You know Democrats are up to no good when they set up a task force to study the state of Coloradans’ retirement savings, yet they deny the state Treasurer a seat at the table.  Treasurer Walker Stapleton is the only statewide official who sits on the board of the Public Employees Retirement Association (PERA), and his expertise would be invaluable to the task force.  So why block him from participating? 

Turns out, Stapleton isn’t bought into the task force’s pre-determined agenda. House Bill 1377, which was introduced at the last minute by House Speaker Mark Ferrandino, creates a task force that is supposed to make recommendations for the establishment of a state-run retirement plan for private sector employees.

The prospect of such a move is downright terrifying.  The state can’t even manage PERA properly, and we’ve seen what a disaster Social Security has become.  Why on earth would anyone in his right mind think the creation of another government run retirement plan is a good idea?

As Stapleton put it in his recent release:

“Under no circumstances would I support a Colorado run retirement plan for private sector employees.  Frankly, it frightens me that Democrats are even asking for such recommendations.  Our current public employee plan, PERA, is $26 billion in the hole.  We should start by turning the titanic away from the iceberg before we start placing more passengers on the ship.”

Stapleton is exactly right.  Democrats should be focused on fixing PERA, not trying to launch a government takeover of private sector retirement plans.