States face $1.26 trillion shortfall in funds to pay retiree benefits

[Keith Bee]

Source: Washington Post

The state funds that pay pension and health-care benefits to retired teachers, corrections officers and millions of other public workers faced a cumulative shortfall of at least $1.26 trillion at the end of fiscal 2009, according to a new report.

The study, to be released Tuesday by the Pew Center on the States, found that the pension and health-care funding gap increased by 26 percent over the previous year. Pew officials said the growing shortfall was driven by inadequate state contributions, an aging population and market losses that accompanied the recession.

Although investment markets have recovered substantially since the period covered by the report, its authors warn that states still face an increasing burden from retiree costs that are beginning to crowd out critical services.

“In many states, the bill for public-sector retirement benefits already threatens strained budgets and is competing for resources with other critical needs, including education, infrastructure and health care,” said Susan Urahn, managing director of the Pew Center on the States.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/states-face-126-trillion-shortfall-in-funds-to-pay-retiree-benefits/2011/04/25/AFpprVmE_story.html?hpid=z1

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Market losses. "...investment markets have recovered substantially..." Gee, that Paulie Ryan really is a genius!

:puke:

[xchrom]

1. um -- tax the rich and STOP the habit of corporate bribery? nt

[KansDem]

2. Stop the wars Bush lied us into...

End tax cuts for the wealthy...
End tax-payer subsidies for the oil companies...
Tax corporations...

I don't know why this is so difficult for them!

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

3. "inadequate state contributions"

Per the agreed upon deal. Years ago.

[alp227]

4. source should be washington post n/t

[Keith Bee]

6. You're right

:blush:

[ejpoeta]

5. maybe they should make the fucking banking industry cover the losses.

[Keith Bee]

11. But, but, but

that would be S-S-SOCIALISM! :cry:

[Warren Stupidity]

7. Well motherfucking Wall Street ought to be arrested and fined to pay for this.

The goddamn shortfall is largely the result of the fucking bullshit AAA bonds the banksters sold to pension funds before the Big Short. These same banksters got bailed out 'cause they were too big too fail, bailed out by us buying up the 'toxic assets' they sold and resold to pension funds as AAA mortgage bonds knowing full well they were bullshit. We protected their billionaire bonuses and now the states are picking up the tab in pension fund asset shortfalls.

This is a freaking crime of gigantic proportions.

[Keith Bee]

10. Deleted

[Keith Bee]

13. Again: Sorry

Replied to wrong poster. :hide:

[aquart]

8. Shouldn't have stolen them in the first place.

To little me, tampering with a pension fund is a hanging crime.

[plumbob]

16. Yes, and hanging en masse would create an atmosphere I'd prefer.

Can we do this, please?

[madrchsod]

9. ....war! what is it good for? absolutely nothing! say it again!....

over a trillion and counting for the wars over who controls the oil.

[Keith Bee]

12. Why do you hate our country?

Don't you realize that killing the bad people (andokaysomeinnocentpeopletoo) on a massive scale provides employment (jobs! jobs! jobs!) for millions of Americans?

:patriot:

[freshwest]

14. IMHO, thr media assault on public employees is to hide the fact the banks stole the pension money.

The money is gone, so demonize the workers to say they are the problem and everything will be solved if they are punished, and all services privatized or dismantled.

This is smoke and mirrors by the media to get tacit consent through smearing folks. The state governments lost the money with investing in these crooked firms.

They are contracted to pay but the places they put the money can't be punished. The constant hate being sold puts a target on the backs of workers who had *no* control over where their pensions rested.

It's a shell game, a con.

[Keith Bee]

17. Godless Socialist Teachers!

I mean, they are the ones at fault, right?

:sarcasm:

[sarcasmo]

15. Tax corporations on their profits and stop the war insanity, problem solved.

[highplainsdem]

18. Here's a link to the Pew report, a PDF file:

http://www.pewcenteronthestates.org/uploadedFiles/Pew_pensions_retiree_benefits.pdf


I found that link in a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article on Wisconsin's pensions being well funded, which I posted about here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4828751

[Keith Bee]

19. Thank you

:-)

[freshwest]

20. Other states, not so well. And Walker will steal that if he can.

[defendandprotect]

21. Right -- they've been underfunding the pension funds -- !!

This scandal has only been going on 20 years or so !!