Taxpayers on the Hook for Dramatic Public Pension Shortfalls
Taxpayers are on the hook to cover shortfalls in funding that provides not only payroll but pensions and benefits for public employees including a host of bizarre arrangements that lead to widespread abuse from public employees. From padding incomes that will be used to determine pension benefits to being retired and working at the same time the rest of us may end up paying for unfunded liabilities that have skyrocketed with the recent economic decline and fall in the markets.
How about another Blago story and how he floated debt securities to pay 5.1% after an estimate of over 8% to be earned in the market. That blunder cost Illinois $60 billion.
For those of you concerned about social security and/or losing your pension consider that 80% of public employees have guaranteed pensions as well as everything else. Pensions and benefits have become the new third rail for politicians. Fighting it is political suicide.
Do yourself a favor and read the entire Forbes article at the link provided below. As a matter of fact the entire issue is enlightening. (the copy read here was dated Feb 16)
Gilt-Edged Pensions
Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com
Obama gets his S-CHIP Trojan Horse, first tax hike of 2009: “The first step” (Michelle Malkin)