Posted on 05/13/2016 6:54:57 AM PDT by C19fan
According to a first-of-its kind pension-tracking website created by a team at Stanfords Institute for Economic and Policy Research, Americas unfunded pension liabilitiesthe difference between the value of state pension funds and the amount owed to public sector workerstotals over $4.8 trillion, or $41,219 per household. The Stanford team arrived at number assuming a three percent rate of returnfar lower than the 7.5 percent actuarial rate many pension funds rely on, but rarely meet. (Even if the actuarial basis were accurate, state pension funds would still owe a combined $1.04 trillion, or $8,872 per household).
(Excerpt) Read more at the-american-interest.com ...
Perhaps a lot are as you say, but us military vets are also "government workers" and followed on by joining the civilian workers to work with/train other military "government workers".
WE served honorably and earned the pensions promised as part of the contract we fulfilled.
Being retired, my wife and I both collect from the "social security trust fund" - don't feel a bit selfish/greedy-bastard-like at all for expecting what was promised if we did what was required of us. When we fulfilled the contracts, it did indeed become our money.
Yes they are.
I have been following this issue for years.
ahh....but that’s the OTHER reason the Dems love Ghilarducci’s plan.
It would make the Federal Government the single largest pension-fund manager in human history. Deciding what stocks to buy or sell....would allow the Feds to deploy an absolute iron grip on the shorthairs of private corporations.
Don’t want to play ball with us on environmental policy? Fine, we’ll sell and drive your stock down to eight cents a share.
Enslaving our youth in perpetual debt to pay for our wants today. What a Country.
Are Slave Contracts legally enforceable????
Don’t include MY household as owing this debt - put it to the union thugs and politicians who negotiated this fuzzy math in order to stay in office.
“I say eliminate the pensions, liquidate them and put the money in each public workers newly formed 401K account”
You forget that the government is obligated by contract. You just don’t liquefy contracts without both parties consent.
Then they will need to file for bankruptcy to terminate the contract..
The courts don’t see it that way. When the politicians make the deals with the unions, they are acting on behalf of the people and with the people’s money.
I was CFO at a public employees union for years and had exposure to these people and how they work. CALSTERS guys laughing about the fact that they don’t have to worry about a company going bankrupt because the government entities can force taxpayers to pay up and they have the CA constitution behind them.
Many government agencies and positions exist solely to destroy every conceivable economic activity in the private sector, and to steal whatever profit is created by the private sector.
And they want my sympathy?
“Perhaps a lot are as you say, but us military vets are also “government workers” and followed on by joining the civilian workers to work with/train other military “government workers”.”
When I say ‘gov workers’ I generally don’t mean military. And you should realize that most people here on FR are military friendly. If the legions of unionized non-military gov workers were judged on the job they’ve done over the past 10 years, most would agree they wouldn’t qualify for a pension.
That would leave more money for our vets who deserve it, like you, and more for private citizens, like me, who can’t afford to pay for other’s retirement.
“WE served honorably and earned the pensions promised as part of the contract we fulfilled.”
Most gov workers have NOT “served honorably” and have NOT fulfilled their contracts...look at the shape of the country.
“Many government agencies and positions exist solely to destroy every conceivable economic activity in the private sector, and to steal whatever profit is created by the private sector. “
Exactly. They’re educated to believe their raison d’etre is to punish business (capitalism) and punish the rich.
“And they want my sympathy? “
Like I said, they’re the greediest bastards on the planet, and are so self-righteous, they cannot comprehend your lack of sympathy.
There always comes a point when people refuse to pay ludicrous taxes for nothing in return. When that day comes, and if California’s government doesn’t do a course correction, California will empty out just like Detroit. Nobody pays taxes when they don’t get the public services that are supposed to be provided with them. It’s not immediate but it becomes a spiraling trend that is unavoidable.
“When we fulfilled the contracts, it did indeed become our money.”
There is a problem with your analysis. “Your money” does not exist, and in many cases hasn’t yet been earned by people who haven’t been born yet so they can be taxed to give you “your” money.
This is just a way that politicians have devised to buy votes with an unlawful extortion of money from earners and paid out to government union members and other government employees for their loyalty at the ballot boxes.
Actually those contracts, in most states, like New Jersey, are illegal
Since the taxpayers never agreed to them in the first place
Depending on the state, this is doable
All the contract has is an agreement between the unions (workers) and some politician (but not the taxpayers)
It can be weird like that in states like New Jersey
In New Jersey they have a ballot initiative to “save the public workers pension” basically asking to tax the state even more to death to preserve the pension. Yes, they need our permission to fund it and they never had it.
To me the pension is null and void. If they want to collect, they need to go after the politicians who created it and sue their estates. Good luck with that
Not exactly
In New Jersey the politicians need to get approval from the voters to create debt. So in New Jersey the pension system is illegal by law. They actually are putting the pensions on the ballot this November if the public is stupid, this is New Jersey after all, and approve the question, the state can raise taxes to fund the pensions. If not, then the pension system can go bankrupt.
My experience is with CA. And in places in CA where they have put pension reform to vote, it has been shot down in court. Same happened in IL.
I talked to an Ohio detective (ex patrol cop) recently who is 53 years old and can retire now. If he stays in this special retention program for 8 years he can retire with a pension between 400k to half a million dollars. This is just one guy, unbelievable. Another Firefighter I know same scenario with a 40k to 50k pension.
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