Workforce Development

Pension Interview with Pennsylvania Manufacturers’ Association

Jonathan Williams, Director of ALEC’s Center for State Fiscal Reform, was a recent guest on the Pennsylvania Manufacturers’ Association show, PMA Perspectives, broadcast statewide on PCN. During the show, he joined host Carl Marrara of the Pennsylvania Manufacturers’ Association along with Ellen Horan, President and CEO of the Greater Reading Chamber of Commerce. They discuss the both the broad issue of public sector pension reform and specifically what that means for Pennsylvania. Check out the video below:

Unfunded public pension liabilities are the number one issue facing states and municipalities today. A study by the non-partisan government watchdog, State Budget Solutions, finds that state pensions are unfunded to the tune of $4 trillion. But despite these enormous liabilities, some are still resistant to the idea of pension reform.

Jonathan Williams and William Freeland, a research analyst with ALEC’s Center for State Fiscal Reform, recently co-authored a piece in Investor’s Business Daily that tackles the 4 biggest myths about pension reform. The pension reform issue is one of simple numbers rather than partisan politics. Pension reform isn’t anti-worker, isn’t partisan, isn’t costly, and the status quo isn’t working. The opinion piece attempts to set the record straight on these issues. A link to that article can be found here.

For more information on the problem of unfunded pension liabilities and for solutions on how to fix the problem, check out our recent publication by former Utah State Senator Dan Liljenquist, Keeping the Promise: State Solutions for Government Pension Reform. Senator Liljenquist was a leader in the Utah initiative to reform pensions, in the publication, he clearly and concisely identifies the current pension problems and offers concrete solutions that will help states keep their promises and keep state pension systems sustainable moving forward. He also analyzes the successful pension reform efforts in Rhode Island, Michigan, and Alaska.


In Depth: Workforce Development

American businesses are increasingly worried about the quality of the workforce pool from which they will be hiring. Too few American students are graduating high school or college with the skills employers need. And while college is a pathway to career success for many students, it’s far from the only…

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