Posted on 03/22/2012 3:19:55 PM PDT by blam
It is a shame blam and I once worked as a Police Officer for the city of Mobile. I saw the writing on the wall many years ago. I sent my “Brother and Sisters in Blue” a message on facebook to check out the solvency regarding their pension plan. I asked them to check if the feds would step in, if bankruptcy occurred. I did not receive one response from any of them. They must prefer to stick their heads in the sand and see what happens.
Funny how things in the 80’s and 90’s were good in Mobile and now what a mess. The mayor will subsidize the pension fund with moon pies when it runs out.
In our district in Illinois, the teachers are threatening to strike again. A simple Google reveals that Illinois has the highest paid teachers in the nation, we spend the most per student, and we get the worst results. Their pensions are above and beyond sickening, and yet, they want more.
Our state is broke. I like many, am owed more than a hundred thousand dollars by our state, which was a contributing factor to why we closed our business (plus, forced unionization, last year).
You spoke of police pensions, that is the tip of the ice berg. Here in Illinois, most who figure out how to hit the pension lottery, will not only have one pension coming, but they get into the buddy system (note dem system) and go from one pension job to another, putting in just enough time to get that pension. Many will “retire” after 20 years (school district employees, cops, firemen, whatever), then get into the park district for 10 years, then get into a municipal board (where they are only paid 10k a year or so, but get a 20k pension), etc. Some go to work for the toll authority, or library board. It never ends.
I know several people, in their mid fifties, who can already tell you, that when they retire, they will be banking well over 200k a year.
Not only that, the accrued sick days. Last year a woman in our kids scout troop retired as a teacher and was gloating how she was going to get a check for over 150k for accrued sick time and days off when she retired this year.
Yet, these people are the first who will leave the state when they retire because of high taxes.
Oh, yes, and it is supposedly in our Illinois Constitution that unions cannot be screwed with in any way shape or form, or some such nonsense. And, by the way, this problem was not created by dems only, 90% of Illinois counties are Republican, the problem was created by “reaching across the aisle” and promising whatever, to whomever, to get votes. Illinois is sunk.
My favorite are all the unionistas who claim to represent the 99%’rs. I would have to have several million invested to get the sort of trust fund returns that these jokers are going to get, yet me and my small business are supposedly the greedy capitalists that are ruining this country?
This country has to wake up, but it may already be too late.
Make sure your investment manager is independently-audited. Otherwise you’re really sticking your neck out there too.
New tag line - Courts, law enforcement, roads and national defense should be the extent of government
APNewsBreak: Feds consider closing some courtrooms
Not for long.
Next will be county and state defaults.
Note that some of that $4.2 gigabucks of debt are due to weird games played with the financing.
Several Jefferson County government officials went to prison for accepting bribes on that financing.
Curiously, nobody from JP Morgan (the bank that did the financing) went to prison for offering those same bribes.
It will be a double whammy as many of the underfunded pensions hold millions in Muni obligations due to their tax preferred status. When the pension costs crash the municipalities, the municipalities will default on their debt and bankrupt the pension plans.
>> city and local governments are paying their pension obligations by borrowing from the state pension fund
>
>Neat trick... where do you Suppose they learned it?
The federal government and the giant slush-fund known as Social Security.
We used to be red. Long Island USED to be a great place to live. Not so much anymore. The illegals probably out number us citizens.
>> the giant slush-fund known as Social Security.
Yeah, that’ss what that double SS in SSuppose wass ssuppossed to ssignify.
Thankss for carefully editing one S out of the portion of my posst you quoted, sso I wouldn’t look sstupid... :-)
It's already to late. There's no way back from here.
And rogue bankruptcy judges will treat you fairly, just like they did for investors in the Chrysler case /sarc
Public sector workers are criminally overpaid in this country.
Yup. I have come to regard most cops and fireman and other public workers as financial terrorists.
I have a sister-in-law who retired as a teacher at age 52 in northern Michigan. She always griped that she didn’t get paid enough and so forth (for “working” about 8 months each year). She still gripes incessantly about how she doesn’t get enough pension and health insurance freebies. What a societal parasite. It will be interesting if her county goes bankrupt. Want to take bets on whether we will “help her out” if that happens?????
I have a sister-in-law who retired as a teacher at age 52 in northern Michigan. She always griped that she didn’t get paid enough and so forth (for “working” about 8 months each year). She still gripes incessantly about how she doesn’t get enough pension and health insurance freebies. What a societal parasite. It will be interesting if her county goes bankrupt. Want to take bets on whether we will “help her out” if that happens?????
I pray for a collapse. It’s the only way to get on a sound footing. What is going on now is criminal.
Let Suze buy em.....the rest of us will watch from the sidelines : )
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