CPR:
Debates about California’s pension crisis almost always focus on the big numbers – the hundreds of billions of dollars (and, by some estimates, more than $1 trillion) in unfunded liabilities that plague the public-pension funds. For instance, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System is only 68 percent funded – meaning it only has about two-thirds of the money needed to pay for the pension promises made to current and future retirees.
CalPERS and its union backers insist that there’s nothing to worry about, that future bull markets will provide enough returns to cover this taxpayer-backed debt. Pension reformers warn that cities will go bankrupt as pension payments consume larger chunks of municipal budgets. They also warn that pensioners are at risk if the shortfalls become too great. The fears are serious, but they mainly involve predictions about what will happen a decade or more into the future.
What about the here and now? California municipalities and school districts are facing larger bills from CalPERS and from the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) to pay for sharply rising retirement costs. Most of them can come up with the money right now, but that money is coming directly out of their operating budgets. That means that California taxpayers are paying more to fund the pension system, and getting fewer services in return.
The “bankruptcy” word garners attention. This column recently reported on Oroville, where the city’s finance director warned about possible bankruptcy during a recent hearing in Sacramento. The Salinas mayor also has been waving the bankruptcy flag. The b-word understandably gets news headlines, especially after the cities of Stockton, Vallejo and San Bernardino emerged from bankruptcies caused in large part by their pension situation.
See also:
Dems want to raise property taxes to fund government pensions.
I know a retired CHP officer here, he came back to get away from taxes in Commiepornia. Dude is making somewhere between 150k and 170k in retirement.
Nice, but that’s a lot of scrum!
NO FEDERAL BAILOUT!
They’ve been doing this all along knowing damn well they could suck off the federal tit when push comes to shove. I for one don’t want to foot the bill for decades of democRATS playing Santa Clause for votes and power!!
The CA pension system is typical of public pensions generally. They are not funded. They allow full retirement as early as age 50. They guarantee increasing benefits to retirees in perpetuity. Retirees often achieve pensions exceeding their pre-retirement pay.
If private pensions were structured and managed like public pensions, their officers would be sent to federal prison.
Fuck
Unions
After decades of historic budgetary slight of hand, corruption and mismanagement, Illinois is now grappling with $15 billion of unpaid bills and an unthinkable quarter-trillion dollars owed to public employees when they retire.
Illinois funds their pension systems below 40%.
The budget crisis has forced Illinois to jack up property taxes and income taxes, fees and licenses so high that businesses and people are leaving in droves.
Illinois #1 remains the worst in the nation, California is climbing fast.
Now Cali says they want to secede. I can’t imagine why. I mean, that’s like the Clintons saying they’ve decided they don’t want any more money. Ridiculous on the face of it.
Slip sliding away
Slip sliding away
The nearer to Cali
The more your slip slidin away
Gotta love those unions!
Hope no one her is invested in CA municipal funds- fuckers are going to default, just like some cities already have.
Fuck em’. Make them go back to work.
Not to worry, future bull markets will provide plenty of funds for future payments as well as raises for all state workers.
I’m with Rat Fink, at no time should the federal government fund Ca’s financial idiocy.
The democrats hung out the cookie bag and these people voted for it.
As usual, whenever they are about to fall off the cliff, they’ll raise taxes as a last resort, because they don’t have the courage to do it before the 11th hour. Then they can say, “Our backs are against the wall! What else could we have POSSIBLY done?!”
These union mooks are counting on TRUMP’S turnaround of the economy to keep them alive, in which case maybe they better start backing REPUBLICANS instead of the scum sucking democRATS if they want to keep their heads above water.
My father worked for the state for 35 years before they unionized. His pension is around $13k. You know what the average univ of calif pension is now? Over $100k and they are retiring in droves before the cuts come!
Please hurry the fuck up and secede already. i don’t want my tax dollars bailing out these douchebags.