The Lies About Pensions: Shortfalls and Solutions

[marmar]

from the Working Life blog:



The Lies About Pensions: Shortfalls and Solutions

by Jonathan Tasini
Tuesday 15 of February, 2011


You've heard (and, in some cases, unfortunately, been persuaded) that "generous" pensions given to public employees has caused great deficits in pensions and state budgets. It's nonsense. And here are the facts to prove it.

The Center for Economic and Policy Research has a very important study out. It must be given wide distribution and visibility (and, if there are foundation officers or rich people reading this, do us a favor: give CEPR a windfall of money: it's one of the few organizations talking sense about the economy). The basic conclusion:

Most of the pension shortfall using the current methodology is attributable to the plunge in the stock market in the years 2007-2009.

And...

The size of the projected state and local government shortfalls measured as a share of future gross state products appear manageable.

The first conclusion is critical because it completely counters the notion that blame for pensions shortfalls should be laid at the feet of public workers. Instead, we should lay the blame at the feet of the reckless people in the financial industry on Wall Street who gambled with our economic future. ...........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.workinglife.org/blogs/view_post.php?content_id=15105