Sacramento Bee Editorial Says UC High Paid Execs Threatening to Sue “Live in Bubble”

Jan. 02, 2011, Sacramento Bee

We’re in a time in California when everyone has to share the pain, and leaders have to set the right example. It is dumbfounding that some top officials at the University of California are doing the exact opposite. Thirty-six executives sent a letter to UC regents on Dec. 9 with an ultimatum: Give us higher pensions or we’ll sue. They had the gall to call it a “legal, moral and ethical obligation.” What’s appalling is that people – who already earn far more than the vast majority of the Californians who pay their salaries – want even more in these tough times. These execs richly deserve the withering criticism they’re already getting from Gov.-elect Jerry Brown and legislators.

…The UC pension system is laboring under a $21.6 billion unfunded liability. Students are getting hit with higher tuition and fees. Research and classroom learning are threatened by budget cuts. On Dec. 13, UC regents took the tough vote to reduce pension benefits for employees hired after July 2013 and to increase how much retirees pay for health care. Action on the executive pensions was delayed.

…(Yudof) is right to oppose the executives’ demand. UC regents should not be cowed by this despicable threat, either. Neither should some of them claim that lavish pensions may be needed to keep and recruit good people to UC.

Good people don’t threaten lawsuits against a cash-strapped state to enrich themselves.

Full article at http://www.sacbee.com/2011/01/02/3290033/editorial-uc-executives-offer.html