Philadelphia Benefits Stranglehold on Municipal Budget

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports:

The city spent $369 million on health benefits for workers last year. Those costs have jumped 45 percent in five years. In a city budget of $4 billion, health benefits eat up 9 percent of every taxpayer dollar.

Combined with the city's pension costs, 21 percent of the budget goes to pay health and pension benefits. The pension and health-care costs are projected to consume 26 percent of general-fund spending by 2013 if no changes take place.

As in most other businesses and municipalities, those costs have climbed at double-digit rates. The annual increases are unsustainable in a city with an eroding tax base, huge budget deficits, and the highest tax burden in the country.

As it stands, city workers enjoy a gold-plated benefits package. Taxpayers fund 100 percent of the health-insurance premiums for most of the city workers.

They sure are a special class of workers! Remember, your tax increase is their pay raise.