The pension scandal that had rocked Milwaukee County six years ago, and that has recurred under Walker's watch, is back in the news. Apparently, Milwaukee County has been overpaying many retirees. They haven't added up the numbers, but officials report the cost could reach $1 million. Walker said that they are going to go after these retirees for a refund.
I wonder how much those lawsuits are going to cost us.
Walker will also have a hard time putting the entire blame on this on someone else. Of course, Walker is not responsible for anything that happened before he took office. Nor would even I hold him responsible for anything right after he was elected. He did have a big mess to contend with. But even though he was notified of these sort of problems years ago, he didn't take action until the end of last year, just when he was gearing up to run for the re-election he promised he wouldn't do.
Furthermore, it looks like some of these problems were allowed to happen, and all of them to continue, due to his very own actions (emphasis mine):
The new county filing with the IRS is one in a series of admissions designed to head off a full-blown audit of the county's regular retirement system and preserve its tax-exempt status.
It says the county's retirement office lacked procedures to identify and comply with certain pension ordinances and rules or conduct necessary annual reviews. The county blames understaffing, outdated computer software and turnover in outside auditors retained to assist the Employees' Retirement System with audits and actuarial services.
I guess this goes to prove the adage, "You get what you pay for."
And let's not forget that it was Walker that suspended an investigation he had called for, regarding this whole pension mess. I wonder what he is trying to cover up now. Besides the fact that due to his time in the state legislature, and a reciprocal agreement between the county and the state, Walker is entitled to all of these benefits he is lambasting.
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