One state retiree 49 years old paid over the course of his entire career a total of $124 000 towards his retirement pension and health benefits. What will we pay him? $3.3 million in pension payments over his life and nearly $500 000 for health care benefits - a total of $3.8m on a $120 000 investment.
It is hard to miss the irony in the fact that the very same week that Republicans were publicly heralding Congressman Paul Ryan's plan to inject market forces into the American health care system they were crafting a budget deal to strip them from the health reform law.