Rauner vows to cut public employee pay

An article in the March 10 Chicago Tribune lays bare the Bruce Rauner agenda.

These claims aren’t coming from Rauner’s opponents – they’re coming from the man himself. Here’s what Rauner told the Tribune:

On public employee pay:

“Rauner says unions have ‘bribed’ lawmakers with campaign cash to keep compensation and benefits unreasonably high compared to counterparts in the private sector, and he vows to push for a cut in pay for public employees.”

On pensions and retirement security:

“He also condemns as inadequate the controversial pension benefit overhaul signed into law by Quinn late last year, which unions are now challenging in court.”

“The only way to fix the state's fiscal woes, Rauner insists, is to effectively do away with the current pension system… Rauner says, going forward they all should be shifted into 401(k)-style plans that don't guarantee minimum retirement benefits…”

“Workers in the private sector were long ago shifted to the more volatile 401(k) plans, he argues. However, Rauner would not have the state pay to extend Social Security coverage to those same public workers, even though that is legally required for those in the private sector whether or not they have 401(k)s.”

Of course, this is only the tip of the iceberg – other parts of Rauner’s extreme agenda and his shady business practices are already well-known.