oposite of what we need to do dems are enemy again! Dems seek state-run pensions for private workers The San Francisco Chronicle | by Judy Lin | February 24, 2012

Dems seek state-run pensions for private workers The San Francisco Chronicle | by Judy Lin | February 24, 2012 Two leading California Democrats introduced legislation Thursday that attempts to provide retirement savings for private-sector workers of modest means, creating a government-run program for private-sector workers whose employers do not offer pensions or 401(k) plans. They said it could help an estimated 6.7 million California workers. Sen. Kevin de Leon and Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg introduced SB1234, which would require employers with five or more workers to enroll them into what they have termed a "personal pension program" to be run by a state board. Their idea is to get small-business employees and hospitality workers who don't make much money to save more for their retirement. "We must take action on the impending retirement tsunami," de Leon, of Los Angeles, said during a news conference in front of the state Treasurer's Office. "We cannot afford the rampant poverty and devastation that awaits us if we continue on our present course." The lawmakers said they believed their program would be the first in which a state government established a retirement program for workers in the private sector. As a program with little or no precedent, several issues remain unsettled, such as whether California taxpayers would ever be on the hook if future investment returns failed to meet projections.