Man I’m tired of this shit…
A Democratic senator is introducing legislation for a bailout of troubled union pension funds. If passed, the bill could put another $165 billion in liabilities on the shoulders of American taxpayers.
The bill, which would put the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation behind struggling pensions for union workers, is being introduced by Senator Bob Casey, (D-Pa.), who says it will save jobs and help people. (Fox Biz News)
So let me see if I get this right.
Union workers work for more than I can charge for a shop rate. They get more vacation, FAR better benefits, health care upon retirement, only have to work 40 years, even less, to get full pension benefits and a myriad of other benies including such fantastical things as triple time. The companies they drive into the ground get bailed bailed out so they can continue to pillage. Now they start to suffer just a fraction of what the rest of us have for decades with their pension funds starting to dwindle and they are going to get a bail out for that too?
Seriously WTF is wrong with this picture?
~Matt
Part of this bailout is to help municipalities out, and keep them from laying off workers. It's more of the same, which is taking more money to DC then redistributing it as they see fit, it allows DC to choose winners (and losers) in this economy. I'm sure it's just a coincidence that this is designed to help groups that are generally dem constituents... OTOH, it may be more of a way to forestall economic pain till after mid-terms, which puts it right in the wheelhouse of actions by either party in power. The difference is that right now, Americans who are carefully shepherding their own finances, are watching, begging, screaming, for Washington to do the same.
That about sums it up.
You take care of El Presidente and he takes care of you. I thought you were from IL?
You take care of El Presidente and he takes care of you. I thought you were from IL?
I am, but I didn’t expect Illinois to move to DC and take over so quickly.
I guess the nation was just ready for Illinois politics to take over. Some people, apparently a lot, are just pleased as punch to pay more and more taxes and get less and less for it.
~Matt
As pointed out this is a primary issue that has Illinois in a lot of financial trouble. 11 billion and counting in debt mostly because of the state teachers pension fund that can’t keep up with the benefits. I believe it’s also a very large issue in California, and now they want to federalize this non-sense while everyone’s 401K’s have to live through the market fluctuations?
Come to find out that several states have already borrowed some $39 Billion from the Feds (oops, I mean us) to meet pension liabilities.
Man, I’m sick of this shit…
Illinois has an 11 billion dollar budget deficit. The unfunded pension issue is closer to 85 billion IIRC. Not surprising many years back when the budget started to go over they decided to “Balance the budget” they would quit funding the pension…who would of ever thought that could end up badly?
Illinois is FUBAR at this point as is CA and a couple other states. Everyone got all worked up about Greece with a failing GDP of 356$B. The combined GDP of CA and IL is ~2.5 TRILLION.
~Matt
You take care of El Presidente and he takes care of you. I thought you were from IL?
I am, but I didn’t expect Illinois to move to DC and take over so quickly.
I guess the nation was just ready for Illinois politics to take over. Some people, apparently a lot, are just pleased as punch to pay more and more taxes and get less and less for it.
~Matt
Would they have a choice if they werent?
Unfunded pension liability of only $85 billion? Sheeit! That ain’t nuthin’. Here in the Golden State where the Dems have owned the legislature for a couple of generations the unfunded pension liability is $500 BILLION FREAKING DOLLARS!!! I am happy to lay this on the Dems because the Reps are such a non-entity they couldn’t get anything done even if they had the balls to try it.
That is the number the LA TIMES is quoting from studies conducted by Stanford University, Northwestern U and U of Chicago. And that is spent money, contractually promised to state employees. The public employees unions are so powerful pension reform is not even on the table for discussion. Say, maybe reconquista is not a completely bad idea.
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/apr/06/opinion/la-oe-crane6-2010apr06
“very large” is an awfully nice way of summarizing the problem in California.
We are close to $500 billion in unfunded pension obligations. Yes, that’s right - $500 billion.
Makes you wonder what impact that will have on the national/global economy.
From 1999 to 2009, California’s pension costs have increased a staggering 2,000%. And, this year alone, the state had to pull $5.5 billion from other programs (education, transit, etc.) to settle just a fraction of the unfunded amount.
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/apr/06/opinion/la-oe-crane6-2010apr06
oh, they’ll still try to blame in on the “Republican” Governator…
...and then there's the financial reform bill, about which Gregg echoes a fimiliar theme from this admin:
Financial Reform Bill Is A ‘Disaster’: Sen. Gregg
Published: Monday, 24 May 2010 | 11:22 AM ET
The financial regulatory bill is a “disaster,” and its proposed consumer protection agency would create a Fannie and Freddie “on steroids,” Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H. told CNBC on Monday.
“The bill is a disaster because it doesn’t address the fundamental underlining causes of the economic issue, which were real estate and underwriting,” he said. “This bill became, ‘I want to score the most points against Wall Street.’ Most of the initiative of this bill wasn’t directed at solving the problem, but it was directed at scoring political points.”
Gregg, who sits on the Senate banking, budget and appropriations committees proposed underwriting standards along with Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., yet they were not included in the final bill, he said.
The Senate version of financial reform was approved late last week and must now be reconciled with the House version before it is signed into law by President Obama.
Meanwhile, the provision on consumer protection will expand the reach of government and create conflicts with the banking industry, Gregg said.
"You’ll basically have a consumer protection agency which decides to go out and in the morning and say, ‘well everybody who’s XYZ should have a loan, even though the local community bank says XYZ shouldn’t have a loan, because if we give them a loan, we know they’re not going to pay back,’" he said. “It’s going to become an agency that defines lending on social justice purposes instead of safety and soundness purposes.”
…
I’m going to admit that I’m not financially smart on anything other than personal finances so this may be a really stupid question. Why are companies spending employee pension funds? Isn’t there some type of legislation that protects a hard working American who has spent decades at a company only to find out that the pension that they worked so hard for doesn’t exist?
They’re not spending them. Not really sure what you mean by your question but the issue is the actuarial calculations that companies and states use to determine how much they should pay into a fund now to provide fixed benefits in the future have proved to be wildly optimistic. To put it another way non-one’s stealing the money it just hasn’t grown as fast as people thought it would. Now people with 401k’s have to deal with that and pay in more to make up the shortfall, but for folks with “defined benefit” pensions it’s someone else’s problem. If you’re a teacher who’s pension fund is underfunded you still get your pension unless you have the misfortune to be in the generation of teachers whose retiurement coincides with the whole house of cards falling down and the fund declaring bankruptcy.
So is this also for the Police and Fire pension the States and Cities are supposed to put in thier share and have not . Then have the balls to take millions out invest and not repay after they lose. If so then it’s about time boy’s. A few years ago the private sector was living high on the hog partly fueled from our pension’s system. It’s about time. Christie Whitman borrowed millions from us or should I say stole.
Well, the pension guaranty has absorbed a lot of business pensions over the years…airlines, various others. I guess what’s good for business is good for everyone else, or whatever.
Well, the pension guaranty has absorbed a lot of business pensions over the years…airlines, various others. I guess what’s good for business is good for everyone else, or whatever.
PBGC has been very bad for most of those it covers, but there are some who would have gotten nothing, so a small percentage of what they worked for is better than nothing.
I believe a lot of the “pension money” was lost by greedy politicians that tried ( Maybe with good intent.) to make more money with the pension money in the stock market. But ended up losing it.
Not just pensions, either. Our water company invested into various shady derivative-based investment vehicles and a lost a shitload of money, necessitating a rate hike this past year. Same with lots of foundations and such.