Two years after bankruptcy, city still isn't free of its crushing pension obligation

[keepinitreal]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703625304575115551578762006.html

[banca rotta]

I seem to always notice when there is a large bk such as GM, Chrysler or a County, City, etc. there's always "unions" and or "pensions" involved.

I don't want to use this post to bash union pensions but I think it's time to rethink the ponzi system we have become accustomed to before it's too late.

Whether you agree or not the pension system is a ponzi scheme and we are running out of new "investors" to feed the old ones. This goes for pretty much everything else in the economy which is why we are in the new normal.

[StartingOver08]

Right on the mark Banca Rotta

I seem to always notice when there is a large bk such as GM, Chrysler or a County, City, etc. there's always "unions" and or "pensions" involved.

I don't want to use this post to bash union pensions but I think it's time to rethink the ponzi system we have become accustomed to before it's too late.

Whether you agree or not the pension system is a ponzi scheme and we are running out of new "investors" to feed the old ones. This goes for pretty much everything else in the economy which is why we are in the new normal.

Well said. So now the city of Vallejo is emerging from Ch 9 with no solution to their debt crisis due to their ineffective and irresponsible leadership. They have used their BK card but did not choose to get their fresh start.

Who pays for this? Eventually all of us. What started as a good idea, pensions, has morphed into pure greed over the decades.

[justbroke]

I lived in a City that appeared to be just fine. Had the same issues as this Vallejo Ca, but they weren't evident and the City had not filed nor was contemplating bankruptcy.

It wasn't until a new City Manager from New Jersey came to take over. The first thing he did was see how the City funded its pension fund. Yep... the City funded (and probably still funds) its pension fund through the... wait for it... current operating budget! Yes, there is no pension fund. The retired police/fire and city workers are paid through the current operating budget. He said the City would eventually fail because this scheme has failed everywhere.

Why are cities, towns, municipalities, States, and the Federal Government still in this ponzi scheme? They raided the true "retirement" funds years ago and are now paying for it. This will be the second major "bubble" to pop in the United States, in my opinion. When this bubble goes, I think crime will increase, you'll have slow police response, fire departments will shrink, and then they go for other services like public libraries, parks, and anything else to save the budget.

It's a shame, and this scam has been pulled for years!