Date: Wed, 4 Mar 2015 12:27:01 -0500
From: “Tom Glendinning”
Subject: #5198 – Al Cooke’s post #11
Al,
I have applauded NCCES work for decades. No complaints about that. I apologize that you did not have a six figure income. Wait around a good while and inflation may take care of that.
As to the Teachers and State Employees Retirement System, as I remember when I worked at university, the state did contribute some portion of that item to retirement. Half the contribution? I may be wrong on that.
The state treasurer has done a fine job of managing the retirement fund, except, of course, for a bad tip on the risky public issue of a certain stock some years ago. I believe that the debate at that time was based on whether that particular investment instrument was conservative enough for management of state monies.
The reason for my post is to state an employer’s obligation in payroll, to which Tish may generally refer while discussing taxpayer’s part in making public payrolls. But I can not answer for him/her.
Employer’s contribution to payroll
Social Security 6.2%
Medicare 1.45%
FUTA 1.2%
(in North Carolina exclusively for Federal Unemployment Tax Act, up to $7000)
State Unemployment 1.2% (up to $21,000)
Total
10.05% of every paycheck
On the whole, 10% is significant and taxpayers should be very interested in how the money is spent. This reasoning may be why federal and state employee pay and performance comes under fire when times are hard and money is tight.
I am sorry that the American taxpayer did not sue the federal government after President Johnson and Congress raided social security and Medicare, as some astute and dedicated former state employees did here.
“It takes an intelligent fool to make things bigger and more complex……….. It takes a touch of genius to move in the opposite direction”