I understand, but what I am driving at was there are union members who are well represented in PERA, you said unions have nothing to do with PERA, and I disagreed respectfully. Unions have a powerful say, one is on the board of PERA!
 I believe PERA should be privatized, no longer put on government liability, but separate. The new hires should pay social security, especially since they are a huge block of workers that would boost social security as government workers, but also they can invest their retirements privately just as PERA does for them. PERA should be privatized, detached from government liability, since they make their own investment decisions anyways, why should taxpayers be liable for those decisions? Maybe individual self-directed IRA's? Whatever they choose. 

Because it's their security? Well then, they can share the same risks as the private sector, since it's the taxpayers, many from the private sector, who must bail them out and may not want that liability anymore.