Cute. I don’t think states can declare bankruptcy ... so, Illinois rubes that have jobs and pay taxes, bend over and spread them!!!!!
Cities can, why no states? Hell, with Obama in charge ... why not a country?
Raumer’s nuclear option is a “government shutdown”, or in other words, a severe curtailment of its functions including layoffs of droves of state workers ... “Hey, sorry, it’s the law.”
State Unfunded Pension Liabilities at $4.7 Trillion
November 18, 2014 A new report from State Budget Solutions finds that state-level public pension plans are underfunded by a staggering $4.7 trillion as of 2014. Were one to apportion that unfunded liability out among the country, it would equal more than $15,000 per person. Which states are in the worst shape? According to State Budget Solutions’ Joe Luppino-Esposito, California has a $754 billion unfunded liability — the highest among the 50 states.
In second place is Illinois ($331.6 billion), followed by New York ($307.9 billion) and Texas ($296 billion). However, as large states have larger numbers of public sector employees, simply looking at the total figure can be a misleading way to measure financial distress. Instead, Luppino-Esposito looks at “funding ratio,” which compares assets to liabilities. The lower the funding ratio, the worse off a state is — Illinois, for example, has a funding ratio of just 22 percent, meaning that it has only met one-fifth of its liabilities.
Connecticut (23 percent) and Kentucky (24 percent) are not far behind. Another way to look at pension liabilities is by looking at state pension liability per capita. In that regard, Alaska — with a $40,639 unfunded liability for every resident - is in the worst shape. Behind Alaska is Illinois ($25,740) and Ohio ($25,028). Connecticut, New Jersey, New Mexico, Hawaii, Nevada, Wyoming and California round out the top 10. Which state has the best pension funding? Wisconsin. Still, writes Luppino-Esposito, it’s far from perfect, as the state’s funding ratio is just 67 percent.
http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_ID=25080
This is totally the state’s fault. They should have been saving for these retirees the day they started working. I don’t feel sorry for the states at all. They have basically spent all the savings they had on junk. Well time to pay the piper. What happened to all that tobacco money all the states received? Spent it. No pity at all for these states. In fact, I hope it HURTS them badly. Next time they will not be so free to spend FREE money and yes tobacco money was free.
The Statmof Indiana went bankrupt in the 1840s, having sunk its fiscal future in canals jsut when the railroad came along. The State got a new Constitution as a result, which prohibited public indebtedness. They ‘ve probably changed the bankruptcy laws since then.
States have voters, and voters can vote the wrong way with no adverse consequences except to the state's creditors.
I mean, what if I just moved into the state? What if I was born only 18 years ago?
Do I have any obligation to honor my state's antique commitments, especially if they were obtained via a fraudulent political process? Before I was born or when I was somewhere else? Or when I was in the electoral minority?
WTF? Do I owe reparations or something?
States may not be able to declare bankruptcy. But, if push comes to shove, they can and should definitely welsh!
Public sector leeches had best open 401ks!