[MTA Tom]

The WSJ today ran an interesting article on Stockton's looming bankruptcy titled "How Stockton, California Went Broke in Plain Sight." The crisis is due largely to unfunded pension and health insurance liabilities for civil servants.

"Stockton Mayor Ann Johnson voted for these expensive measures when she served on the city council. 'We didn't have projections into the future what the costs might be,' she told...a Stockton newspaper.... She added, 'I learned you don't make decisions without looking into the future.' " WSJ, 3-31-12

Priceless

 

[Oscar Ray]

No, you MORON, you just chose to spend the money elsewhere and not put it in the pension fund as you were supposed to!!!!!!

Oscar Ray

 

[wrzone]

Public Employees should pay into Social Security like the rest of us. They are giving themselves big time Pensions that are outrageously underfunded.

Personally I would call it about the same as stealing from us dumb Taxpayers for sitting back and paying, paying and paying for nothing in return.

If Social Security is good enough for the private sector surely it is good enough for our poor hard working under paid Public Employees.

If they where included in Social Security plan it would be much better most people do not realize that they pay just a little more into thier Pension Plans than we pay into Social Security and they get ridiculous unfunded benefits that we have to guarantee with our hard earned tax dollars.

A person could go on and on with the Bureauracies they have set up to invest their Pension money at our expense also the Public employees are involved in working for their Pension Plans paid for with our tax dollars it is a big time ripoff.

 

[shot410ga]

Good old Stockton, California. My home town, that I left in 1964 for the Marine Corps. It was an all American city. A nice place to grow up. Now---- broke, and filled to capacity with Gang Bangers and scum bags. I wouldn't even drive through the area where I grew up. The worst home forecloses in the USA. And now can't pay the pensioners. What a shame.

 

[crusha]

I'd assume this sort of thing has got to be leading to reductions in municipal services.


How much longer until there will BE no municipal public services in many CA towns and cities, just one employee sitting there mailing out the pension checks?

 

[wireguy]

We elect narcissist dilettantes to these offices and then are shocked that they are completely disconnected from reality. America is so infected with Hollywooditis that Hollywood is the standard by which all things are done, including filling elective offices. The results speak for themselves.

 

[grunt]

Theres alot of places just like Stockton. Their just the start more coming.