Federal Judge OKs Highway Robbery of Dallas Cops' and Firefighters' Savings Accounts

[TexasTowelie]

U.S. District Judge David Godbey has ruled against Dallas firefighters and cops whose retirement savings were frozen by the Dallas Police and Fire Pension Fund board, saying that the retirees don’t have a case because they will get their savings back eventually.

I am trying to get my head around that. The parallel that keeps coming to mind is a guy who walks into a pawn shop with a gun and takes all the money. That’s as far as I’ve gotten.

I’m sure I’m not right because I’m sure that the city, acting through the pension board, would never walk into a pawn shop with a gun and take all the money. I hope.

You remember last year’s battle over the pension fund. For some set of reasons, the city’s pension fund for first responders devolved into a condition in which it no longer had enough money to meet its obligations to retirees. We could talk all day about why.

Read more: http://www.dallasobserver.com/news/federal-judge-says-dallas-can-impound-police-and-fire-savings-accounts-10480275

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

1. This is really just the tip of the iceberg.

Unfortunately. Many, many state and local governments and so on have systematically underfunded pension plans. A lot like many corporations. This sort of thing should not have happened, not at any level, but it has.

Which is perhaps why the much maligned 401k plans and their ilk are much better than people understand.