Don't make the same mistake

Don't make the same mistake in Michigan as they did in Colorado. The K-16 proposal can only hurt Michigan's economy. What is really significant is that Proposal 5 transfers primary responsibility to fund pensions to the state and does not make any provisions for decline in the economy.

According to the Citizens Research Council, "Over two-thirds of the initial additional costs to the State from Proposal 2006-05 arise from the provision to cap employer retirement contributions. This cost component represents a new financial obligation to the state budget and will steadily increase each fiscal year. The State's projected annual costs associated with the required retirement contributions will rise faster than inflation, thereby requiring policymakers to reconfigure state finances to meet the education funding guarantees within existing resources or to raise general revenues. "

As a result of this, local districts would have the opportunity to show less restraint when negotiating contracts.