Shame in the Service of the Public

Shame, according to some New Age gurus, is a destructive emotion that has no place in a caring society. All we know is that shame certainly has its place in Los Angeles County government. Public shame may well be the only reason why the L.A. County Board of Supervisors finally froze outrageous pension benefits that should never have been allowed. Supervisor Ed Edelman, who last week had opposed reforms pushed by Supervisor Gloria Molina, suddenly told his colleagues, “We need to put this behind us,” and agreed to back major changes in the pension plan.

That plan, approved in 1990, calculated fringe benefits as if they were salary for the purposes of setting pensions. The result was that some county employees would earn more in retirement than while working; the pensions of the most senior employees, including some elected supervisors, would be boosted by up to 19%. All of this, of course, comes from the pockets of you, the taxpayers, and of course you were pointedly not consulted about the changes costing more than $400 million.

The freeze approved Tuesday helps control the growth of pension costs, but does not rescind benefits already granted. Still, the turnabout by Edelman and Supervisors Mike Antonovich and Deane Dana is a victory, considering that last week they were fighting the key reforms.

This week’s change of heart just happened to follow a steady barrage of negative publicity that catapulted into high gear last week. So shame, at least in the Hall of Administration, does have its place.