Posted on 06/21/2005 5:32:27 AM PDT by Racehorse
The bill Perry signed could save the state about 455 million dollars in the next two years. The pension plan currently has a nearly eleven billion-dollar shortfall.
Much of the blame goes to the stock market tumble in the early 2000s.
There's also the Legislature's decision a decade ago to cut its contribution to the 90 billion-dollar Teacher Retirement System of Texas. Unexpected retirement growth also inflamed the problem.
(Excerpt) Read more at team4news.com ...
It's good to know there is at least one Governor who is not intimidated by the teacher's union.
There are no teacher's unions in Texas comparable to the kind you seem to be thinking of.
Don't believe the hype. I'm a professional retirement actuary, and I don't think it's fair to blame the stock market for lots of other mistakes by the people who run these plans, driven by their greed. Overall, stocks have been a great investment over the last 10 to 20 years.
I'm not commenting on Texas specifically, but lots of public retirement plans are a terrible scam on the taxpayer unfortunately -- there are a hundred ways that politicians "game" the system, and if any citizen or reporter can discover 25 of them you're a genius.
Absolutely tickled to know that. Genuinely so.
. . . I don't think it's fair to blame the stock market for lots of other mistakes by the people who run these plans,
Who manages, and how they manage, public or private pension plans is something many of us overlook when we discuss retirement schemes. We tend to believe that if the money is in the market it will grow on its own without much husbandry.
Okay, finished counting to 10. Now, I moved back to Texas specifically to get OFF of the Social Security system and onto the TRS system through teaching school (a thankless job). I did so BECAUSE prior to moving I was working for the Social Security Administration. Need I say more? ANYONE stuck on that crooked system is in for a lot of hurt later on. TRS has its problems, but it is FAR better than SS.
I rest my case, why should anyone be allowed to opt out of SS. There is no question that the system will fail under it's own weight but that should not give public employees the right to opt out. Once, doce, trece, catorce, quince, don't stop at diez.
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