Moneyed class proposes new ways to steal from working people

The excellent blog Capital & Main has an important piece up about the proposal to create a new retirement system in the state for workers who do not have a pension system.

 http://capitalandmain.com/latest-news/issues/labor-and-economy/retirement-board-facing-critical-pension-decision-0325/

As the writer Judith Lewis Mernit well describes, California ( and the nation) is facing a growing retirement crisis and more and more jobs no longer have pensions.  This is an emerging crisis.

For comparison, here is the Sacramento Bee version of the same story. http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/article68342897.html

The Capital and Main piece is a good piece on important issues. But, do we really only want to consider the neoliberal finance approach?  For example, the proposal calls for employers to insist on participation, but apparently does not require employers to contribute- as does social security.

Then, the advocates claim it is progressive because of the pooled IRA project.  But, IRA's are still invested in the markets. This is like the Peterson Institute arguing for the privatization of social security.

Assault on Pensions ( including Teacher Pensions) continues

Bill Raden, Capital and Main

When Democratic former San Jose mayor Chuck Reed and Republican ex-San Diego councilmember Carl DeMaio finally unveiled the language for a promised attempt at getting a statewide public pension cutting measure to 2016 voters, the expectation was that Reed II would be a reined-in and more realistically-framed version of Reed I – last year’s failed attempt at undermining the public pension system.

Editors note:

 These pension critics in California have targeted public pensions as a place to claim a crisis and to demand pensions changes- which would make them billions.

In 2014 California pensions had 84 % of the funds they need to pay their obligations. Most pension critics- such as the Peterson Institute- say that 80%  of  potential obligations should be covered in assets.

This argument incorrectly assumes that there will not be more workers paying into the ongoing pensions.  That is the policy direction argued for by austerity advocates mostly in the Republican Party.

The truth is that working people such as teachers and police officers  paid into these pension funds.  At times- the state and local governments skipped their obligations to match the workers contributions. This created a problem that is being dealt with.

If they arm teachers.

If they arm teachers.

Then, teachers  in California deserve Public Safety Officer pay, and Public Safety Officer pensions.  Do you wish to discuss this ?  That would mean a 30 -50% increase in pay and pensions.

Financial crisis hurts schools, was not caused by pensions

Fiscal Crisis in States Will Last Beyond Slump, Report Warns  N.Y. Times.

By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH and MICHAEL COOPER

WASHINGTON — The fiscal crisis for states will persist long after the economy rebounds as states confront financial problems that include rising health care costs, underfunded pensions, ignored infrastructure needs, eroding revenues and expected federal budget cuts, according to a report issued here Tuesday by a task force of respected budget experts.

The severity of the long-term problems facing states is often masked by lax state budget laws and opaque accounting practices, according to the report, an independent analysis of six states released by a group calling itself the State Budget Crisis Task Force. The report said that the financial collapse of 2008, which caused the most serious fiscal crisis for states since the Great Depression, exposed a number of deep-set financial challenges that will grow worse if no action is taken by national policy makers.

“The ability of the states to meet their obligations to public employees, to creditors and most critically to the education and well-being of their citizens is threatened,” warned the two chairmen of the task force, Richard Ravitch, the former lieutenant governor of New York, and Paul A. Volcker, the former chairman of the Federal Reserve.

Editors insert. (Duane Campbell)

 The  looting produced our current economic crisis, crashed the world economy, and caused the massive cutbacks we presently suffer in schools, in public pensions, in employment of police, fire, the bankrupting of cities and the cuts to health care and the social safety net.

Did police, fire fighters, nurses, teachers cause this crisis.  No.

Did pensioners cause this crisis ? No. Government should get the money from those who caused the crisis-  the bankers and finance capital through a financial transaction tax.  We should use such a tax rather than giving the banks bail outs.  And, stop scape goating pensioners.

What happened to pensions ? Why is the San Jose pension system in crisis? They have built a system based upon a projected  7.5% investment growth.

They are achieving a 1.5% growth. Why?  Because of the economic crisis.  (STRS, etc.)  It was the economic crisis, the looting of the economy.  It was not the workers.  

The Story of Broke (2011)

And they want us to believe the problem is public pensions.

Public employees pensions

Pulitzer Prize winning tax reporter, David Cay Johnston, has written a brilliant piece for tax.comexposing the truth about who really pays for the pension and benefits for public employees in Wisconsin.

Gov. Scott Walker says he wants state workers covered by collective bargaining agreements to “contribute more” to their pension and health insurance plans. Accepting Gov. Walker’ s assertions as fact, and failing to check, creates the impression that somehow the workers are getting something extra, a gift from taxpayers. They are not. Out of every dollar that funds Wisconsin’ s pension and health insurance plans for state workers, 100 cents comes from the state workers.

http://blogs.forbes.com/rickungar/2011/02/25/the-wisconsin-lie-exposed-taxpayers-actually-contribute-nothing-to-public-employee-pensions