REGION: County's pension costs soar

The Californian ^ | 04/18/09 | JEFF ROWE

[TigerLikesRooster]

REGION: County's pension costs soar

Finance chief says taxpayers' additional liability now $119 million

By JEFF ROWE - Staff Writer | Saturday, April 18, 2009 5:08 PM PDT ∞

RIVERSIDE ---- As the county grapples with ways to cut costs in response to shrinking revenue, it now faces a $119 million pension expense that will further complicate balancing its budget.

That's on top of the approximately $150 million the county will contribute this year as its normal share of its employees' pension.

The declining stock market has eroded county employees' retirement portfolios. Terms of the county's contract with the California Public Employees Retirement System and the county's 19,000 workers stipulates that the county make up a portion of the decline.

To make up for projected losses this fiscal year, the county will need to come up with that money just to cover the additional pension requirement. Payment isn't due until 2011, but that liability may grow.

[TigerLikesRooster]

Ping!

[SkyPilot]

This is serious. The state might have to ask teachers to actually pay for some real money for their own health insurance, and instead of getting a huge raise (again) in their fat retirement checks, it might actually have to be less.

But don't worry, everyone will cave into the teachers union again, and the taxpayer will become bankrupt.

Oh - almost forgot. The "solution" the California Socialists Teachers want for having to even pay for some of their own healthcare is to socialize and ruin the entire healthcare system.

Corporations are forcing unions out on strike over reductions in or outright elimination of health care coverage. The CFT believes that ultimately we need a single-payer health care system, like Canada's, to solve the problems created in this country by for-profit health insurance corporations. This would put the United States in the company of every other major industrial nation in the world, each of whom spend less per capita on health care than we do, while delivering universal access. The solution: Single Payer

[Bernard]

I started reading about all these legacy costs, and for a while I thought the article was about General Motors. But, hey, the only thing they have in common is that the union had nothing to do with failure there either.

[TigerLikesRooster]

In about 15 years, California went from one of the most advanced economy to bona fide banana republic, becoming the equal of Mexico.

[theBuckwheat]

Media spin headline. The cost of the pensions hasn’t really increased, it is just now being fully revealed to the public.

[Sir Francis Dashwood]

The cost of the pensions hasn’t really increased, it is just now being fully revealed to the public.

Same thing in Oregon and all over the country... It has been kept quiet for a long time, now they have no other choice but to admit their failures... LET THEM EAT CAKE!

[WVKayaker]

[DB]

It is time that these counties go through bankruptcy to break these hugely unrealistic contracts that are bankrupting them.

It is obscene that these people walk away at 55 with 80% of their pay for life. They get to opt out of social security while the rest of us have to pay into it as generational wealth redistribution or go to prison. It is all extremely unfair and wrong.

[DB]

The cost have increased.

When the stock market crashed the counties get to make up the difference... Nobody in the private sector gets such protections and it is the private sector that pays for everything. Disgusting.

[sergeantdave]

Gotta love these golden parachutes. Taxpayers will leave these socialist utopias, and the city will soon be selling off pencils and chalkboards at the local flea market. Wait till the welfare bums who constantly vote to raise property owners’ taxes are told to take a 50% pay cut. The welfare mommas without their weekly ration of 10 cases of beer will start to get ugly. Riots anyone? And liberal teachers don’t believe in the 2nd so they will be easy pickings for the drunk boyfriends and their commie kids.

[screaminsunshine]

Oh No! I am so upset.

[Melchior]

I wonder why no one in the American media tackles the Mexican government’s health care program, Seguro Social. It is as big a failure as Canada’s.

[Wuli]

ALL government pensions need to be changed, if they are not yet,

from “defined benefit” (future retirement benefit amount is predefined),

to “defined contribution” (benefit plan defines annual amount employer agrees to add to the individual’s retirement account while that employee is working; the account balance at retirement is subject to investment performance).

Defined contribution pensions do not (cannot) run into funding shortfalls, because a “down market” does not alter the amount of additional contribution the employer has agreed to.

[milwguy]

I saw a statistic on Cali public employees pensions that said the value of the average pension exceeds $1 million. The state pays almost $50,000 per year per employee on average into benefits, and the people wonder why that state is broke.

The worsr scammers and the cops, forefighters, and prison guards. The get together and conspire to run up overtime. They call in sick, collect sick pay, and then work for their buddies who call in sick, thus racking up huge overtime. Of course this is usually only in the last three years before they retire, because their pensions are determined by the average wage they made theri last three years worked. Many cops are retiring at 50 with $100 k per year pensions because of this scam.

Gov’t workers are the new royalty, and we the private sector workers are the serfs, toiling to support their prolifigate lifestyles. Those days will not last forever though, the revolution is coming.

[TigerLikesRooster]

Gov’t workers are the new royalty, and we the private sector workers are the serfs,

This is the typical symptom of banana republic. In banana republic, the best paid jobs are mostly from government, unless you are one of a few obscenely rich oligarchs, who are in bed with politicians.

[napscoordinator]

What about the unfair pay. Most teachers start off at about 30,000 dollars...well below the average. You chose not to become a teacher so you should just be happy with your decision. Making six figures is better than a retirement check of 80 percent of what? 50,000 dollars after a lifetime of sacrifice of their earnings. I think most people would take the six figures. Most teachers are just above the poverty level. No I am not a teacher by the way just get sick of the bashing. If you are so jealous, get off your civilian six figure salary and go try to live off the pitens they get. Nobody told you that you could not be a teacher.

[hoosierham]

The government workers whine that they gave up better paying jobs,etc. when the reality is the government salaries are usually higher than private sector jobs especially when healthcare and pensions are factored in.

Most government workers can retire by 55 with full benefits while I and most Americans will HAVE to work until 67 or beyond.

There IS going to be some kind of massive change soon;whether it is obama and the dhimocrats tasking the nation into third world status or real Americans taking the country back to basic principles,I don't know.

[Radix]

I do not think that I could disagree more with a FReeper on anything.

[napscoordinator]

Fair enough. Hopefully the next topic we agree more. I just think their are some good teachers out their who sacrifice more than we give credit for. We dump them all into one big group. Always negative...never positive. I never had a public school teacher until college so I don’t really have any fight in this, but just see so much bashing that it might turn off the good conservatives who would want to teach...the only way to change the teachers is to get some conservatives into the system. We can’t do it by bashing teachers all the time. It is only my opinion. I respect yours big time.