The Coming Pension Meltdowns

[mrjarrell]

Yikes. It's already happened in one Alabama town. They had the choice of paying their former workers pensions or paying the current workers and keeping the city running. They chose the latter and the pensioners were left out in the cold. The same thing's going to happen to a lot of other cities and states around the country, probably even some here in Indiana. There's just not enough money to go around and no-one's willing to make the necessary cuts. Something's got to give. The taxpayers can't always be the go to guys.

Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis: Alabama Town Defaults on Pensions, Breaks State Law; Renewed Calls For San Diego Bankruptcy; "Prichard is the Future"

 

[John Galt]

Just saw this myself on Harvey Organ's - The Daily Gold & Silver Report. This brings to mind a great quote by Ayn Rand - "You can evade reality, but you cannot evade the consequences of evading reality."
Of course this stuff is going to happen and it's going to hit with a vengeance! Any rational, logical person that is capable of thought could predict this, which is why it is so very important to PREPARE ACCORDINGLY! It's just starting with pensions now, what do you think is going to happen when working, taxPAYING people get tired of funding these pensions and benefits, when they have no pension/benefits themselves?
However, the biggies are the Big 3. Wait until the SS/Medicare/Medicaid debacle becomes realized and the younger workers (those with jobs and who have money left after paying on their student loans) don't want half of their paychecks taken to pay for these Ponzi schemes.
God, guns, gold & gardens,
Merry Christmas

 

[phylodog]

Getting fired from retirement, doesn't seem right to me whether it's public or private sector.

 

[hornadylnl]

Anyone think that disappearing pensions wil be the catalyst for the public to reign in out of control spending politicians?

 

[jeremy]

Anyone think that disappearing pensions wil be the catalyst for the public to reign in out of control spending politicians?

Nope...

 

[hornadylnl]

Nope...

I dont think so either but usually the only thing that will wake people up to government waste is when their slice of the pie gets cut.

 

[jeremy]

As long as the Mob receives their Bread and Circuses the madness will continue unchecked. Look how long Rome actually took to die...

 

[John Galt]

The charade will continue until it can't.

 

[CampingJosh]

The pension system went away in corporate America decades ago because it doesn't work. Of course, the laws of cause and effect apply differently in government situations...

 

[Gabriel]

As long as the Mob has cable television and an EBT card the madness will continue unchecked. Look how long Rome actually took to die...

Thought I'd modernize that for you.

 

[Dredd]

As long as the Mob receives their Bread and Circuses the madness will continue unchecked. Look how long Rome actually took to die...

How long did it take?

 

[ThrottleJockey]

Well, my uncle did his part. His railroad pension was valued well over a million dollars when he died just 2 years before retirement.

 

[Dredd]

If they touch my pension i will have a meltdown, ha ha

 

[John Galt]

Originally Posted by jeremy
As long as the Mob has cable television and an EBT card the madness will continue unchecked. Look how long Rome actually took to die...

Thought I'd modernize that for you.

As long as the mob has cell phones, cable television and an EBT card the madness will continue unchecked ....
snopes.com: Free Cell Phones for Welfare Recipients

A little more up to speed

 

[Ashkelon]

Yep but it will be government employees that intiate the meltdown. The staunch conservatives that expect somebody to "match" their money blah blah blah....

 

[hornadylnl]

Originally Posted by jeremy
As long as the Mob has cable television and an EBT card the madness will continue unchecked. Look how long Rome actually took to die...



As long as the mob has cell phones, cable television and an EBT card the madness will continue unchecked ....
snopes.com: Free Cell Phones for Welfare Recipients

A little more up to speed

I just got this letter from Assurance Wireless. If I get medicaid, food stamps, SSI, TANF, Section 8 housing, Low income home energy assistance, or free school lunch, I qualify for a free phone and 250 free minutes of nationwide calling each month.

 

[John Galt]

I just got this letter from Assurance Wireless. If I get medicaid, food stamps, SSI, TANF, Section 8 housing, Low income home energy assistance, or free school lunch, I qualify for a free phone and 250 free minutes of nationwide calling each month.

Who is John Galt? (sorry, had to do it )

 

[hornadylnl]

Who is John Galt? (sorry, had to do it )

I don't use 250 minutes a month on a phone I pay for. Wait just a few years and the recipient class will demand free smart phones with unlimited data plans. They need it to send resumes, etc.

 

[Leadeye]

The PBG program will cover part of all the defaulting pensions. The funding for the increased costs of PBG will be covered by printing more money like everything else. Between inflation and tax increases expect your standard of living to deteriorate considerably.

Most of the friction in this crisis will come from citizens unhappy with the distribution of wealth as the government tries it's best to protect it's traditionally favored groups in the face of an overall drop in the standard of living.

 

[hornadylnl]

Cutting or threatening to cut pensions is nothing more than politics. Just like schools layoff or threaten to layoff teachers when times are tough. It causes more of a backlash and increased demands for more funding amongst the masses. The people will want higher taxes to save teaching jobs but don't want higher taxes to fund sports programs, new buildings, etc.

Our state governments are doing the same thing with cops and prisoners. When they can't make budget, they threaten to layoff cops and release prisoners instead of cutting social programs and wasteful spending.

Cut these pensions and the fed will pay for them.