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Sunday, March 15. 2015

If I were a police officer in Ferguson...

I would quit the job and find one elsewhere, where my work would be appreciated. But what about my pension? What would you do?
Posted by The News Junkie at 11:00 | Comments (18) | Trackbacks (0)

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Yes. And not only the police officers, but the (mostly) minority business owners who were pillaged and burned by the so-called righters of wrongs against minorities.

The 'Detroit-ization' of our once vibrant heartland marches on.
#1 locomotivebreath1901 on 2015-03-15 11:08 (Reply)
My husband just told me that's what he would do a couple of days ago. Walk away from any house payment, etc. Those who are fairly young can rebuild a retirement.
#2 becky on 2015-03-15 11:38 (Reply)
Why bother moving? Just do what the unappreciated police are doing in NYC - dial it down, punch the clock, and call it a day. Get meaning in your life from volunteer work. If the "community" does not like being "over-policed", give them what they want and let them suffer the consequences.
#3 dmw on 2015-03-15 11:47 (Reply)
I would go on sick leave until the nitwits realized they need me more than I need them.
Then I would tell the community that they have one choice, a strong police force or chaos.
#4 Jake on 2015-03-15 12:16 (Reply)
This may be closing the barn door after the horse has gone, but anyone in a job who's depending on a pension needs to work on putting together a self-owned business for a second revenue and as a cushion in case the pensioned job fails for some reason. Definitely a must if you work in IT where 50 is the age when some reason WILL be found to usher you out.

If you're a cop who can retire at 50, hold on teeth and toenails until you hit that magic age.
#5 fiftyville on 2015-03-15 12:23 (Reply)
Reminds me of a speech I heard Eldridge Cleaver give back in my college days. During the Q&A after the speech, a fifty-ish white woman in hippie regalia, with long braided hair, wearing Birkenstocks and a Mexican serape asked Cleaver what she could do, as a white person, to best further the interests of black people. Cleaver said "Kill yourself." The crowd roared with approval.

Then there's Woody Allen: "More than any time in history, mankind now faces a crossroads. One path leads to despair and utter hopelessness, the other to total extinction. Let us pray that we have the wisdom to choose correctly."
#6 Mystery Meat on 2015-03-15 12:26 (Reply)
Government is this countries Number One Enemy and police are governments agents
#7 bgarrett on 2015-03-15 13:20 (Reply)
Many of them may be vested already, although not for the full amount. They should be "on the market" [although I'm not sure what the market is for them right now -- maybe private security].

As for the less senior among them, oh, yeah, do the minimum required and keep safe. It's pretty crazy to do anything else.

At this point I'd guess Ferguson is going to hit a financial meltdown anyway, so the pensions may go pffffft as well.
#8 JorgXMcKie on 2015-03-15 13:28 (Reply)
The lefties and thier media puppets will keep hammering and at some point a cop will be scapegoated in the name of appeasement. Going to prison will most likely void your pension and they won't be appeased, only emboldened.
Re: the woman in the sarape, I certainly support her accepting the advice offered but should have left the rest of us out of it.
#9 James on 2015-03-15 15:33 (Reply)
Might as well quit, they are probably gonna get fired anyway. No use getting shot at in between.

Certainly not fair that the police chief, or the city manager, who were pushing the revenue policing get to resign and leave it all behind.
#10 JK Brown on 2015-03-15 15:40 (Reply)
Tough question. Very tough. It would be hard to leave the pension (it may not be like a 401K where you get to keep your share - it is more likely an all or nothing deal. If you don't put in all your years of service you don't get a dime).

On the other hand, I'd bet that of lot of them are staying on out of a sense of duty to their community (even if the community doesn't see it that way) and even more out of a sense of duty to their fellow officers.

It will be interesting to see what the turn over rate will be in the coming months. But, the question is just where can they go? There can't be that many openings in neighboring communities. I also read somewhere (can't find a link now) that because of the number of protests that they have also brought in neighboring communities' cops to help out. So, what good would it do to try to move away unless one moved far, far away.
#11 charles on 2015-03-15 16:19 (Reply)
I joined the US Border Patrol in 1980 as a GS-5, after the Marines, I retired in 2007 from the SES. My last best job was as the US Immigration and Naturalization Service District Director in Seattle. The pitfalls were never as many or as sharp as they are today. We administered justice all the way to the court. I wouldn't recommend that today. There are simply too many in the ranks who shouldn't be there, the public isn't worth protecting, the command is there to hang you out, and the reasons you are there are frequently misunderstood. You are there to make a decent wage, raise a family and be healthy and unencumbered to retire. If you are lucky, you'll get to ride the pony post retirement and maybe take a trip to Italy or something. These guys in Ferguson didn't pass the test for the State Police, DEA etc. Many of them don't really have options. The best they can do is survive the day and not get sucked in to the hell around them. In any case, the more cleaver ones will get the hell out. News flash to the public, you aren't supposed to have contact with the law or the police, when you do, things are likely to go sideways. They are meant to. My guess is the pensions are handled at the state level. BTW, did you know law enforcement retire at 90% of their high one in Cali. And then of course, they all migrate to Idaho post haste.
#12 Bob Coleman on 2015-03-15 18:24 (Reply)
Less than 10 years on the force - walk away. Find a better job and a better place to live - now.

More than 10 - like dmw said dial it down. Diversify your investments - now.
#13 L.B. on 2015-03-15 21:51 (Reply)
Sad. Just plain sad. As a kid growing up in the 50s/60s I was taught to respect the police. I still respect them and just wish they could live normal lives.

Society has changed things. The social whores, racists like Sharpton, Farrakhan, Holder, obama, J Jackson, et al have made America a war zone. Affirmative action, no profiling, welfare, lack of morals, drug culture, liberal academia are turning society around so the good guys are bad and the bad guys are "victims".

Screw it. I am comfortably retired from several endeavers incl. the US Army and I can avoid much of society's ills. But I still replenish my ammo supply after each range visit or after each news event like Fergusson.
#14 TomR,armed in Texas on 2015-03-16 00:20 (Reply)
TomR,armed in Texas: As a kid growing up in the 50s/60s I was taught to respect the police.

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/81458000/jpg/_81458935_81458934.jpg
#14.1 Zachriel on 2015-03-16 10:16 (Reply)
The bureaucracy is a player in the struggle to control government. One lever conservatives have is to ask the question, who is going to pay your pension, Mr or Ms Government Worker?

Driving the state into bankruptcy should NOT win the loyality of IRS, Border Patrol, Treasury, etc etc people.
#15 Whitehall on 2015-03-16 00:49 (Reply)
I would have quit on the same day that the government allowed the thugs to burn it down.
Generally state pensions have a period to contribute before you are vested. So it's simple; if you are vested leave it there and move on. If you are not and you are not taking a different job within the same system then take the money and convert it if possible to an IRA.

As a retiree of a state retirement system I can tell you who pays/paid for it: ME. I contibuted 6% and my employer contributed 6% and of course the employers contribution was considered MY benefit, part of the inducement to get me to work for them. Understand that it is not the state employees who are "bankrupting" the states, it is the legislature who have used the state retirement system to benefit themselves and their cronies. The workers, most of them, get no more than what they earned and deserve from the money they put into the system.
#16 GoneWithTheWind on 2015-03-16 01:11 (Reply)
I would leave, unless I was close to retirement age. Looks like there are plenty of job openings in all areas of law enforcement all over the country. People need to have the gumption to move where necessary to find a better life...some people just won't do that.

http://www.indeed.com/q-Law-Enforcement-jobs.html
#17 MissT on 2015-03-16 14:16 (Reply)

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