There Is a Vast Oligarch Conspiracy Afoot to Destroy the Retirement Plans of Millions of Workers

[xchrom]

http://www.alternet.org/economy/there-vast-oligarch-conspiracy-afoot-destroy-retirement-plans-millions

As state legislatures prepare for their upcoming sessions, you will no doubt hear a lot about public pensions. More specifically, you will hear allegations that states are going bankrupt because of their pension obligations to public employees. These claims will inevitably be used to argue that states must renege on their pension promises to retirees.

This is what I've called the Plot Against Pensions in a report I recently completed for the Institute for America's Future. Engineered by billionaire former Enron trader John Arnold, championed by seemingly nonpartisan groups like the Pew Charitable Trusts and operating in states throughout America, this plot is not designed to strengthen pensions or to save taxpayer money, as its proponents claim. It is designed to slash public employees' guaranteed retirement income in order to both protect states' corporate welfare and, in some cases, enrich Wall Street.

Consider the math of state budgets. According to Pew's estimates, "The gap between states' assets and their obligations for public sector retirement benefits (is) $1.38 trillion" over 30 years. As the Center for Economic and Policy Research notes, this gap was not caused by benefit increases, as conservatives suggest. Data prove that most of it was caused by the stock market decline that accompanied the 2008 financial collapse.

Of course, regardless of cause, a $1.38 trillion shortfall sounds like an emergency. But it is a relatively tiny problem -- one that may require small changes, but does not require radical schemes to entirely eviscerate retirement benefits. That's because, as CEPR points out, in most states the shortfall "is less than 0.2 percent of projected gross state product over the next 30 years."

[JeffHead]

1. They have their sights set on the 2 biggest piles of cash left.

Social Security and pension funds. They won't be happy until they get their grubby little hands on it either. Stealing peoples houses and charging bloated credit card fees is small potatoes, they want it all.

[zeemike]

3. Just think about it.

If they could get their hands on 13% of every working persons wages...they would have money to buy that bigger yacht...Who can fault them for that?...

[MythosMaster]

2. Children of privilege that grew up in the penthouses

and sky boxes of America and believe they own the world.

[meti57b]

4. imo, the original idea was to pay public employees low salaries but promise them a good pension, ...

... and hope they don't live long enough to collect the pension.

So, now-a-days, people are living longer, and actually collecting their pensions. If this continues long enough, the billionaires (or whomever) may start sending Harry, the hit-man out after retired public employees.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

5. Some of these are to cops and firefighters....

What are the odds though that cops are more likely to hassle the Democrat than the bastard after his retirement money?

[bluedeathray]

6. So should I get my tinfoil hat

If I suggest that, if true, this may be a plot to start a revolt?

[former9thward]

7. The math in the OP does not make sense.

If the shortfall was caused by the 2008 crash why has it not recovered? The market has completely recovered from that crash and then some. The shortfall in states like Illinois has been caused by the refusal of the state to fully fund the pension program.