Posted on 10/03/2019 7:44:16 AM PDT by george76
Rahm Emanuel raised taxes to get city worker pension funds on a path to solvency. The shortfall still ballooned by $7 billion.
...
A record-high property tax increase. A new tax on water and sewer service. A higher 911 emergency fee on telephone lines...
Emanuels series of tax hikes was painful, but he promised the extra money was part of a plan to get the woefully underfunded city worker pension funds on a path to solvency...
in the four years since .. The pension funds are actually worse off.
When Emanuel pushed through the tax hikes, the city worker retirement funds were about $23 billion short of what they needed to pay future retiree benefits. Now, theyre nearly $30 billion in the hole, a Tribune examination of pension fund reports shows.
...
Chicagos pensions are the most poorly funded of the largest U.S. cities, the Standard & Poors bond rating agency stated in a Sept. 23 report
...
History of neglect.
For decades, then-Mayor Richard M. Daley and his predecessors did not contribute enough money to prevent city worker pension funds from losing ground. That allowed them to maintain city services without pushing politically unpopular tax increases even as they further sweetened pension benefits for employees.
...
By the time Emanuel took office in 2011, all four pension funds were on paths to run out of money as soon as 2030.
...
The Illinois Supreme Court consistently has ruled the state constitution doesnt allow for pension benefits to be cut. So Emanuel turned to a series of tax and fee hikes. The monthly 911 fee was increased to free up money for the laborers pension. Property taxes were raised for police and fire pensions. A new water and sewer tax was enacted for the municipal workers pension.
(Excerpt) Read more at chicagotribune.com ...
in the back of their devious minds is legalizing prostitution. The state is doomed.
The state is doomed.
Yes, and I live here.
I’ve been hearing talk of bankruptcy for a few weeks.
Sooner or later?
So clearly, the solution here is ...raise taxes even more. Causing massive widespread suffering is a small price to pay for the corrupt political deals over pensions for a few.
Eventually, there will be bankruptcies that will be federalized and everyone in the country will pay these crooks.
Democrat judges will order it when ever it arrives in the courts.
These pensions cannot be discharged in a bankruptcy. It’s like a student loan. Short of re-writing the state constitution nothing effective will be done.
These pensions cannot be discharged in a bankruptcy.
Not so much to cut pensions, but mountains of other debts.
Like free money!
He raised taxes to get his and other gov’t workers a fat pension and is having everyone who is not, they are paying for it.
I have no doubt you are right. Chicago’s situation reminds me of the opening chapter of “Atlas Shrugged”. The oak tree that seemed so strong and solid is rotten to the core.
The Illinois Supreme Court consistently has ruled the state constitution doesnt allow for pension benefits to be cut.
But a new legislature and governor could change that in a heartbeat by Amending the State Constitution to Abolish all taxpayer funded Pension Schemes and reduce current Pensioners to an amount comparable to the Funds the Pension Fund has.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.