[Sherman Logan]

Mr. Corn (or possibly Horn) is quite correct. He entered into a good faith contract which is now being backed out of. He is entirely logical to consider this theft.

However.

He presumably supported a decades-old scam under which politicians were elected to office essentially by pandering to the teachers’ and other unions, then paid for their election by agreeing to unsustainable pension plans and other benefits.

Pension plans were always a popular payoff because they could be kicked down the road a decade or two. The pols would be out of office by then, so they wouldn’t have to take the heat when their promises turned out to be impossible to meet.

In the final analysis, it’s the fault of We the People. The vast majority of us, including myself, were unwilling to get down in the mud to do the dirty work of ensuring fiscal sanity.

This is a classic example of regulatory capture. When a small group with intense interest in a particular issue is pitted against a far larger group with diffused (in reality no) interest in an issue, the small group will tend to get its own way 90% of the time.

Elections to school boards and municipal/state offices are of little interest to most people. Why should they be? So who gets elected tends to be those who pander most successfully to those who do care, public employees. These pols then wind up negotiating essentially with those who hired them as to how to spend someone else’s money.

The main issue is that when something is unsustainable, it will not be sustained.

[C210N]

Actually, you have analyzed the situation right on the “money”.

This teacher, all the other teachers, all social security pensioners, all those who rely neither private pensions or social security but their own savings... will eventually get Nada, when the system collapses in chaos.

A reminder is in order that the operational debt as of yesterday was 101% of GDP.

And rising.

[paul51]

Mr. Corn (or possibly Horn) is quite correct. He entered into a good faith contract which is now being backed out of. He is entirely logical to consider this theft.

What's good enough for GM bondholders is good enough for public employees

[Trailerpark Badass]

He entered into a good faith contract which is now being backed out of.

???

Public employee contract negotiations look more like collusion to me.

[cherry]

exactly....the school board members are usually just teacher union goons.....

we need good men or women of character to start taking over even the smallest political positions.....

[ex91B10]

"Mr. Corn (or possibly Horn) is quite correct. He entered into a good faith contract which is now being backed out of. He is entirely logical to consider this theft."

Tell that to former GM bondholders...