Pension and Welfare

Council to consider mayor's proposed pension changes

2013-05-21 17:26:53

With the city retirement system short hundreds of millions of dollars in unfunded liabilities, officials say they are likely to begin requiring municipal employees to contribute to their pensions. "Pretty much everyone is in agreement that it's fair,"...

At heart of IRS scandal: flawed 501(c)(4) rules

2013-05-21 08:00:00

Congress passes laws and usually the appropriate agency can write regulations implementing the law. However, the regulations cannot contradict the law. Nevertheless, with respect to the tax law provision 501(c)(4), that is exactly what happened. Under...

How not to run a local government

2013-05-19 05:00:00

One of the more enjoyable aspects of my public career was an excellent relationship with public safety unions. Law enforcement, fire and EMT groups were supportive of my races for the state legislature, Congress and governor. Although not unheard of,...

Mayor's bill would require city workers to pay into pensions

2013-04-29 00:00:00

With the pension system for City Hall workers facing nearly $700 million in unfunded liabilities, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake is introducing legislation today that would require employees to start contributing part of their salaries to the fund....

Board questions deputy mayor's place in fire pension system

2013-04-25 16:59:18

Members of Baltimore's fire and police pension board are questioning whether one of Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake's top aides should remain part of the lucrative pension system that covers sworn public safety officers. Administration officials say...

Harford council reviews school budget request, hears pleas for more money

2013-04-25 17:09:09

Harford County Public Schools officials appealed to the members of the Harford County Council Thursday morning to fully fund their request for $241 million from the county for their Fiscal Year 2014 operating budget. Harford County Executive David R....

Harford council's foibles on Bel Air Walmart bill defy logic [Commentary]

2013-04-25 11:11:35

Has there ever been an event so bizarre as the most recent Harford County Council meeting on April 16, when zoning legislation thinly disguised as a means to stop the planned Bel Air South Walmart "died," after failing to receive a seconding motion? I...

How Republicans raided the welfare state and left it flat broke

2013-04-11 11:15:00

I would like to add some points to former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich's column "How the welfare state has grown" (April 7). Mr. Ehrlich fails to mention the fact that every president since Lyndon Johnson, beginning in 1964, has raided the Social Security...

How the welfare state has grown — and sapped America's economy and culture

2013-04-07 05:00:00

"I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them." — Thomas Jefferson My recent column on the challenges associated with the Social...

Ulman says transportation bill will have biggest impact on Howard

2013-04-17 05:03:00

The transportation package passed by the General Assembly, including an increase in the gas tax, will have the most immediate impact on Howard County residents, but legislation out of Annapolis this year has little effect on the county budget, according...

City school police seek better benefits for injuries in line of duty

2013-03-09 12:09:00

When city school police officer Joseph Baribeault attempted to arrest two combative students at the old Greenspring Middle School, he ended up injured at the bottom of two flights of concrete stairs. Even though the city has acknowledged his disabilities...

Audits detail fiscal problems of city phone system, pensions

2013-03-06 16:13:00

Audits released Wednesday offered new details about two of the city's ongoing financial problems: money wasted by the outdated municipal phone system and the unfunded liabilities of the Police and Fire departments' pension plans. The independent HPA...

States nationwide have badly underfunded pension plans.

2013-04-29 13:28:03

Welfare benefits changes

2013-04-22 07:18:00

Kim Matthews has joined Northern Trust's Multi-Manager Solutions Group as pension risk strategist. She will support corporate pension clients with actuarial consulting. She worked most recently with Aon Hewitt in an actuarial role.

2013-03-04 00:00:00