Posted on 04/04/2018 2:34:57 PM PDT by Beave Meister
Chicago taxpayers, prepare for another kick in the teeth. In fact, it might be a good time to grow fond of the toothless grin. Another recent court decision will put taxpayers on the hook for additional city pension debts. Yes, even more than before.
A circuit court judge in March struck down a 2014 state law that eased pressure on the pension fund of Chicago Park District retirees. The law had increased Park District employees’ own contributions to the fund, increased their retirement-eligible age, reduced their annual cost-of-living increases and reduced duty disability benefits. But those changes will be rolled back, due to the ruling.
That means the Park District — you, taxpayers — will have to come up with reimbursements for workers’ higher contributions, plus interest. Going forward the district will have to figure out how to stabilize the retirement fund without those cost-saving changes. Chicago’s pension funds — for municipal workers and laborers, teachers, police and firefighters, and now Park District employees — face serious unfunded liabilities. The Civic Federation estimates the Park District fund has about 39 percent of what it needs to make future benefits payments.
The judge’s ruling came on top of a recent analysis of the Chicago Public Schools teacher pension fund that showed taxpayers will owe another $1 billion to shore up that retirement account, bringing that unfunded liability to $11 billion.
(Excerpt) Read more at chicagotribune.com ...
The problem is that Illinois specifically Chicago retirees are moving to Florida and getting the benefit without providing any revenue to the city. Tax the pensions whether you live in Chicago or not. That is fair!!!!
I used to live in Jersey. It is/was a rich state. I don't see how property values are sustainable. The taxes and pensions are killers
They need to squeeze as much work out of us as possible; do you see any area abandoned by Americans that is remotely clean or neat?
Social security pats too much to people. I know couples getting 4400 a month. That’s crazy. Cut it in half. Seniors are the riches generation. Baby boomers are breaking the country.
I said this here a few days ago. Illinois is doomed. They will go the way of Detroit. The public sector labor unions are too entrenched and the pension promises made to them are too lavish. The result will be absolutely crushing taxes that destroy all businesses, cause ever more productive people to flee the state, drive property prices down and eventually result in the state defaulting on its debts.
The smart thing to do would be to move your business out of state and sell your property before the whole thing tanks.
It’s a damned shame we have no Republican Party here. There is only The Combine.
L
We MUST AT ALL COSTS not allow them to dip their hands into everybody else’s pocket by way of a federal bailout.
Not without changing the State Constitution, which the Democrats and Public Unions changed to both their benefit decades ago!
Democrats bought and paid for the Public Unions votes and the Public Unions got an all you can eat buffet comprised of taxpayer dollars for years to come!
No way the Democrats will EVER let the State Constitution be changed, it'll erode their stranglehold over this state!
Yes, hopefully Trump will have a recession so we do not bail out govt fat cats. Govt politicians will pass bailouts.
“it will probably drive states like Illinois and Connecticut ... into bankruptcy.”
there’s no provision in bankruptcy law for a state to discharge debts via bankruptcy.
Yes, but at some point it no longer becomes a legal debate, but a painful and destructive societal cancer. Like in Venezuela. so it simply means the only option is massive amounts of printed money and debt. Higher taxes too - but money printing is easier for insolvent governments.
states can’t print money either ...
No they can't. The Feds can, then attach it with lots of strings, and also buy lots of votes for the Left. Its one means how Federalism is being steadily destroyed.
“A person in the private sector would have to put in $1.4 million into their pension fund to receive a pension package worth $2.4 million.”
It’s less than that. If you start at age 23 and invest until 65, It’s probably about $500k to get $2.4M.
If they are getting paid that much, they put in far more than that.
Probably, but most end up getting way more then they put in.
Pensions can be great IF the government pays for the whole thing. I work for the government and we have to kick in 5%. If I had invested that 5% over the same 25 years instead, it would be more money.
Where pensions make sense for governments is when employees work for less than 5 years. The government gets to keep the money. Where pensions make sense for employees if when people start working young and retire early. I know couples who retired at 55 and draw $100k a year in pension.
That’s true the boomers are making 100K in pensions. No other generation will see that. Pensions have been revampted in every sector including government.
Many states are doing what we are doing; making the employees kick in. $100k couples are very rare. Most pensions are a few hundred a month because people don’t last that long in the job. There is a surprisingly high number of people who die within 5 years of retirement. Granted, their surviving spouse gets a part of the pension.
In my dept, we have lots of 2-3 year employees. They leave school, get a couple of years of experience and go for the big bucks. A new college graduate doing what I do makes close to the same money I make if they go to Northern Virginia and I have been doing it for 35 years.
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