Stossel had some poor guy on his show who had worked for the fire department of Prichard (sp?), Alabama for 32 years. The city declared bankruptcy and stopped sending out pension checks. This 66-year-old man had to take a full-time job as a security guard at a mall for income and health insurance. The city promised these benefits to workers but never had a plan to pay for them.
Meanwhile, the mayor of this town has a nice salary, as do all the bureaucrats working at their housing agencies, etc.
Politicians promise more than they can deliver, and it is always the little people who pay. I’m sure the union bosses who negotiated these pension plans are doing fine, too.
If it’s too good to be true, it probably is.
These pension payouts are too much. We all know it. Yet people are surprised when these cities cannot afford to pay them out. I realize these cities “promised” to pay but if they don’t have the money, they don’t have the money!