When I saw some political signs going up in my East Anchorage community that claimed Aimee Simms to be “a leader who listens,” I reached out. I learned from Simms that she enjoys a defined-benefit retirement system as a prior teacher up here. Unfortunately, she does not think current teachers deserve the same benefits she receives.
With our current hiring and retention issues, it should be painfully obvious that the common- sense solution is to return to a defined benefit retirement system that the overwhelming majority of the other 49 states use.
I sent along analyses that show how a defined-benefit retirement system enhances the community with that money going back into the local community, but since then she has gone radio silent. This is a bad sign for constituents, as politicians tend to be on their best behavior during campaign season.
The current defined-contribution plan is great for taking those funds Alaska puts into employees’ retirements for use in different states when those employees move elsewhere for relatively higher salaries by the cost of living and a more comprehensive retirement system.
We’re essentially paying to train employees to work and retire elsewhere with our current shortsighted system. Instead of advertising herself as a “leader that listens,” Simms should probably go with “Aimee Simms, a leader that pulls up the ladder behind her,” or, “Aimee Simms, I got mine.”
— Miles Spathelf
Anchorage
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