Get out of Muni Bond Funds Now

AsiaTimes.com ^ | December 10th, 2010 | David Goldman (Spengler)

[JerseyHighlander]

Get out of Muni Bond Funds Now

December 10th, 2010
By David Goldman

I’ve been warning for months that a few state and municipal bankruptcies (actually, a few states and a great many city bankruptcies) will be required to slay the beast of government-union pension liabilities. The total size of the muni bond market is about $2.4 trillion. Unfunded pension liabilities (calculated with a realistic discount rate) are almost as high, according to one study. Now comes James Pethokoukis of Reuters to tell us of a “secret GOP plan” to bankrupt local governments and crush the government unions.

excerpt...

My best guess is that two states go down — Illinois and California — and lots of Democratic city machines. In lots of states, Republican governors and state legislatures will actually win support by running against the machines.

[JerseyHighlander]

Even in NJ, through a state Supreme Court decision, we are paying for municipal salaries of employees of different towns "fer de childrun", which is bad enough. If I am forced to pay the municipal salaries of California gov employees it will be the last straw and I'll expat.

On a personal level, this is something to research and discuss regarding your personal investments, especially for those living on and expecting to live on fixed income portfolios.

Looks like the Republican Governor-elect of Wisconsin is going to lead the way breaking the muni labor unions... that test case will be an important first step in the rebalancing of public vs private pay scales in this country.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2639519/posts

Wisconsin Gov-elect Walker looks at showdown with employee unions (proposes abolishing state unions) Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ^ | 12/08/2010 | By Lee Bergquist and Jason Stein

regards,

[tubebender]

Oh Boy. I hope the punks in the UK are not giving the union goons any ideas but we should be prepared for the worst...

[Darksheare]

New York: The city of Newburgh is looking at dissolution as an option.
And they don’t know how they got to that point?
*sheesh*

[FromLori]

I can easily see them doing this to solve their problem...

American Retirement Funds at Serious Risk of Being Seized

http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article24828.html

[junta]

A bit of a word on the Illinois GOP, our downstate GOP govenor candidate had the collar county GOP machine lay down for the Dem who is going to raise taxes and the GOP machine hacks can spend them while telling their constitients that the mean old Dems raised their taxes. How do I know this, I live across the street from one of the GOP hacks and he didn’t say boo about Mr. Brady, and I wouldn’t be suprised that he was on the opposite side of the country putting up Quinn signs.

[mojito]

If 401(k)s are seized to pay off public employee pensions it will mean the end of constitutional government, and the inauguration of an unmasked and rapacious tyranny.

There will be armed insurrection, justifiably so.

Picture Greece, but with guns.

[FromLori]

That’s how most here feel I believe but think about it they forced Health Care.

[FromLori]

The Democrats and the Fed Plan is coming unglued they wanted to be able to keep up spending the GOP figured out it’s costing taxpayers money and want to shut it down...

Bernanke Plays Politics, Loses

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/bernanke-plays-politics-loses

[ClearCase_guy]

If they seize 401(k)s, then as far as I’m concerned there is no law, No rules. The politicians better think twice.

[Buckeye McFrog]

Secret GOP Plan?

Why is it that whenever some totally unsustainable Rube Goldberg wealth redistribution scheme comes crashing to it’s inevitable end, it is always the result of a conspiracy theory involving Eeeeeevil Republicans?

[DCBryan1]

If they seize 401ks.....The politicians better think twice

No...they better wear body armor and start wearing disguises.

[Buckeye McFrog]

Oh Boy. I hope the punks in the UK are not giving the union goons any ideas but we should be prepared for the worst...

Most of the Union Goons I know are too lazy to put down the six pack, shut off the porn and get off the couch to go out and riot

[Para-Ord.45]

Don`t panic.

The Fed will begin buying municipal bonds to save individual States the same way it`s buying Washington`s bonds.

Oh wait...

[patriot preacher]

If 401(k)s are seized to pay off public employee pensions it will mean the end of constitutional government, and the inauguration of an unmasked and rapacious tyranny.

There will be armed insurrection, justifiably so.

Picture Greece, but with guns.

---

Oh, no no no.

There is one place I WILL draw the line. I don’t steal a PENNY from a soul. BUT, if the Federal Government seizes MY 401K or IRA accounts to pay off the Union pensions, with some flimsy, empty promise of future payments — I stop filing taxes IMMEDIATELY, stop payroll taxes on my next check, and DARE them to come looking for me. THAT will have been a line they’ve drawn — and when the THIEVES come to my house, I’m thinking they’ll have to work their way down a LOT of streets and through MANY houses before they get to me! Do they run out of thieves first — or Patriots, defending their homes, families, rights and possessions?

[calcowgirl]

I've said for a long time that Wilsonegger's actions appear designed to bankrupt the state.

Record spending increases, massive borrowing, deferring expenses, selling off revenue generating assets,
leveraging remaining assets to the hilt. This would be a reasonable explanation as to "why?"

[FromLori]

Well here comes the push for that the world will of course collapse if we don’t...

Lockyer Pulls The MAD Card: California Treasurer Says Taxpayers Would Be Harmed Unless BAB Program Is Extended

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/lockyer-pulls-mad-card-california-treasurer-say-taxpayers-would-be-harmed-unless-bab-program

Bernanke’s Revised Data On Build America Bonds Is A Desperate Ploy

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/bernanke-build-america-bonds-2010-12#ixzz17jfLDMPc

[SierraWasp]

Yes, he's been the ruination Republican that has become far worse than the infamous Gray Davis!!!

But a few of us committed to good government and principled elected leaders that follow their own party's platform have been like a broken record here on FR since the night Jay Leno had Schwartzenrenegger on to announce his ill fated uncandid candidacy for Governator!!!

[Amerigomag]

This would be a reasonable explanation as to "why?"

Wilson's history would shout; "No, that's not the motive.". The Austrian is simply why over his head.

I'll stick with get even and ignorant respectively.

[TenthAmendmentChampion]

My former rep, Devin Nunes, has been beating the drum for public pension reform with a bill requiring states to disclose pension liability along with new bond offerings. The states and cities are lining up against such a common-sense idea, of course.

LA is in huge trouble as you probably already know.

Do you have a ping list?

[TenthAmendmentChampion]

In October, my husband left his job with the City of Fresno so we could move back to Arizona to be near my mom who recently had a stroke. They cashed out his pension and sent us a check for $7700.

We had only 18 months to go before he’d have been vested and eligible for about $220 a month for life. I asked him how $10000 would pay him that money forever (he’s 56). He didn’t know. The math doesn’t make sense. Did the city buy annuities? Fresno’s pretty well run - who knows?