bahmer

Please watch the short video before commenting. Thanks.

https://youtu.be/Vdmk-wCqDlE

jimpack123 Loc: wisconsin

so govt. screws up the pensions and it is the left's fault I am all for turning it over to 401k's however the ones in the pensions still have to be funded. so Balmer what is your view?

ACP45 Loc: Rhode Island

========
"First, we need state and local governments to report unfunded liabilities honestly:

the real numbers—using the 2-3% yields that sound financial reporting would require.

The t***h SHOULD shock v**ers into demanding action.

Second, we must phase out the guaranteed pension programs as quickly as possible and introduce

401K plans. 401K plans, if designed properly, can provide excellent retirement benefits."

Both are excellent ideas, but in some (many??) cases, the cat is out of the bag, and the horse has left the barn. Some states and municipalities are already too far gone, and if they were to honor those promises, taxes would either need to raised to astromical levels to afford to pay these pensions, and or city services would need to be cut to levels that would make living in those cities unlivable. (Try living in a major metropolitan area without police, fire, or ambulance service, or any reasonable facsimile of such like a 50% reduction in that workforce).

It is well known that many have abused the system. Union contracts are written in such a way that pensions are based on the last several years of the employees salary. They then work overtime and double shifts and pad their salaries to inflate their pension that is paid for the rest of their lives. Some employees double dip and work multiple jobs and get multiple pensions, which when added to social security and in some cases fully paid for health benefits allow them a lifestyle far in excess of those not in the public sector.

Jimpack 123 would have the public honor those promised pensions in spite of the above cited abuses. I disagree.

There must be some reasonable balance between what was promised, and what the public can afford to pay. One idea may be to cap the annual pension expense to a certain percentage of the city/state budget and have that allocated as a percentage basis to each recipient. Another alternative may be to limit or cap a monthly pension amount to a fixed dollar amount, or tie it to some formula related to the amount the recepient receives from social security.

Bankruptcy courts do this as a routine matter for corporations that go bankrupt. All creditors take a hit based upon the funds available to divide up the pie, so to speak.

No one will be happy with the final outcome, but as the saying goes, you can't get blood out of a stone.

ACP45 Loc: Rhode Island

Who said it solely the government that screwed up. Yes, the politicians negotiated the deal, but the public elected the politicians, and if they are too naive, unaware, blase,.... don't they share in this responsibility. The politicians only care about the next e******n and campaign donations and volunteers from union headquarters, but the media does not inform the public, and the public does not demand accountability from it's elected officials. There is plenty of blame to go around. And who said anything about this being the fault of the left? Got a chip on your shoulder?

jimpack123 Loc: wisconsin

I could go with something like that at least you have a plan and would not leave the ones getting a pension out in the cold. But perhaps it should be up to the courts to figure it out and have the lawyers do it at no charge other wise the retired person gets left out in the cold

bahmer

I livein Illinois unfortunately and when we had governor Bruce Rauner they refused to allow the Illinois pensions to be converted to 401K's here in Illinois for some absurd reason. Maybe the judges were on that pension system who knows. Anyway some of these guys that worked for the school system are now collecting two or three pensions per month. They were teachers then they left teaching and became a principal for a few years and then they did something else for the school board and are now receiving Three different pensions. The same happened in the road construction areas the unions set it up so that each division received their own pensions. The courts should force conversion to 401k's for the good of the state otherwise the states will have to file bankruptcy.

jimpack123 Loc: wisconsin

or just one pension