Rebuttal to Argument Against Proposition 33

– Proposition 33 only allows members of the Legislature to participate in the same pension plan as every other state employee. No additional perks.

– Proposition 33 will require no additional state spending.

– Proposition 33 will require legislators to contribute to the pension plan from their own salaries, just like every other state employee.

– Proposition 33 is about fairness and about allowing everyone to serve in the Legislature, not just the rich. In order to retire, working people must be able to save money during their prime working years.

Right now anyone who sets aside six or eight years of their life to leave their careers and serve in the Legislature is denied the option of saving for retirement. Without a pension, many people with families cannot afford to temporarily leave their careers to serve in the state Assembly or Senate. For many potential public servants in their maximum-earning years, such a sacrifice imposes great burdens not only on themselves but on their spouses and children as well.

Thus, your neighbors and friends, school teachers, factory and high-tech workers, middle-income citizens of all types are effectively discouraged from running for office. That means we all forfeit our Legislature to rich or well-to-do Californians with substantial and secure financial means.

DR. WILLIAM CRIST, President
Board of Administration,
California Public Employees' Retirement System
BILL HAUCK, Former Chairman
California Constitution Revision Commission
MARK MUSCARDINI, President
California Association of Highway Patrolmen