Study: Calif. pensions underfunded by $500 billion

AP via SFGate ^ | 4/5/10 | CATHY BUSSEWITZ, Associated Press Writer

[SmithL]

SACRAMENTO, California (AP) -- A Stanford University study commissioned by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger says California's public pension funds are underfunded by as much as $500 billion.

[SmithL]

Just sell bonds or something. There has always been plenty of free money in the Golden State.

[al baby]

Sell offshore drilling rights

[mgstarr]

Not unlike D.C.

[Gapplega]

Game over!

[jonascord]

Take, not tax, all income over $37,000 a year. That way, everyone will be equal. I’m sure all of Hollywood will love contributing everything they own to a pension fund for state workers...

[Touch Not the Cat]

.
Close the so-called “Coastal Commission”.

Unwind every enviromental regulation promulgated in the last 20 years.

[microgood]

Makes you wonder where all the public employee unions plan on getting their generous retirements funded.

[quantim]

Who knew that a severe recession is a good thing in the long run.

As this recession drags on for another year, it’s going to murder a lot of evil.

[mgstarr]

For worse (not usually better), California is a precursor.

[Zeddicus]

Question: why do we who are not part of the privileged public sector continue to tolerate working with no guaranteed pensions of our own and little hope of collecting Social Security (since it's already bankrupt), while knowing that the earnings that are being confiscated from us are going to be used to richly fund the early retirement of our government-employee neighbors?

I know we're generous and all, but are we really OK with working into our 70s so our neighbors can go down to Boca twenty years before us?

[truthguy]

Democrats have run this state forever. Yes we’ve had a few Republican governors but it’s the legislature that runs the show in this state. California has one of the weakest governor powers of any state I’m told. I can’t confirm this and maybe some Freepers would know this. The Democrats gave away the store with state pensions while the public wasn’t paying attention (have they ever paid attention). We are screwed unless the Democrats are kicked out of Sacramento. If Whitman is elected things will be moderately better than Schwartzenegger because she’s twice as smart. But she cannot do the things necessary to straighten out the state until the RATS are removed and I just don’t see this happening.

[Neoliberalnot]

CA politicians must be dumber than dumber, or maybe even than Odumbo. Where do they get these people?

[Randy Larsen]

I’m just wondering how much of PERS funds were robbed by the legislature before the voters stopped it at the ballot box.

Until a few years ago it was common practice for the dems to steal from the PERS account to help balance the budget, until a proposition was passed to stop it.

[UnbelievingScumOnTheOtherSide]

No they aren’t. They fund them with you.

They don’t have to make money on investments to pay pensions. They can raise taxes or cut payouts.

This whining about “underfunding” is just a ploy to trick you into more taxes so they can put more of the private sector into the public pension funds where the managers skim from the wealth.

There should be no government pension funds because government should not own any of the “private” sector.

Let the states pay pensions from current taxes or stiff the former government employees living off the gravy train!

[23 Everest]

If a private company, publicly held company did this, the idiots in congress would demand their appearance on Capital Hill to know why they deliberately mismanaged this fund.

[hinckley buzzard]

Just sell snipe hunting licenses. Hell, this is Colleyfornya, right?

[GOPJ]

They don’t have a printing press like Obama - CA might be the first state to go under...

[artichokegrower]

I live in Santa Cruz County California. It is the second smallest county in the state judging by size not population. Mostly ag and tourist for industry. Our county Administrative Officer just got a 12% raise giving her $267,247 annually not including benefits. We are told “management raises are necessary for retaining and recruiting talent”. Just imagine what shape we would be in if we hadn’t spent all of this money to recruit and retain these outstanding civil servants. Oh by the way her retirement will be roughly $240,000 per year with a COLA clause and lifetime health benefits. Now what were you saying about unfunded pensions?

[hstacey]

Works for me...Then maybe we can get water to the west side of the San Joaquin...

[dhs12345]

Gonna be a lot of pi$$ed off big government lovers when they start collecting their pensions.