Illinois is the poster child of unfunded pensions - Obama's State of the Union

[KissMy]

US state pensions becoming federal issue

the state faces unfunded liabilities of about $78bn, the biggest pension hole in the US, and contributions of more than $4bn for 2011, the largest single element of its $13bn budget deficit.

Illinois is the poster child of unfunded pensions in the US. But state retirement systems could become a national concern, new research shows.

Joshua Rauh, associate professor of finance at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University said that, without reform, some state pensions might run out within the decade. By 2030, as many as 31 states may not have the money to pay pensions. And, if these funds exhaust their assets, the size of payments for the benefits they have promised will be too large to cover through taxes, putting pressure on the federal government for a bail-out that could potentially cost more than $1,000bn, he says.

“It is more than a local problem,” Mr Rauh said. “The federal government could be on the hook.”

Estimates put the unfunded liabilities at between $1,000bn and $3,000bn after years of states promising benefits but not contributing enough in both good times and bad to cover them.

At current rates retired state workers will get paid more annually than employed state workers. This is worse than the GM Union problem. I smell more bail-outs. Buy gold on the dip.

 

[KissMy]

GOP wins House seat in Obama's home district

Rep.-elect Charles Djou's victory for a seat long out of their reach as evidence of steadily increasing election-year strength...

"It is a significant win. It is the birthplace of the president of the United States," Republican Chairman Michael Steele said a few hours after Djou sealed his victory over Democrats Colleen Hanabusa and Ed Case. The two drew 59 percent of the vote between them in the winner-take-all contest.

But Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., chairman of the Democratic campaign committee, said the result was "a clear case of local Democrats not being able to work out a solution where you could get one (Democratic) candidate against one (Republican candidate)." He said that would change by November.

Djou became the first Republican in nearly 20 years to win a congressional seat from his state, and he seemed to recognize that his political future was anything but secure.

 

[Mr. H.]

The Republicans in the Illinois legislature have no mercy for Quinn or his cronies. Cut spending, cut waste, cut fraud. That's the way to balance the state's budget.

And who is suffering the most? Children. School children. Districts are cutting spending to the bone.

Quinn thinks he can borrow us out of problems. He's sadly mistaken.

 

[KissMy]

The Republicans in the Illinois legislature have no mercy for Quinn or his cronies. Cut spending, cut waste, cut fraud. That's the way to balance the state's budget.

And who is suffering the most? Children. School children. Districts are cutting spending to the bone.

Quinn thinks he can borrow us out of problems. He's sadly mistaken.

I also say cut those outrageous taxpayer backed pension funds.

 

[chanel]

Didn't Enron execs go to jail for the same thing? Prosecute the thieves.

 

[Mr. H.]

The Republicans in the Illinois legislature have no mercy for Quinn or his cronies. Cut spending, cut waste, cut fraud. That's the way to balance the state's budget.

And who is suffering the most? Children. School children. Districts are cutting spending to the bone.

Quinn thinks he can borrow us out of problems. He's sadly mistaken.

I also say cut those outrageous taxpayer backed pension funds.

Ain't dat da troot. Unlikely that w/ever happen tho.

Here's a clip from the Illlinois Chamber of Commerce bulletin:

Republicans remain very unlikely to support the bulk of whatever plan the Democrats eventually agree to. However, the possibility remains they may consider helping pass the Governor's proposal to bond the FY 11 pension contributions. Bonding may be seen as a better approach than the alternative, delaying making the pension payments until next January, a move that would cost the system billions of dollars over the long term.

Egads.

 

[KissMy]

Oh how did we survive here in the USA from 1776 to 1910 when the Us government started to levey taxes on us citizens?

Our founding fathers warned us about this crap. Big government is just organized crime. Just look to Chicago. Their sales tax is 10% & they have huge problems. Pay to play for its citizens. Now all the citizens in the entire country must pay to live. Soon we will have to pay for the air we breathe with carbon taxes. The politician's make up complicated laws (ie 2000 page health care law) with loop-holes while in office & then go to the private sector & exploit the crap out of us for the rest of their days.

Government did a great job with Fannie & Freddie, affirmative action lending. They closely guarded our Social Security trust fund. They never pay off their buddies with Medicare or defense spending. The corruption in this country is at crisis levels.

Look at the owners whose names appeared on the the President’s automotive task force Chrysler dealer closing list, and of those who contributed to political campaigns. Most had donated almost exclusively to GOP candidates. The evidence points to a corrupt decision-making process. Is anyone surprised? It’s the Chicago way.

Miami Florida is the Medicare rip-off capital yet they manage to get a gator-aid carve-out in the healthcare bill. I bet you the Medicare rip-off artist that do not get caught contribute to the proper campaigns. I bet all the big medical device & pharma companies who employ ex-politicians are allowed to over-charge the crap out of Medicare for their products.

 

[Greenbeard]

Just look to Chicago. Their sales tax is 10% & they have huge problems. Pay to play for its citizens.

As a former Chicagoan, I can safely say I much prefer the sales taxes where I live now. However, the high sales taxes in the city (10.25%, although I think they're about to be reduced) are due to the rest of the state and county milking the cash cow--i.e. the largest urban area in the state. The actual components of that tax are: 6.25% state tax, 1.25% city tax, 1.75% county tax and 1% regional transportation authority tax. So the cut Chicago itself takes from the Chicago sales tax is only 1.25%.