The so called pension “reform” bill that passed through the Kentucky legislature shows the clear class divisions in the United States. The legislature approved a measure that, among other things, will reduce the pension benefits given to new teachers. The changes are proposed to create an additional $300 million in revenue for the state, however, the state already has a $41 billion pension shortfall. The oligarchs in the state legislature tell us that we “owe a debt of gratitude” to them for the passage of this bill. Even if the bill produces the projected revenue that lawmakers expect, it will only generate .007% of the amount necessary to make up the pension shortfall. At the same time teachers who provide education to the future citizens of America are harmed.
The American political system only reflects the interest of the dominant class, namely the oligarchs. Notice how the legislature is putting through bills that specifically target pensions which directly relate to the retirement of the working class. It would be foolish to think that the only way to reduce a pension shortfall would be by cutting benefits for the working class. The capitalist system, riddled with its own internal contradictions, is incapable of providing stable employment and retirement benefits to the working class. Teachers across the state of Kentucky called out of work in response to the passage of this disgraceful, pitiful bill. As long as the exploitative, irrational capitalist system is present, the bourgeois legislature will continue to pass legislation that is destructive to the working class.