Why JB got elected (Chicago, Manhattan: 2013, home, bankruptcy)

[pvande55]

It's a matter of money. Rauner was toast from the beginning, having fulfilled not one of his 2014 campaign promises. There were some other good candidates on the Dem side, but none had nearly the campaign war chest that JB did.

[Grlzrl]

Originally Posted by MSchemist80

The debt is going to increase no matter what anyone does. That $250E9 in pension liabilities the state owes, that is if they funded it completely right now and it grew invested as per their models. The debt is going to compound the way the invested money should have. That is why the state will eventually run out of money and no state supreme court decisions can change that simple fact.

Oh and we will see how much laughing there will be when all those state workers who were depending on the Dems for their dream retirement end up getting the shaft.

Sadly, it's not the pensioners who lose. They are paid first before all the social services, road repairs, etc.

[smegmatite]

Originally Posted by TempesT68

Legalize weed, bring casinos, and fireworks.

with those things comes an ill prepared blue collar work force, bad habits, crime and noise... sounds like an awesome solution JB

[flamadiddle]

Originally Posted by Grlzrl

So I figured out why the morons elected this loser. He posted a tweet the other day, something about Illinois, blah, blah, blah....and virtually ALL the replies were about legalizing pot. So all the stoners voted this guy in. Seems fitting. They aren't paying for anything anyway.

I wonder if he cleared that idea with his handler, Madigan. Will be funny to see Madigan put the kibosh on that idea and listen to JB try to spin it.

[MSchemist80]

Originally Posted by smegmatite

with those things comes an ill prepared blue collar work force, bad habits, crime and noise... sounds like an awesome solution JB

Indeed I'll admit there are some high functioning and creative type marijuana users. However, the majority are nonproductive people who noone will want to hire that sit around smoking all day with no means to afford it. Not to mention the driving stoned problem. It will do nothing to improve our state. I strongly suspect the increased need for policing, reduced productivity, and damage/crime will more than cancel out any tax revenue generated from the sale of marijuana.

[SFBayBoomer]

Originally Posted by Grlzrl

Sadly, it's not the pensioners who lose. They are paid first before all the social services, road repairs, etc.

Are you saying you think it is sad if people who were promised a pension—like TEACHERS—DO GET PAID?

[MSchemist80]

Originally Posted by SFBayBoomer

Are you saying you think it is sad if people who were promised a pension—like TEACHERS—DO GET PAID?

I think it is sad that the Unions demanded those insane, nonviable pensions, it is sad that the spineless, inept, puppet Dems promised the pensions to them, and then proceeded not to even try to fund them for the future, and sad where were we are today with the state fiscally destroyed, the government taxing old ladies and working people out of their homes to try in vain to fund them causing businesses and residents to flee the state.

As I said the Dems apparently took cues from Venezuela on how to run government.

[RamenAddict]

Originally Posted by MSchemist80

I think it is sad that the Unions demanded those insane, nonviable pensions, it is sad that the spineless, inept, puppet Dems promised the pensions to them, and then proceeded not to even try to fund them for the future, and sad where were we are today with the state fiscally destroyed, the government taxing old ladies and working people out of their homes to try in vain to fund them causing businesses and residents to flee the state.

As I said the Dems apparently took cues from Venezuela on how to run government.

Illinois teachers DO NOT contribute to Social Security. If their pensions are reduced, they have nothing. These pensions were often promoted to people as better than contributing to SS, but they were deferred expenses for the state/municipalities that used them. For example, Florida, which has teachers on a scheme that does contribute into SS is #1 in the country in terms of being fiscally sound because the costs of contributing to SS are paid NOW.

Also, teachers PAY part of their wages into the pensions. It is not like they are free for them. Everyone who gets a pension is contributing. The problem is that the state doesn’t have money to pay it out. How would you like it if you were contributing a percentage of your salary into a system and you got nothing in return and you also had no backup like SS retirement? This problem isn’t unique to IL. I lived in a city in FL that had the exact same problem with municipal pensions, but it still wasn’t fair to the people who worked for years that their pensions would be reduced.

[MSchemist80]

Exactly why public sector employees need to be on a 401k+soc sec system like everyone else like practically the entire private sector and even Federal gov switched to with TSP. The 401K belongs to the worker, recieves both employee and employer funding immediately, isn't subject to the many hi jinks that go one with respect to spiking, double dipping, final calculations... The purpose of government isn't to provide lavish retirement benefits to a privileged class of workers and to do so by robbing everyone else. This isn't the middle ages where we are ruled by nobles who live off the backs of peasants.

[jasperhobbs]

Originally Posted by MSchemist80

Exactly why public sector employees need to be on a 401k+soc sec system like everyone else like practically the entire private sector and even Federal gov switched to with TSP. The 401K belongs to the worker, recieves both employee and employer funding immediately, isn't subject to the many hi jinks that go one with respect to spiking, double dipping, final calculations... The purpose of government isn't to provide lavish retirement benefits to a privileged class of workers and to do so by robbing everyone else. This isn't the middle ages where we are ruled by nobles who live off the backs of peasants.

Didn't Illinois got to tier 2 which is a different retirement package for new employees? Eventually all states will go that route.