The gist of the Government's argument is that since they are responsible for all shortfalls (thus guaranteeing that we continue to receive our defined benefits), then they also own the surpluses.  This is not an unreasonable position.

 

[Thompson_JM]

There are quite a few of these things going around on Facebook. I refuse to repost any of them. Most of the one i have seen are obviously American in origin ( one talked about school starting with "the pledge").

To me, all of these things smack more of whining than anything else.

:+1:

Facebook Slacktivism drives me up the @#$@ing wall.... It's societal laziness at its finest....

 

[Strike]

It's societal laziness at its finest....

...and shows lack of original thought.  Is there really such a thing nowadays?

 

[George Wallace]

That's not true.  Surpluses in all three of the public pension plans (RCMPSA, CFSA and the PSSA) were used to offset the deficit.  I won't go into great detail as to how these surpluses were calculated, but suffice to say that not one federal government pensioner, present or future, lost a single dime of their benefits due to this accounting transaction.  We have defined benefit plans, which means that our benefits are calculated, based on our salaries, and paid regardless of whether there is money in the so-called pension "fund" or not.  This is protected by legislation and guaranteed by the Government.  In other words, if our pension "plan" fails, we will have bigger things to worry about (I'll be procuring ammunition and laying in canned goods) because it will mean that the country has completely collapsed.

The gist of the Government's argument is that since they are responsible for all shortfalls (thus guaranteeing that we continue to receive our defined benefits), then they also own the surpluses.  This is not an unreasonable position.

I disagree to a point:  The current pensioners at the time were not affected, but those further down the road in the future may be.  A surplus now does not guarantee a full pot in the future.  Fiscal planning in these Pension Funds is a gamble as any other investments are.  I think the larger the cushion we can have the better.

 

[Maxadia]

  I think the larger the cushion we can have the better.

I'll agree with most of this.  I currently work in a unionized situation, and while too much of a surplus is not a good thing, our board was able to pull funding from the surplus when times became tough in order to fix things.  It's nice to have that rabbit there when you reach into the hat.

 

[Good2Golf]

I disagree to a point:  The current pensioners at the time were not affected, but those further down the road in the future may be.  A surplus now does not guarantee a full pot in the future.  Fiscal planning in these Pension Funds is a gamble as any other investments are.  I think the larger the cushion we can have the better.

Agreed, there is a huge issue brewing in the US Armed Services about a potential 'adjustment' to pension benefits, my neighbour US Exchange O told me...things might get ugly. 

Pusser, I agree with you that the Government has stated a defined level of benefits, but I also agree with Mr. Wallace that is now, and may not be so in the future.  When the future value of a payable is built into raw operating budget draw, vice accrual of interest on real invested capital, the challenge becomes funding more and more virtual accrual from the operating budget...what happens when the operating budget cannot sustain the "accounting transaction" you refer to earlier to provide the equivalent of real investment growth?  It's a similar challenge to pension plans where the benefactors' benefits exceed the current pool of contributors' payments into the plan...think General Motors...and even CPP (for which the precedent is already there for increased contributions for unchanged benefits.  Government 'guarantees' are guaranteed...until they change. 

Regards
G2G