One member’s letter to his state senator (Mr. Esler invites other members to use his letter as a model for their own):

Dear Senator Martinez,

I can’t think of any reason why retirees should agree to give up any part of their pension. Very few can afford the financial sacrifice involved. Most of us would never have been willing to work for you had we thought for an instant that you never intended to actually pay what you had promised us. We couldn’t have afforded to. We were working to support our families and had been promised a secure retirement when we were too old to work any more.

Those of us who grew up Catholic will remember that oppression of widows and injustice to wage earners are among the very worst of the sins. Justice is 100% on our side. Very few issues in life are as clear cut as this one. You’re on the wrong side of this important moral issue. Here is a link to the Catholic Catechism:  http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p3s1c1a8.htm

Everyone noticed that you were distributing our pension money to ADM and other corporations within minutes of passing SB1. Perhaps you don’t have a sense of right and wrong.

Have you at least a sense of shame? You’re attacking one of the State’s most vulnerable populations in order to enrich corrupt corporations like ADM.

The State has enormous financial resources. Most corporations (70%) pay $0 in taxes. It’s time to make them pay their share in state and local taxes. That would wipe out the State’s deficits in a matter of weeks.

The numbers coming out of the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability tell us the State’s got plenty in resources.

I think you should pay us what you owe us.

Best Regards,

Walter Esler