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Retired College Teacher With $152,000 Pension Claims Pension Reform is Theft (Illinois)
Champion News ^ | Apr 27, 2012 | Bill Zettler

Posted on 05/02/2012 5:07:10 AM PDT by KeyLargo

Retired College Teacher With $152,000 Pension Claims Pension Reform is Theft

April 27, 2012 By Bill Zettler

Michael Corn, a retired college teacher, recently wrote a letter-to-the-editor at the Daily Herald equating the unfunded Illinois pension system with theft. And I agree it is theft but I would argue the thief is the public employee not the legislature or taxpayer as Mr. Horn claims.

Mr. Corn laments that he paid 8% for his pension and for that unholy contribution he feels he has earned his $12,707.59 monthly pension or $152,490.84 per year. Mr. Corn paid his 8% for all of 31 years too. Wow that’s impressive. The rest of us have to work 40 or 45 year careers in order to get our pension (Social Security) at age 62 or 67 respectively. But then again teachers are special.

Now the greedy private sector taxpayers, the weirdo 95% of citizens without state pensions, who are responsible for paying for Mr. Corn’s $152,490.84 annual pension, contribute 6.2% to their own pension (called Social Security) and at age 62 after 40 years of contributions can take down a huge maximum pension of $22,260 annually or about one-seventh of Mr. Corn’s annual pension. So Mr. Corn contributes at a rate 22% higher but for 9 fewer years but receives 7 times the pension. And Mr. Corn retired earlier too at age 59. What a terrible deal for Mr. Corn. No wonder he is complaining.

(Excerpt) Read more at championnews.net ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Government; US: Illinois
KEYWORDS: abuse; bankrupt; pensions; teachers
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To: KeyLargo

If this thieving commmunist indoctrinator thinks this is bad, just wait till his socialist utopia goes broke.


21 posted on 05/02/2012 6:07:28 AM PDT by ROCKLOBSTER (Celebrate Republicans Freed the Slaves Month.)
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To: Michael.SF.

Our retirement income got wiped out by medical debt years ago. Took us a decade to get out of that hole. Still don’t have nearly enough to even consider retirement. I’ll be working until the day I die.


22 posted on 05/02/2012 6:09:35 AM PDT by TheWriterTX (Riding the Long-Wave Economic Contraction, Baby!)
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To: ClearCase_guy

Big changes are coming, because there is no money.


Unfortunately, the govt is HUNGRY and will do what ever is necessary to get the remainder.


23 posted on 05/02/2012 6:18:09 AM PDT by PeterPrinciple (Lord, save me from some conservatives, they don't understand history any better than liberals.)
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To: Why So Serious
The largest pension in Illinois currently for a college professor is near $425,000.. that my friend is theft!

In fact the whole Big-Academia "college education" thing is a pathetic farce.

24 posted on 05/02/2012 6:19:02 AM PDT by ROCKLOBSTER (Celebrate Republicans Freed the Slaves Month.)
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To: ROCKLOBSTER

http://www.illinoisisbroke.com/


25 posted on 05/02/2012 6:27:20 AM PDT by KeyLargo
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To: Cuttnhorse
If the idiot system is so screwed up that it makes commitments like this...pay up suckkas.

There isn't any money to pay them. That's the problem. How are public employees who get pension cuts any different from bond holders of a company that fails?

26 posted on 05/02/2012 6:33:58 AM PDT by Poison Pill (Obama is the hopium of the masses)
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To: KeyLargo
I don't see any info of how much he made (so how much his 8% was), how much more the state added to it and what the rate of return was. For quite a while state employees were exempt from Social Security if they had their own retirement plan. When I was a student employee at a state university I didn't have to pay SS even though I declined participation in the retirement plan because the plan was available to me. If all of the money which would have otherwise gone into SS for 30 years went into his own pension he might have enough to pay for a $152,000 per year annuity.

The comparison to how much Social Security would pay is a weak on because everyone knows that SS is a bad "investment" which is really just an income transfer scheme. Even if counted as an investment, the rate of return on a person who pays and therefore collects the maximum amount skews the results because SS participants at the top end are screwed by the disproportionality of SS payments. A person who earns and pays 50% of the cap gets 75% of the maximum benefits received by someone who earned and pay at the cap for an entire career.

27 posted on 05/02/2012 6:34:33 AM PDT by KarlInOhio (You only have three billion heartbeats in a lifetime.How many does the government claim as its own?)
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To: Renegade
The guy went into the profession knowing what the future outcome would be as far as present pension payments would be .

Well the future is here. What he though he knew didn't pan out.

28 posted on 05/02/2012 6:37:44 AM PDT by Poison Pill (Obama is the hopium of the masses)
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To: KeyLargo
re: Illinois is broke

Looks like a damn good reason to default on the pensions, fire all the "educators", close the books on public "education" and lease all the buildings out to private citizens who want to own and operate the education industry.

"Special-ed", "Gifted Children", and other various parochial and specialized-study schools could all crop up to either succeed or fail on their own merit.

Obviously the thieving teacher's unions would not be involved.

29 posted on 05/02/2012 6:39:59 AM PDT by ROCKLOBSTER (Celebrate Republicans Freed the Slaves Month.)
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To: KeyLargo
The "theft" was committed by politicians who are likely no longer on the scene - buying votes with a promise to pay that was always unsustainable. If an insurance salesman peddling annuities had made Mr. Corn a similar offer, he likely would looked upon it with skepticism. But because it came from government - "the good guys", in his world view - he feels anybody pointing out the economic invalidity of the promise is a thief, rather than the snake-oil salesman with a (D) after his name who peddled it to him in the first place.

Regardless, Mr. Corn can only be paid what he was promised in highly inflated dollars. That is mathematical certainty.

30 posted on 05/02/2012 6:40:56 AM PDT by Mr. Jeeves (CTRL-GALT-DELETE)
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To: Poison Pill
How are public employees who get pension cuts any different from bond holders of a company that fails?

Well, if they are planning to close the institution and liquidate the all the assets to pay the pensioners, they wouldn't be much different.

Is that what's going to happen?

31 posted on 05/02/2012 6:43:52 AM PDT by ROCKLOBSTER (Celebrate Republicans Freed the Slaves Month.)
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To: Renegade
Stop blaming the teacher and start blaming the system.The guy went into the profession knowing what the future outcome would be as far as present pension payments would be . Why is he getting hammered for making a career decision that was a hell of a lot better than 90% of the people in the state. He planed his retirement on that future payout and should be entitled to every penny of it.Arguments that are negative about public pension payouts are the same as the 99% wackos complaining about banks and corporation profits.In life you make decisions. It seems that this guys decision on career was better than the complainers.

You guys better pass a law forcing the taxpeasants to STAY in Illinois, and pay this guy's retirement.

I can just about guarantee you that the only ones left in Illinois after a few years will be idiots too dumb to figure out that they're galley slaves for the public sector retirees.

The exodus, and the shrieks following the taxrefugees, will be entertaining, to say the least.

There's considerable evidence that the exodus has already started - my figures show that even though Illinois monthly personal income tax revenues are WAY up, Illinois monthly personal income totals are WAY down.

32 posted on 05/02/2012 6:44:43 AM PDT by kiryandil (turning Americans into felons, one obnoxious drunk at a time (Zero Tolerance!!!))
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To: KeyLargo

Guess What, Professor Corn...

We have met the 1%...and he is YOU!


33 posted on 05/02/2012 6:45:14 AM PDT by Buckeye McFrog
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To: ROCKLOBSTER
Well, if they are planning to close the institution and liquidate the all the assets to pay the pensioners, they wouldn't be much different.

They did not close or liquidate GM to payout. But the bond holders got killed.

34 posted on 05/02/2012 7:19:52 AM PDT by Poison Pill (Obama is the hopium of the masses)
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To: Sherman Logan
Mr. Corn (or possibly Horn) is quite correct. He entered into a good faith contract which is now being backed out of. He is entirely logical to consider this theft.

What's good enough for GM bondholders is good enough for public employees

35 posted on 05/02/2012 7:24:40 AM PDT by paul51 (11 September 2001 - Never forget)
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To: paul51

The cliche about “too good to be true” springs to mind.

The process is essentially a con game. The taxpayers lose and the retirees lose (those who don’t die before the system collapses).

The only winners are those who gamed the system for their power, the union leaders and the politicians they corrupt. They aren’t held responsible. (Not that they could be, since the amounts of money involved couldn’t be repossessed from them anyway.)


36 posted on 05/02/2012 7:35:02 AM PDT by Sherman Logan
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To: Renegade

You are right that he just is working in the system as it existed- but I worked for some of these government agencies-there are nearly daily discussions on how they can flim-flam the system for their own gain.

And they know it, and then they feel like they deserve it.

When I told them I thought it was immoral if not illegal you would think I pissed in the morning coffee. and they went out of their way to get revenge on me and get me out of there.

These people ARE FILTHY WHORES


37 posted on 05/02/2012 7:44:26 AM PDT by Mr. K (If Romney wins the primary, I am writing-in PALIN)
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To: KeyLargo

Dumb op-ed. While $152K is awfully high, the whole 40-45 years thing is a canard. College professors generally have a PhD requiring 8-10 years of post high school study. Most don’t get the position much before the age of 32. The youngest where I’ve worked for 32 years was 28 when hired.

Most were in the 33-40 years of age range before being hired for a tenure track position with benefits.

My University requires me to pay into my pension plan (private) and they match a portion of what I pay. When I retire, the whole thing is mine, to spend as I please.

If the state government stepped in and took that away, I would consider armed revolution as a good option.


38 posted on 05/02/2012 7:46:37 AM PDT by Poser (Cogito ergo Spam - I think, therefore I ham)
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To: D Rider
What part of the situations like this were caused by public employee union/government collusion?

Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner!!!

This can only continue until the systems collapses, and we are seeing it start to collapse. I am beginning to think you can not manage a collapse, you just have to go for it.

39 posted on 05/02/2012 7:47:22 AM PDT by Mr. K (If Romney wins the primary, I am writing-in PALIN)
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To: Poison Pill
They did not close or liquidate GM to payout. But the bond holders got killed.

"They" broke the law...and violated hundreds of years of corporate protocol. Blatant tyranny.

40 posted on 05/02/2012 7:52:13 AM PDT by ROCKLOBSTER (Celebrate Republicans Freed the Slaves Month.)
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