Letter of the Day: Pension measures

Pension measures

EDITOR: A front page article in Thursday's Press Democrat described ballot measures approved Tuesday in San Diego and San Jose to reign in escalating pension costs ("Voters lead revolt against public pensions").

In the article, Henry Bayer, an Illinois union executive for government workers, said "the California referendums reflect a &‘race to the bottom' to erode government benefits by putting them on par with the private sector."

Thank you, Mr. Bayer, for being so honest. Maybe now everyone can more clearly see the underlying issue - government retirement packages are not at all comparable to those given in the private sector. Taxpayers are beyond tired of being forced to pay the bill. Politicians have no spine to fix the problem, so let's let the voters determine solutions themselves.

GREGORY COX

Sonoma