States now are doing what the federal government won’t — address massive unfunded liabilities in their retirement programs. The New York Times reports:
Illinois raised its retirement age to 67, the highest of any state, and capped public pensions at $106,800 a year. Arizona, New York, Missouri and Mississippi will make people work more years to earn pensions. Virginia is requiring employees to pay into the state pension fund for the first time. New Jersey will not give anyone pension credit unless they work at least 32 hours a week.
“We can’t afford to deny reality or delay action any longer,” said Gov. Pat Quinn of Illinois, adding that his state’s pension cuts, enacted in March, will save some $300 million in the first year alone.
Before taxpayers in those states start doing a victory dance, there’s a catch to the new rules:
Nearly all of the cuts so far apply only to workers not yet hired. Though heralded as breakthrough reforms by state officials, the cuts phase in so slowly they are unlikely to save the weakest funds and keep them from running out of money. Some new rules may even hasten the demise of the funds they were meant to protect.
Apparently lawmakers fear lawsuits and retaliation from unionized state employees. As for lawsuits, shouldn’t unionized state employees sue union leadership? It’s the union that promised those benefits not taxpayers. As for retaliation, too bad our kids can’t vote. They are ones who will be paying the bill. In Colorado, that bill is $3600 for every man, woman and child according to a recent ALEC report.
That’s chump change compared to Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security unfunded liabilities. As of right now, you and your children each owe $352,798.
At some point, we will wake up from our spending binge and our kids will have a massive debt hangover. Here’s to our kids charging us with crimes against the economy.
You and your children can’t be FORCED to pay for the federal government’s debt and unfunded mandates. The federal government can not threaten you and make you work and pay them. The direct negative consequence of federal governments unfunded mandates is the fact that all the social security tax and increases in other taxes paid the Feds will most likely end up going to someone else and those paying them will receive nothing. Although this is tragic the federal government can’t kick you out of your house and sell it to pay their debt. State governments on the other had can do this and they will.
The States unfunded mandates must be paid with property tax and this makes the threat imposed by these unfunded mandates far more real than those of the federal government. Property tax unlike any other tax must be paid even if you have no income. Property tax is pure extorting and the definition of property tax “A tax on ownership” is the basis of slavery. Every state government in America threatens to murder its citizens, man, woman and child by throwing them into a hostile environment it they don’t pay for their unfunded mandates with property tax. This is a real threat this is extortion no different than what you get from a criminal gang or the Mob. Until we address the fact that property tax prohibits home ownership, makes the American Dream a Lie, is the basis of slavery and makes government into a criminal syndicate demanding extortion you and your family will have no security. The police will be the ones kicking you out of your home instead of the ones protecting you, after all their outrageous unfunded retirement benefits must be paid by this extortion making them nothing more than mob enforcers for the government.
Prohibiting public unions, prohibiting government from making unfunded mandates and prohibiting the government for requiring the servitude of the people with property tax are the three steeps that must be taken to make America into a free society where the people can be secure in their homes.
June 24th, 2010 at 1:06 pm