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Not that it is happening now, but as the population of recipients rise, while the proportion of young workers diminish, pensions may well become a memory. For prospective "oldsters", what can they do now, to deal with loss of pensions and / or social security?
What did they do before 1935?
Politicians are psychologically incapable of balancing a budget. It isn't their money, so they spend it like there would never be any consequences. The states and municipalities that will shortly ask for a Federal bailout should be required to pass a balanced budget law before they get any of our money from the Feds. But this won't happen because the Congress would be hypocrites for demanding of the states/cities something they themselves refuse to do.
All we can do is to keep voting out the incumbents.
I think people like to blame politicians but don't like to take personal responsibility. Most politicians want to support their suporters, that is common sense. but the stark reality is that they really can't afford to . Teachers and other state employees are going to see pensions vanish as a part of their employment perks. Long ago it hit the chopping block with companies that realized they could not support them.
Do you think teachers and their unions will support a politician that talks about eliminating pensions? Ok ,so you don't work for the state and you say who cares, cut it... it is easy to cut someone else's nickel than your own. but if it hits your pocket book you will whine like few others.
People want the benefits but they don't want to pay the price, much the same argument people have for the unemployed or welfare recipients...
The money simply isn't there to fund these perks.
Ask the politician to vote the way they need to and you won't have to worry about them losing the next election... the people don't want to feel the pain. but like to belly ache when they see the problems.
In the climate today do you think we have the desire to fund a gov bailout of the states?I'm thinking not... and those in states unaffected will say no the loudest. ...until it comes time for their state or their job being protected. You can blame one party or the other, it really doesn't matter because the results will be the same from both. People don't want politicians that will actually do what must be done. It will suck. and also create more issues.... pensions get cut, incomes fall, poverty increases, food stamps increase, and we create more welfare to support... it is a pretty ugly circle.
14 minutes on how the States are running out of time on the debt each one has run up. Especially the muni-bonds melting down.
And the liberals want to spend more................................
I am afraid that we have reached the "tipping point" and that austerity measures will be required to remain solvent. The times of careless wasteful spending is in the past and we must tighten up our belts.
Now, are any liberals actually FOR Obamacare, which will dramatically increase state medicaid roles and essentially guarantee insolvency for the states? If so, do you like roads, schools and your police force more, or do you just want Obamacare and state anarchy?
I don't think people realize how poory ran and corrupt the states and local governments are. In FL, where we don't have state income tax, we collect tax on properties. Well, during the boom, when home values rose, the local government tax revenus surged, and the local governments were busy trying to find ways to spend the money. They gave government workers nice boosts in their own pensions (basically they split the pot amongst themselves), but no one thought about how to finance these obligations when the property values decline. Well, the values declined, and now they complain they don't have enough money to finance them. The federal government has been bailing them out, but that can't go on forever.
Stuart Varney was talking about this this morning.... saying that the states such as Cali, Illinois, and several others will hit the proverbial brick wall in 2011 because of the unfunded pension debts. States will either have to 1)Raise taxes dramatically, 2)Slash spending/services dramatically, or 3)Ask for a federal bailout.
I would like to see them declare bankruptcy, renegotiation with the public unions to get these pensions in-line, and dramatically cut back spending.
He was also stating (I apologize I don't have a link to back this up, just saw it on the news) that the new 2010 census data was showing that public sector pension recipients are taking home on average $27K/year (all tax free) from their pensions while those in the private sector with private retirement plans take home on average $13K/year AND have to pay tax on it.
100 American cities facing their own debt crisis in 2011
Why aren't US MSM reporting issues like this ?
If you don't read it in the paper or on their site then it doesn't exist ?
Some rosy road to recovery.
$2tn debt crisis threatens to bring down 100 US cities | Business | The Guardian
US states have spent nearly half a trillion dollars more than they have collected in taxes, and face a $1tn hole in their pension funds, said the CBS programme, apocalyptically titled The Day of Reckoning.
..
"It's all part of the same parcel: public sector indebtedness needs to be cut, it needs a lot of austerity, and it hit the central governments first, and now is hitting local bodies," said Philip Brown, managing director at Citigroup in London.
A 120,000 person city has 195,000,000 debt? Unbelievable.
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100 American cities facing their own debt crisis in 2011
