Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Friday, November 02, 2012

Pension reforms fall short of goal, says C.D. Howe report

A new report from a leading Canadian think-tank says legislation to reform public pensions is still too generous to federal employees and MPs, and too risky for taxpayers.

The C.D. Howe Institute report says the government is underestimating the plans' liabilities by about 40 per cent, or $100 billion, so taxpayers are on the hook for more than advertised.

The report says the changes are an improvement on the current system, but need to go further before an equitable distribution of benefits and risks is achieved.

Under the new law, public servants, members of Parliament and Senators will contribute roughly half of the reported cost service of the plans.

To reach a true 50-50 split between employee and taxpayer obligations, the pension plans would need to be radically altered, the think-tank says, or participant contributions would need to rise further.

The bill received Senate approval on Wednesday and requires only royal assent to become law.

Original Article
Source: CBC
Author: cbc

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