Posted on 04/12/2016 7:48:45 AM PDT by C19fan
Every few months, another think tank or financial institution releases a new report sounding the alarm about the fiscal crisis facing state and local pension funds, and the findings are reliably dismissed by public sector unions and their political backers. But the latest research, from researchers at Stanford’s business school, is hard to ignore. The Financial Times reports:
(Excerpt) Read more at the-american-interest.com ...
From what I can tell, that $3.4 trillion is just state and local. The Federal government will say their fund is solvent, but that is being funded out of debt.
>Given the vast array of people who have not saved for retirement your 401k nest egg is a tempting target.
Yep, the new motto for the ‘New America’: Shafting those that did for the benefit/votes of those that didn’t.
Sure I read that in the Constitution somewhere. I mean, it’s GOT to be there, right? It’s been the ‘norm’ for over 100yrs; even though We supposedly have a 4th, 5th, 13th A., right? /s
>Public pensions and unions should be illegal
SHOULD be? ONLY in govt is this NOT an ethics violation and/or conflict of interest that would get anybody else a BIG fine, lose of license and/or jail.
At least when it was taxation WITHOUT representation, it wasn’t as high as we have today WITH.
>I have no confidence that the majority of “Republicans” in Congress would protect private accounts from government grabs.
Please.
90M+ out of work and they want to increase the # of visas, 90M+ out of work w/ Islam and they want to keep the border wide open.
Of the 3 ‘jobs’ for govt (protect borders/invasion, war, protect Rights), they can’t get ONE correct. Now, tack on all the usurpation ‘powers’, agencies, dept, rules/regs...
The ONLY thing to have confidence in is the shaft We the People will get to protect their own bennies/perks/paycheck/fiefdoms; public/Constitution be damned (again).
>The way I look at it, it is their money. And the less the government has control of it, the better. But politicians and unions promised these lofty pensions. A gym teacher in New Jersey, making 112K a year will retire with a promised pension of 61K a year plus full medical benefits for life.
That teacher put in less then 100K into the pension but will get his money back in the first year. The taxpayers are on the hook for the rest of his life.
That is not a pension, it is a Ponzi scam. Madoff went to jail for a scheme like that, but our political officials get re-elected.
>
Ah, but you’re talking about the 3rd, 4th, 5th, N+ rail-of-politics here...The ‘highly esteemed’ teachers, police, firefighters, etc.
You’re not against the CHILDREN or want NO police, do you? /s
Oh, it’s NEVER enough for them. You property taxes would say something different. Course, not being ‘out of pocket’ for most, they are ignorant on just how much they ARE getting/squandering....for a job THEY decided to take; it wasn’t FORCED upon them.
I am one of the “pampered” teachers in the deep south in an alternative school. When I retire, if I don’t die first, I will get about 10K per year and not even a band aid for medical care. Our retirement system takes out for us and also we pay into SS.
Our system is very conservative and we make a good return on our money in the system. Please stop lumping all teachers in the north and east where unions etc. pump up benefits. Non union down here.
Ditto.
Cities are not companies which are fully able to seek refuge within the bankruptcy code; many times cities are limited by the state (and in some states, they can be forbidden from going bankrupt.) Further, almost every city in California is specifically forbidden by their city charters from having ANY debt which isn't funding through bonds. If the voters haven't approved it, no debt can be carried. Some patchwork legislation has been passed by the state to somehow re-write city charters to allow them to carry CALPERs debt, and specifically forbid cities from repudiating that debt (which they can't legally have any debt...)
Cities can raise rates almost at will to pay debt something companies can’t do. In fact cities know to the penny their projected revenue another thing companies can’t do. What they should do is cap their pension plan and move new hires to 401k. Also terminate retirement health plans. This is what the private sector did.
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