I recently wrote in another forum about the large number of retired teachers that one encounters on luxury cruises. This phenomenon is not surprising; indeed, it is predictable. Someone who retires in their early fifties (as most teachers do) will have a “healthy retirement” that is more than twice as long as for a normal working American, who retires at age 66 (the current SS retirement age for Boomers).
How did this phenomenon come about?
Well, teachers provide vital community services (teaching and babysitting), and they are the beneficiaries of collective bargaining, which in the public sector, is nothing more than a Kabuki Dance, intended to hide the massive theft that is going on.
Why is it "theft"? Because the people who “negotiate” with the teachers’ unions have NO VESTED INTEREST in the outcome of the negotiations. In fact, it is worse than that. The most of the “Managers” who generally negotiate with the teachers’ unions know that THEY will PERSONALLY reap the benefits that they bestow to the teachers in their negotiations, so they are incentivized to (a) make it look like they are negotiating as aggressively as possible, while (b) giving the teachers as much as possible.
And whereas in the Real World, essentially all employers have walked away from the insanity known as “defined benefit” pensions, in the public sector they are uniquitous. Of course they are.
So pretty much regardless of where you live in the U.S., public sector "managers" and politicians have entered into a BACK-BREAKING FINANCIAL COMMITMENT that YOU are required by law to meet, even though you had NO REPRESENTATION in the negotiations that resulted in those commitments. And your tax burden will be increased geometrically in the coming years (it has already started) to pay for these absurdly generous pensions – not to mention lifetime FREE healthcare for public sector retirees. And in most states, if you are a real estate owner, there is absolutely nothing you can do to avoid this colossal theft from your personal finances.
But the worst part of it is that today's legislatures are UNWILLING TO STOP THE INSANITY, even when it has become apparent that it will bankrupt every state in the union if it is allowed to continue. Even simple measures to convert NEW HIRES to a 401k-type plan - something that is UNIVERSAL for real working people - are political suicide for the politicians who dare mention their possibility.
If you are a normal, middle class American, the biggest threat to your retirement is not healthcare, or a market "correction," or global fucking warming. It is the tsunami of increasing state and local taxes that will be necessary to pay the GUARANTEED retirement and healthcare benefits of a giant army of people who - let's be honest - were too mediocre to go out and get a real job when they finished school.
If you are not pissed off about this, why not?
How did this phenomenon come about?
Well, teachers provide vital community services (teaching and babysitting), and they are the beneficiaries of collective bargaining, which in the public sector, is nothing more than a Kabuki Dance, intended to hide the massive theft that is going on.
Why is it "theft"? Because the people who “negotiate” with the teachers’ unions have NO VESTED INTEREST in the outcome of the negotiations. In fact, it is worse than that. The most of the “Managers” who generally negotiate with the teachers’ unions know that THEY will PERSONALLY reap the benefits that they bestow to the teachers in their negotiations, so they are incentivized to (a) make it look like they are negotiating as aggressively as possible, while (b) giving the teachers as much as possible.
And whereas in the Real World, essentially all employers have walked away from the insanity known as “defined benefit” pensions, in the public sector they are uniquitous. Of course they are.
So pretty much regardless of where you live in the U.S., public sector "managers" and politicians have entered into a BACK-BREAKING FINANCIAL COMMITMENT that YOU are required by law to meet, even though you had NO REPRESENTATION in the negotiations that resulted in those commitments. And your tax burden will be increased geometrically in the coming years (it has already started) to pay for these absurdly generous pensions – not to mention lifetime FREE healthcare for public sector retirees. And in most states, if you are a real estate owner, there is absolutely nothing you can do to avoid this colossal theft from your personal finances.
But the worst part of it is that today's legislatures are UNWILLING TO STOP THE INSANITY, even when it has become apparent that it will bankrupt every state in the union if it is allowed to continue. Even simple measures to convert NEW HIRES to a 401k-type plan - something that is UNIVERSAL for real working people - are political suicide for the politicians who dare mention their possibility.
If you are a normal, middle class American, the biggest threat to your retirement is not healthcare, or a market "correction," or global fucking warming. It is the tsunami of increasing state and local taxes that will be necessary to pay the GUARANTEED retirement and healthcare benefits of a giant army of people who - let's be honest - were too mediocre to go out and get a real job when they finished school.
If you are not pissed off about this, why not?
